Five Wheel Drive was organized in 1997 in Pyatigorsk, Russia. The original line up remains the same from day one:
David Zheltkov – Vocals
Shtoorman – Guitar
Ivan Aleshin – Guitar
Alexey Borodenko – Bass
Igor Burakov – Drums
Influenced by old school rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Jimmy Hendrix, Rolling Stones, etc. David Zheltkov and Shtoorman co-authored several songs, including the all-time headliner song “Try Me.” Later Alexey Borodenko, Ivan Aleshin and Igor Burakov joined the band. Ivan Aleshin (lead guitar) was a big fan of Metallica and brought in heavier sound to the band.
1997 Five Wheel Drive played mostly locally at small clubs and universities. In 1998 Five Wheel Drive had its first big gig with a band called the Druggers and recorded its first album called “Five Wheel Drive.” The album consisted of seven songs with the head line song “Five Wheel Drive” that was composed for improvisation and jamming, just like Deep Purple’s “Child in Time.”
Five Wheel Drive stayed together until 1999 when musicians for different reasons had to pursue other ventures. Despite the distance between the members over the years, Five Wheel Drive continued stay in touch and exchange musical ideas and inspirations.
To check out a recent article about the band, click here.
Who We Are
In 2018, almost 20 years anniversary since the first album, Five Wheel Drive got together again and in
2019 met in Moscow, Russia and recorded their second album “Try Me.” The album consist of five songs.
Four songs are brand new and one (“Try Me”). Headline songs of the album are “Try Me” and “Seven
Days” was remastered and has a different sound now comparing to 1998 version. The band’s sound
became heavier and more dynamic.
Singe “Try Me” was released in January 2020 and the EP “Try Me” was released in March of 2020.
Almost immediately, major online stores such as Spotify, iTunes, Pandora, Napster, Deezer reported
thousands of followers and listeners. Encourage with success Five Wheel Drive began work on its third
album.
Five Wheel Drive also released two music videos “Try Me” and “Seven Days” available on YouTube.