From underground to phenomenon: who are the Vipers and where did they come from
Recently, a new word has appeared on the map of youth hobbies — Viperr. It's not just music or a style of clothing, it's an atmosphere that mixes Dark Trep and Rage EDM. Viper is dark glamour, unsettling romance and the cold glitter of high-fashion, intertwined with Anglicisms.: they sound like a password to a private club of "their own". Today, the movement has already spread beyond Russia, music is being listened to abroad, and teenagers from Vladivostok to London are filming videos for viper tracks on TikTok. For more information about why Viper became the voice of the zoomer generation and how it turned into one of the main phenomena of the modern Russian scene, see the Izvestia article.
What is a viper?
The first mention of Viperr appeared in 2022. This name hides two artists — Kai Angel (real name — Dmitry Itskov, 28 years old) and 9mice (Sergey Dmitriev, 25 years old). Their acquaintance took place online. The musicians accidentally noticed that both had almost identical tattoos with the word angel on their necks. The coincidence turned out to be symbolic, because, in addition to their passion for Western music, they shared the same views on aesthetics, fashion, and how to build a new musical code.
However, even before the fateful meeting, both were already visible in the media field. Itskov worked as a music video maker for Boulevard Depo and Saluki, and later began releasing his own tracks with an industrial and melancholic sound under the pseudonym Zavet. Dmitriev, then known as Dimais, composed his first compositions in Vladivostok, then moved to Barcelona, where he simultaneously worked as a model and produced a commercial trap with endless mentions of brands.
It was on this foundation that the Heavy Metal album appeared, thanks to which Russia heard how the "Russian rage" should sound, inspired by the Opium label. The newly minted freshmen confidently experimented with Anglicisms, weaving them into formalistic texts, where the cutting sound became the main character. Now the artists have a lot of followers. Their music became the soundtrack for a generation of zoomers who started wearing clothes in the style of Rick Owens, Vetements, Balenciaga: black hoodies, riveted denim and ripped T-shirts. The streets of Kitay-gorod are proof of this.
Daniil Verevkin, director of the Ohype multigenre music label, notes several conditions for the formation of the viper direction in Russia.
— First of all, it is global digitalization and fatigue from it. Modern teenagers have grown up in a world where every step is recorded, and life for show is the norm. Viperr has become a form of escapism, an attempt to create its own space hidden from prying eyes. Secondly, the loss of large narratives and ideologies is affecting. The old authorities and life scenarios no longer work for young people. It is in this vacuum that new forms of self—identification are born," the expert believes.
This is illustrated by a recent case that occurred during an interview with Ksenia Sobchak and Slava Merlow. The characters played each other the tracks they like the most. This is how the producer first heard Alla Pugacheva's song "Don't Hurt Me", and Ksenia heard the Lipstick track by the Viperr duo. In just a couple of days, the interview exploded into memes, and clips from it with funny captions gained hundreds of thousands of likes on social networks.
Is it a common trend or a subculture?
From an anthropological point of view, a subculture is a group within a society whose norms and values differ markedly from those generally accepted. Its representatives form their own interests, worldviews, language and visual code, through which they emphasize their otherness.
Dick Hebdige in the classic Subculture work: The Meaning of Style (1979) considered style as a key tool for expressing subcultures. In his opinion, fashion, music, manner of speech and even everyday habits turn into a kind of gesture of resistance, with which young people challenge the prevailing norms.
If we look at Viperr through the prism of these ideas, we can see clear parallels. Anglicisms, dark glamour, and high-fashion details work here as a language code that distinguishes "friends" from "strangers." However, despite the obvious similarity with the definition of Hedge, Ksenia Kasyanova, Vice president of strategy and New business at KROS, emphasizes that viper is still on the verge between a fashionable trend and a full-fledged subculture, and the question of its status remains open.
— Rather, it is a digital micro-generation united by a common mood. His aesthetics — dark romance, conspicuous consumption (clothing with labels), Anglicisms — reflect not protest, but an escape into an alternative reality, a search for community and unique self-expression in the digital space. This is not the direct heir of Goths or emo, but their distant digital relative. For modern youth, those trends have long been "dusty junk," she believes.
Dmitry Verevkin adheres to a similar point of view, defining Viperr as a meta-subculture of the postmodern era.
— Viperr took an interest in the dark side of life and a certain theatricality from Gothic. From EMO — reflection and emotional nakedness, albeit under the guise of cold detachment. From rave — the culture of private parties, a sense of community and a search for a transcendent experience through music and atmosphere. From trap — the musical basis, the fashion for brands and a certain model of behavior of artists. This is not so much a successor as a creative synthesis that responds to the demands of a new generation," the director notes.
Discovering a new sound
Viperr's musical style cannot be reduced to one genre. It is a mix of dark trap, Rage EDM, industrial and melancholic motifs. This combination creates a unique "Russian rage". So, Daniil Verevkin notes that the characteristic features of viper tracks are congestion, dirty bass, harsh synthesizers and fast tempo.
— Vocals play a special role. Autotune is used here not as a means of correcting the voice, but as an artistic device: it creates a feeling of inhuman, cybernetic sound. Performers like Kai Angel and 9mice are actively experimenting with flow and pitch, playing with rhythm and vocal intonation, turning vocals into another instrument," says the expert.
The label's director also notes that the lyrics in Viperr are often abstract. They are not based on a linear narrative, but on images and emotions, where Anglicisms, references to fashion, video games and anime become part of the general code. Among the key themes are loneliness, painful love, self—destruction, and the search for identity.
At the same time, experts are in no hurry to call Viper a simple "Russian answer" to global trends. As Herman (The Master) emphasizes Zagumennov, the leader of the punk rock band Performance Joe, Russian artists really focus on Western idols like Playboi Carti, Ken Carson or Yeat. But their strength lies not in copying, but in the ability to melt other people's techniques into something personal and painfully recognizable to their audience.
— Viperr's aesthetic is a rich cocktail, where protest against the gray everyday life, escape into a fictional, perfectly stylish world, and a fierce desire to express oneself at any cost are mixed. It's a way to loudly declare your uniqueness and at the same time become a part of something bigger. Recognizable, gloomy, but of his own tribe," the expert notes.
Visual aesthetics
Viperr sets the tone at first glance, their image works just as strongly as the music. The predominant color is black, often combined with bright acid accents. Participants in this trend wear luxury brands that emphasize their status, but at the same time style them so that the clothes look not just expensive, but part of their narrative, notes Daniil Verevkin.
— Edits on TikTok and Reels on Instagram* (owned by Meta, a recognized extremist organization in the Russian Federation and banned) with glitch effects, blurred frames, neon flashes on a dark background. Images of abandoned buildings, cities at night, and expensive cars in the fog are often used. It's an aesthetic of painful beauty and disturbing luxury," the expert continues.
Make-up takes a special place. Expressive accents on the eyes, bleached eyebrows and disheveled hair create the impression of carelessness, which in fact is carefully thought out. The image is complemented by tattoos and piercings, which enhance the feeling of sharpness and emphasize the underground roots of the movement.
— They recognize their own people here at a glance, — notes musician Herman (Master) Zagumennov. — Bleached eyebrows, black clothes — not worn, but luxurious, with a touch of grunge. Makeup paints the image of a tired vampire aristocrat. And the clips and photos are styled like VHS: noise, grain, disturbing retro. Packaged to perfectly fit into the era of short videos and digital consumption.
This is how viper turns into something more than a musical direction. It is a full-fledged audiovisual experience where sound, image and visual symbols work as a whole.
Does Viperr have a future?
The Viperr phenomenon, which originally emerged as Generation Z's response to the demand for a "new sound," has already gone beyond a casual trend and developed into a notable cultural phenomenon. According to German (Master) Zagumennov, today he faces a dilemma: to remain as a stable movement or to remain only a bright flash of the underground.
— Finding this balance is a challenge for any informal movement. The whole point of Viperr is their closeness. But once major brands and media outlets notice this aesthetic and start replicating it, the magic melts away. The sharpness is dulled, the underground becomes a mass market. On the other hand, if you stay in the shadows, you can just be a flash — bright but short," he believes.
The fate of Viperr largely depends on whether the artists and their fans can pass the test of growing up. Just as punks and Goths have evolved from marginals into full-fledged subcultures, Viper can also evolve. At the same time, Daniel Verevkin, director of the multigenre label, draws attention to the inevitability of transformation.
— Any youth culture is transformed. Viperr is no exception. The current 16-year-old participants will be 21 in five years. Their views, musical tastes, and life priorities will change. Some of the audience will simply outgrow this hobby and switch to something else. The most devoted followers will remain, but the culture itself will become more mature and diverse. Perhaps new, more complex musical forms will appear, and aesthetics will become less straightforward," the expert believes.
As Verevkin notes, even if Viper is dissolved in its current form, its legacy will remain part of the cultural code. That's exactly what happened with punk and hip-hop. Another important issue is the international future. So far, Viper remains a predominantly Russian phenomenon, but it already has significant potential for export.
— The music of Russian Viperr artists is already finding listeners abroad, mainly through streaming platforms and TikTok. Several factors contribute to this. Firstly, the global language of music. Trap and EDM are understandable to young people all over the world. Secondly, it has a unique aesthetic. Dark post-Soviet romance can be exotic and appealing to Western audiences. Anglicisms in the lyrics make the tracks more accessible," emphasizes Daniil Verevkin.
However, he also points to obstacles, such as the lack of developed infrastructure, international labels, and a touring network. So far, artists are making their way to the West spontaneously, but with the support of the industry, Viper can become a rare example of exporting not classical, but ultramodern Russian culture.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
