Established in 2018, Boston alternative metal group Major Moment has unveiled a new single, "You'll Never Know," from their forthcoming album, The Pain That Helps Us Grow.
Emerging from the dynamic music scene of Boston in 2018, Major Moment has quickly gained recognition as a promising talent in the realm of alternative metal. Their distinctive music style combines heavy guitars, intricate synths, captivating melodies, and heartfelt lyrics, propelling the band forward to be one of the most exciting bands to have emerged in the scene. However, unique gems like Major Moment also come from a pretty unusual start that has made them transcend into one of the freshest and most engaging acts currently in the scene. Andrey, originally from Russia, immigrated to the US in 2006 to follow his dream of becoming a musician and pursuing a music career.
His partner and soon-to-be wife, Sasha, later came to the United States to pursue her own dream in music. For both musicians, music has become why each has found purpose, not only for their passion for the craft but also to connect with others and be inspired, much like the artists who came before them. While the band has come a long way since their first EP, one smell stEP over six years ago, the passion they have to create the music they have always envisioned is still evident on their new single, "You'll Never Know," off their upcoming album, The Pain That Makes Us Grow, creating a bold, heavy, synth-loaded experience that shows a new, spirited evolution of their already unique style.
So you guys are from Russia. You moved over here to start a new life. I feel like that only paints a broad brush on your experiences up to this point. What started this journey to come here?
Andrey: Hey hey! Well, luckily, not ALL of us are from Russia. Someone in the band needs to be American to cover us (as now we’re being UNCVRD, haha—we live for the puns!), otherwise, it’d be too obvious that we’re actually spies. Why else would we want to pursue a music career?! It’s all a facade! Lol. Ok, jokes aside, I moved to the States back in 2006 to pursue my dream—to make music for a living, to inspire others, to connect with people through music, to pay back to the music gods for all the years other artists’ music helped me get through. Sasha also moved to the United States to pursue her dream of being my wife.
Sasha: He’s not wrong, lol. But to be fair, music helped me in so many areas of my life; it’s crazy! Some of it is so unexpected like it helped me to improve my English (I was translating lyrics and growing my vocabulary while listening to the proper accent and trying to match it), to avoid unnecessary conflicts (just by blasting your favorite song in the earphones and staying calm, while removing yourself from the argument), to mentally prepare myself for the match and cool down after it’s over (oh yeah, I was a professional tennis player my whole life, an important fact to know about me), and while traveling the world, it helped me to even fall asleep! Have you ever spent a night in a room with someone snoring like a machine? Haha, yup. And finally, only because of music I met Andrey, so yeah, now we’re contributing our music to the world, which will hopefully bring people together, inspire them to achieve something bigger in life, or just make their day better.
How did Major Moment get started? What made you guys want to create the band?
Andrey: I guess for me it was inevitable since I already moved here with that in mind. It just took a lot longer to materialize than I hoped. I also always imagined being in the band; I like collaborating on ideas with other people, and I thrive building stuff on top of ideas that others bring in. Our new song “You’ll Never Know” is a prime example. Sasha started the original demo idea; I took it from there.
Sasha: I could NEVER imagine myself being in a band, to be honest... Lol. I did hope to become a singer; I love singing and could see myself writing and recording some of my own music at some point, but I did not have a plan, haha. So happy Andrey solved it for us! Since Major Moment started, I was already contributing ideas—lyrically or melodically—on top of what Andrey came up with, but then he encouraged me to try starting my own ideas from scratch. It was very tough at first, but I’m so glad I did it. Now our new album has a few songs that originated from me ("Voices," “You’ll Never Know,” and "Married"), and I couldn’t be happier!
What instrumental influences have shaped your heavy, synth-loaded sound? It's honestly one of the best examples of fusion between genres.
Andrey: Thank you! I appreciate it! The influences are many, starting from the 80s icons like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, and A-ha to more modern examples like Eiffel 65, Daft Punk, Gus Gus, Chromeo, Justice, Rammstein, Linkin Park, Nine Inch Nails... Bet you never thought you’d read “Blue, da ba dee da ba di” in the same sentence with “Trent Reznor,” but here we are, haha.
Sasha: And from recent years it’s Bring Me The Horizon, Spiritbox, Architects, Bad Omens, and even Billie Eilish.
You guys are often compared to bands like Linkin Park. That's honestly some pretty high praise.
Andrey: It is! Linkin Park is one of our biggest influences, more so subconsciously at this point. We’ve listened to it so much growing up that it became part of who we are, on a personal level, as weird as it sounds. To put it in perspective, I’ve spent hours and days translating their lyrics and even translated their entire DVD to Russian so my friends who didn’t speak English could understand what was going on. By the way, the DVD was called “Frat Party At The Pancake Festival." Imagine me trying to make sense of that, haha. But yeah, Linkin Park has definitely played its role in me moving halfway across the world and is 100% responsible for me and Sasha even meeting, so yeah, let’s make it official; if not for Linkin Park, there would be no Major Moment. I hope we’ll get to tell our stories to Mike and the other guys one day.
Oh yeah, another story. One time back in 2007-2008 or something at the meet and greet, I gave Mike Shinoda a CD I burned that contained a VERY raw set of demos and a cover of “The Little Things Give You Away." Don’t ask why; no idea. It was so raw that I’m blushing just remembering it, but the funny thing is some of those demos lived to be transformed into Major Moment songs. “May Leave Scars," “Living Your Life Like This,” and “Toxic” could be some of those. Mike never called or emailed me, so we’ll have to wait to find out just how much he hated it. Do you know what would really be high praise? If he genuinely liked us and would be down to collab on something, that would be an honor, for sure!
Sasha: Oh my god, it would be a major moment, for sure! Haha, sorry. But Andrey nailed it; their music shaped who we are today. Linkin Park was the band that got me into rock music in the first place. One day my friend shared “Somewhere I Belong” with me, and I was hooked! They’ve built a pretty spotless reputation; I’ve watched countless interviews and live shows. I also got a chance to meet them in person once at the Maxidrom Festival in Moscow, Russia, where I almost forgot how to speak at all, haha, let alone speak English. To be fair, the way they’ve built their brand is very impressive; we learned a lot from them. They had some of the most impressive music videos at the time, the artwork was always on point, and of course, every fan’s favorite type of content that they’ve done on a top-tier level—their behind-the-scenes video series (LPTV), and I watched them all! I feel like they’ve built such a strong fan community by making those videos, going on live chats, and treating fans with early entry tickets and benefits; it’s so inspiring! I even volunteered to help with the Music For Relief fundraiser before one of their shows, which was a very unique experience, and I love the fact that their mission extends to helping people outside of the actual creation of music.
How was this creative process different from anything you guys have tackled in the past? What does this new chapter mean to you guys now since your start in 2018?
Andrey: I feel like it’s a lot more fun now. Back in 2018, we were taking our baby steps (hence the title of our debut EP, “one small stEP"), and we wanted people to get their first impression of what we’re about. We were doing everything for the first time, and there was a lot of self-imposed pressure. We didn’t know what we were doing. Now we know just a little bit more, but we’re allowing ourselves to have more creative freedom; we care a lot less about how we’re going to be perceived by someone; what matters is if we like the music we’re making.
Sasha: Totally! Our job as an independent artist extends to so many smaller jobs that we had to learn almost from scratch! I never expected that being in a band would make me a better web designer, graphic designer, marketer, social media creator, editor, photographer, videographer, data analyst, etc. I can keep going, but you get the point. I honestly love it! Just wish there was way more time in the day so we can take some longer breaks than just sleep... but maybe one day we’ll get there, haha. But back to your question, I feel like you can already hear the evolution of the sound, from “one small stEP” to “The Sequel” to “The Pain That Makes Us Grow”, and with every song we learn so much that it opens up more creative opportunities for us in the next song. We’re not afraid to experiment with new ideas, and some of the new songs we’ve just recorded that are not part of the album will surprise some of our listeners for sure; we absolutely cannot wait for you to hear it!
What is next for you guys?
Andrey: We’ll finish releasing “The Pain That Makes Us Grow” in a couple of months and will start releasing songs off of our sophomore album. We’ve already recorded 8 songs, and we’re working on adding at least 4 more. We’re hoping to tour in 2025; that’s going to be another step into the big unknown for us, but we’re excited to play these songs for everyone in person.
Sasha: Besides, we’ve recently recorded our first-ever feature with another artist that we can’t name yet, so you’ll have to stick around to find out who that is, but we’re so excited about the song, and we’re pretty confident you’ll love it! To stay in the loop, please follow us on social media, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and if you really love what we do, visit majormomentband.com and get something in our store to support our dream! Thank you!
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