Vladimir Holstinin

Who is Vladimir Holstinin?

Vladimir Petrovich Holstinin is a Russian guitarist. He is one of the founding members of heavy metal band Aria.

Vladimir was born May 12, 1958, in Lyubertsy, Russian SFSR. He graduated Moscow Power Engineering Institute, where he met Vitaly Dubinin. The two institute mates became friends and formed a band Volshebnie Sumerki. The band played mostly cover versions of foreign bands songs, such as Deep Purple and Rainbow. Arthur Berkut was band's vocalist, and Magic Twilight is often considered to be a prototype to Aria.

After Twilight's diband, Holstinin, together with bassist Alik Granovsky, joined rock band Alpha. Their participation was short-lived, and in 1984 they went to VIA Poyushchie Serdtsa led by producer Victor Vekshtein. Joined by vocalist Valery Kipelov, they formed a heavy metal band Aria, officially registered as a "side project" to Singing Hearts. Aria soon developed to be much more popular than original Singing Hearts that played a common kind of Soviet pop-rock music. After the breakup of original lineup, Holstinin and Kipelov kept the side of Vekshtein, who owned the band's name. Vladimir invited his friend and former band mate Vitaly Dubinin to replace Granovsky on bass.