Yuri Liakhovitch   - drums - Date of birth: July 22 1974 Place of residence: New Jersey, U.S.A. Equipment: Tama drums, Zildjian cymbals, DW 9000 pedals, Remo drumheads, VIC FIRTH MS2 sticks. Bio: When I arrived to the United States from Kiev, Ukraine at the age of 20, I already had some musical experience. At the age of 15 I started listening to Metallica, Motorhead, Ozzy Osborne, Megadeath, Slayer and other metal bands. As I got into this music, I realized I really wanted to play it myself. So I got together with my cousin Sergey and a couple of other friends who were into this kind of music. Since I didn't play any instrument at the time, I started out as a lead singer and songwriter. After some jamming, I decided to learn how to play the guitar and started taking classes at the local musical school. Some time later I picked up the bass and self-taught myself. Some time later I finally moved to the drums. A couple of years after moving to the US in 1993, my friend and I started our own band "Tzefa". He played the guitar and at first I played the bass but then another friend joined on bass and I moved to the drums. As we practiced, I kept improving, catching on speed, and learning new techniques from my favorite death, black and power-metal bands like Carcass, Death, Helloween and others. When bands such as Dimmu Burgir, In Flames, Children Of Bodom, and Nightwish started to become more popular, I began to enjoy more power-metal bands with heavy, yet melodic music and fast drumming. After Slava and I met Bill, we realized he had similar ideas and desires for creating new music just like that. So that's how Operatika began. Some time later, I finally decided to leave Tzefa to put more time and effort into Operatika. I wanted more professional advise for this new level of drumming, so I started taking drum lessons from Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult). After many lessons and lots of practice I see great results in my performance. I realize that with time, we get better and stronger as a band, and I enjoy working hard on improving my drumming just for that.