KARNA biography

Hutsul metal band. 

Music genre: new metal, ethno rock, alternative rock, Ukrainian rock

Year of foundation: 1997

Country: Ukraine

The story of the first Ukrainian hutsul metal band KARNA.

The Ukrainian metal band KARNA was founded by Viktor Vdovich in 1997. The band's music is distinguished by special rhythms, and the performers themselves initially positioned their style as “Ukrainian alternative new metal”, and with the development began to call it “Hutsul metal”.

The band released its debut album only 6 years after its founding, in 2003, when “Летимо” was released. The musicians worked on the album in 2002-2003 and it consists of 10 songs. KARNA released their second album in 2010, and the record with the same name as the band entered the top 100 Ukrainian albums of the time of independence, according to Karabas Live. After that, the band stopped its activities, and in 2013 began working on new songs again and released the single “За тебе кров моя” the following year.

In 2017, KARNA presented its third full-length album "Гуцул метал", marking it as the beginning of a new musical genre - Hutsul metal. The album includes some of the most popular songs by the band, such as “Party на Прикарпатті”, “Вітролом” and others. The following year, KARNA went on a big all-Ukrainian tour, which included a sold-out show in Kyiv. 

The band presented their fourth music album in 2024. The record was called “Гуцулізейшн” and included 12 songs, some of which were presented earlier. The songs “Мама Галичина”, “Аркан”, “Прошу пана до смереки” and “Чорна скрипка” became especially popular. After the release of the album, KARNA played concerts in Ukraine. And in 2025, the band went on a European concert tour.

KARNA has been around for over 25 years and the band has gone through many lineup changes. As of 2025, KARNA's lineup is:

• Oleksii Yarosh - vocals, rhythm guitar 

• Vladyslav Yarun - backing vocals, guitar 

• Pavlo Korsun - backing vocals, bass

• Oleh Bilous - drums 

Albums:

• 2024 – “Гуцулізейшн”

• 2017 – “Гуцул-метал”

• 2010 – “KARNA”

• 2003 – “Летимо”

Singles:

• 2025 – “Високий перевал”

• 2023 – “Прошу пана до смереки”

• 2022 – “Річард з гір”

• 2022 – “Вітролом” (acoustics)

• 2022 – “Мама Галичина”

• 2021 – “Добрий вечір”

• 2021 – “Добрий вечір”

• 2021 – “Бойко”

• 2021 – “Двоє (Фантом 2)”

• 2021 – “Синевир”

• 2019 – “ARKAN”

• 2019 – “Прометей”

• 2016 – “Маленька”

• 2016 – “Полтергейст”

• 2015 – “Чекати буду”

• 2014 – “За тебе кров моя”