Few groups have been as consistent as Exploited. Pogoing their way through the past couple of decades, the members of Exploited have not changed the way they shout their slogans or pound their drums and guitars, and they haven't bent to commercial demands or changing musical styles. There has been only one thing that this group has wanted to prove convincingly, and that is that "Punk's Not Dead." This motto was actually conceived a good 20 years ago – in reaction to fellow British punk band Crass' view that punk rock had been co-opted by the Establishment, that "punk's just a fashion like hippy used to be" – when the young Exploited released its first studio album, proving punk was still alive.

The second generation of British punk alongside groups like Subhumans, Exploited was the only ‘80s punk group to make it onto the BBC's Top of the Pops with their 1981 hit "Dead Cities."

Their gigs have been notoriously violent and many have turned into riots. The Scottish group's concert in Moscow a few years ago was no exception. Ferocious teenagers, imagining they were real punks, reportedly slammed into each other without mercy, leading to a few serious injuries at a concert held at DK Gorbunova.

The band was formed by ex-soldier Wattie Buchan (vocals) and John Duncan (guitar) in 1980. Specializing in two-minute blasts of high-speed riffs and lyrics highlighting themes like war, corruption, unemployment and police brutality, the group has won over a good number of anarchist and, on the opposite end of the political spectrum, right-wing fans.

It has retained a small cult following while continuing to release material regularly. The line-ups have fluctuated wildly, with Duncan going on to join Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie and, very nearly, Nirvana, while Buchan, the obnoxious lead singer with the multicolored Mohawk, had remained in place.

After some years of silence and rumors that Buchan was dead, Exploited released a new album in 1996 called "Beat the Bastards." Today, some say the group has has an ever-declining following – which is probably true everywhere except in the former Soviet Union, as the current tour may well show. The soi-disant rebels will have a very strenuous schedule this time in the formerly unpunk-o-fied territories: four sure-to-be-packed concerts in four consecutive days in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Minsk.

The two Moscow concerts have been divided up into what has been branded a VIP concert at the Svalka club – for those wanting to see the legends in a less-dangerous atmosphere – and a gig-for-all at DK Gorbunova.

What: Punk concert.
When, Where: Nov. 23. – Svalka (Metro: Profsoyuznaya), 10 p.m.;
Nov. 24 – DK Gorbunova (Metro: Bagrationovskaya), 7 p.m.
Tel: 128-7823 (Svalka).
145-8098 (DK Gorbunova).
Cover: 300-800 rubles.