Existentia for Progressive Metal

Not much biographical info though.

Existentia was formed in Kursk, Russia, in March 2020, and consists of Anton Mityugin (bass), Igor Drozdov (drums), Alexander Sidelin (guitars), Miroslava Mirova (keyboards) and Maya Gitsina (lead vocals). The Covid-19 restrictions that were introduced at that time hampered the band in the very early stages, but they finally released their debut album, "The Planet in the Universe", on May 9th 2021, with Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian contributing guest keyboards on the opening track "Prelude". The album is about Mother Earth and her place in the universe, with the intention being to show through the music and lyrics how important it is to save the planet.

Total Time 34:09

- Anton Mityugin / bass

- Igor Drozdov / drums

- Alexander Sidelin / guitars

- Miroslava Mirova / keyboards

- Maya Gitsina / vocals

Actually I failed to spot this interview (in Russian) that Alexander Sidelin and Anton Mityugin did with music analyst Alexey "Astarte Eel" Irineev about six weeks ago, and which Google translate does an pretty decent job of deciphering: http://astartaview.ru/nasha-planeta-yeto-prekrasnaya-devushk/.

Lots of additional stuff there, including two more fine band photos.

The same guy who conducted the interview also reviews the album here: http://astartaview.ru/recenziya-na-albom-gruppy-existentia-the-planet-in-the-universe/.

This slightly edited translation of a section from the review could possibly be used to flesh the biography out a little bit if you wished:

The idea of ​​creating a group came to band leader Alexander Sidelin, and his friend Anton Mityugin during the celebration of Alexander's 35th birthday in November 2019, with the well-known drummer Igor Drozdov (Galaktika, Cruise, E.V.M. and others) completing the initial trio. Alexander and Anton are responsible for all the music and lyrics, and the fact that the band's three main participants are not exactly youngsters inevitably leaves its mark on the sound of their material. The full band line-up was finalised in March 2020, with the addition of the considerably younger Maya Gitsina on vocals and Miroslava Mirova on keys.

In the review he goes on to say: "In the music of Existentia, there is no youthful rebellion, shocking or overwhelming hormonal storms, and detachment with a slight occult flavor distinguishes each of the seven songs on the album. Thoughtful, serious and a little dreamy - that's how you can describe their album and the music featured on this disc, but it's still metal and there's no shortage of hard riffs on Planet In The Universe."

Something along those lines could be added at the end of the bio to give readers an idea of what the band actually sounds like, and there is a little bit more info about each of the five members in this facebook post from 19th January this year: https://www.facebook.com/Existentiaofficial/posts/111395207539126 if you wanted to expand things even further.