Motanka was founded in 2015 in Lutsk, Ukraine, by four musicians: Viktor Zhalnin, Anatoly Zhalnin, Sergii Khodorchuk and Dmytro Diachenko. The band calls their music Mystic Metal and uses both guitars and drums, as well as traditional Ukrainian instruments such as Dulcimer and Ocarina to create an extraordinary sound construct. In 2018, Motanka won the second place at the W: O: A Metal Battle at the Wacken Open Air and could sign a record deal with Napalm Records in the same year. Their first self-titled album appeared in 2019.