Album Review: Аркона - "От сердца к небу"

Artist: Аркона [Arkona] (Russia)
Album Title: От сердца к небу (From the Heart to the Heaven)
Label: Sound Age Production (Russia)
Released: 2007

Arkona may have only been around since 2002, but the band has made a large progression in only a few short years. The first two albums, Возрождение and Лепта, were very solid metal albums which put Arkona on the map, to to speak, but the folk metal was really kicked into overdrive with 2005's Во славу великим!, a monster of an album, which replaced the first two album's keyboard-based folk melodies with a number of traditional instruments such as various flutes and bagpipes. Во славу великим! also clocked in at over an hour long, and managed to keep its momentum throughout. It's a tough act to follow, but after only 2 years, during which time they released a live CD and DVD, Arkona is back with another masterwork, От сердца к небу (which I will call From the Heart to the Heaven for the remainder of this review).

One of the major draws of this band, besides the many wonderful folk melodies, are the excellent vocals by frontwoman (and principal songwriter) Masha "Scream." She is capable of doing both clean and harsh vocals proficiently, and, in a live setting, can quickly alternate between the two without missing a note. She's like the Russian female version of Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt in that regard. She also has a great love for Russia, paganism, and folk music.

I was really excited to get this album, and ordered the limited edition digibook version from a Russian Ebay seller shortly after its release. I'd only been listening to Arkona since the summer of 2006, when I bought Лепта, but since then had acquired all of their CD's (as I tend to do). The digibook is pretty slick, with excellent artwork from Kris Verwimp. I don't like the digibook's cover artwork as much as the image posted above (which I'm guessing will be on the regular jewel case edition), but at least that image is contained within the booklet itself. The artwork seems to give off a somewhat melancholy atmosphere, which is a pretty good preparation for the music itself.

From the Heart to the Heaven is a pretty dark album, compared to its predecessor. It is also an album that is even further rooted in traditional Russian folk music than any Arkona album before it, and perhaps more than any folk metal album I have ever heard from that country (and, being a big fan of Russian pagan/folk metal, I've heard many). After a short and dark synth intro, the first track explodes into one of the heaviest Arkona songs I've heard thus far. The guitars are crunchy, Masha's voice is snarling, and the drumming is tight. Yep, this is classic Arkona. The second track, however, is the first of many songs on the album to contain the chanting of a folk choir. It sounds great, but I would imagine some listeners may not like it.

The CD is split pretty evenly between what I would consider "normal" Arkona songs and songs which are much more folk-based (and therefore may not appeal to listeners who are looking for simply a metal album with folk melodies). Out of the eleven tracks on the album (twelve in the digibook edition), six are what I would call "normal" Arkona songs. Four songs are metal (or partly metal) but with folk choir vocals, and one is a folk instrumental. The digibook contains a bonus track, which is another instrumental folk tune. Most of the non-"normal" Arkona songs fall towards the middle of the CD, so for a listener who doesn't like those types of songs, the middle of the CD will seem to drag.

However, for those who are looking for a "true" folk metal album and not just a metal album with some folk melodies thrown in, From the Heart to the Heaven is one that must be heard. The "folk choir" vocals remind me of a Ukrainian folk choir CD I have in my collection. I've never heard a Russian folk choir, but I would guess it sounds pretty similar. I don't know if this is what Arkona was aiming for, but the choir-style vocals (usually backed by bagpipes or other traditional instruments) certainly adds to the atmosphere the album creates. A variety of sound effects (of nature, usually) between songs also helps.

As a concept album, From the Heart to the Heaven is best when taken as a whole, though there are certainly some standout songs that will sound great on their own (the title track is one of them; the anthemic "Славься, Русь" is another one). It is a wonderful album, but it is less accessible than Arkona's previous albums. For those who are musically open-minded and adventurous, or those who have an affection for traditional folk music but also don't mind a lot of screaming and guitars, Arkona's latest is an easy one to recommend.

I should also point out that the production is excellent throughout, and the band sounds better than ever. I've never found the metal elements of Arkona's music to be that impressive --they sound fine, but there's nothing flashy or memorable about their performances, besides Masha's vocals-- but in my opinion the entire band has managed to impress me with this release. I was especially pleased with the work of drummer Vlad. The traditional instruments also sound fantastic, and I hope that this is an element that Arkona continues to incorporate on future releases. I don't know how many different wind, string, and percussion instruments are used on this album (my ability to read Russian is very limited), but I think there is a much greater variety used on this album than on the last one.

From the Heart to the Heaven solidifies Arkona's place, in my opinion at least, as one of the very greatest bands in pagan and folk metal. I hope that they continue to follow this musical path, but, even if they don't, this album will stand as a masterwork of the genre. It may not draw in as many new fans as Во славу великим! did, but Arkona is to be commended for following their hearts and contributing a work of great art. This is one of my top albums of 2007, and one that, each time I listen to it, reaffirms my love for folk metal and the great potential this genre has.

Album Review: Dalriada - "Kikelet"

Band: Dalriada (Hungary)
Album Title: Kikelet
Label: Nail Records (Hungary)
Released: 2007

Dalriada, formerly known as Echo of Dalriada, has to be one of my favorite discoveries of 2007. Grounded in Hungarian folk music, and sounding completely unlike anything I've ever heard, their albums are both immediately pleasing and yet hold up under repeated listens. They were first brought to my attention on the Viking Blood messageboard, when someone posted a Youtube link to the video for their song "Téli ének" from 2006's Jégbontó and I was immediately enchanted by vocalist Laura Binder's unique (in this genre anyway) style. She doesn't have a typical metal voice at all; it sounds more like a traditional Hungarian folk voice. It took me longer to get used to the vocals of founding member Andras Ficzek, who sometimes sounds like he's really straining to hit the notes. After a while, Andras' vocals became part of the great charm of this lovely folk metal band.

Although I immediately fell in love with Dalriada's sound, it took me several months before I was able to track down their albums. Unfortunately, they seem to have little to no distribution outside of their native Hungary, and I had to get them from a (very nice) Hungarian seller on Ebay. First I acquired the two albums released under their previous name, Echo of Dalriada, and then about a month later acquired Kikelet. The debut, Fergeteg, is a good CD, though it pales in comparison to Jégbontó, which quickly became one of my very favorite folk metal albums. Jégbontó is full of songs that are catchy, beautiful, accessible, and yet still very deep, with so many melody and key changes that it's pretty much impossible to predict where a song is going to go until you've listened to it several times. While this may sound daunting, the band's sound is so enjoyable that it seems to flow naturally.

With the release of Kikelet, not much has changed since Jégbontó despite the band name being shortened. The songs aren't as immediately catchy and accessible as they are on Jégbontó, though with repeated listens it begins to make sense and I began to enjoy it just as much. A standout track is the single "Táltosének," which is available as an mp3 download from Dalriada's website (and can be heard on their Myspace page). Though catchier and perhaps not as complex as the rest of the songs on the album, it is nonetheless a great introduction to the band, with an absolutely addicting chorus (thanks to Laura Binder's infectious vocal lines and some solid backing vocals).

Andras Ficzek handles quite a bit of the vocal duties on this album, and in addition to his normal sung vocals gives an occasional black metal shriek (on track 8, "Tűzhozó"). Excellent drumming by Tadeusz Rieckmann is also worthy of mention. The band sounds tight; obviously they are all very talented musicians, and work quite well together. There are a few really nice violin parts as well. I don't know who plays the violin on this album, whether it's a band member or a session musician, but it sounds great. I will also mention the production, as it's fantastic and lets the listener hear every fine detail of the performances.

I find myself gushing with praise for this band, but they deserve it. Dalriada will probably never have the international success they deserve, which is usually the case with bands in this genre, but I feel Dalriada has a lot of potential for a wider audience if only that audience had access to their albums. They are a refreshing and totally unique band, and I would recommend them to anyone. I realize, reading back at my review, that I've been pretty vague about what the band sounds like. I think it's because I would much rather play the album for a person than try to describe it, as I'm not very good at describing music. For anyone who is interested, I recommend going here or here and listening to some of their mp3's. I know I say this a lot, but this is a band that is really worth going through the trouble of finding their albums.

Album Review: Родосвет - "Бойня Словена"

Band: Родосвет [Rodosvet] (Russia)
Album Title: Бойня Словена (Slavonic Butchery)
Label: Stellar Winter (Russia)
Released: 2007

In the realm of pagan metal, there exist a number of bands that push controversial politics yet have a significant number of fans who are not affiliated with those politics (and, in many cases, vehemently disagree with them). The most well-known examples of bands with this kind of crossover success are the infamous Temnozor (Темнозорь), Graveland, and Nokturnal Mortum. From the great Russian label Stellar Winter comes Moscow-based Rodosvet, a band which may become another one to add to that list.

I don't know much of anything about Rodosvet, except that some members of the band were formerly in a pagan metal band called Elfsword. At some point Rodosvet was formed, and in 2007 they released their debut album, Slavonic Butchery, through Stellar Winter. There does not seem to be any band information in the packaging itself, which is all in Russian. There are no credits, and no band photos (except for a photo of a guy with a wolf's head photoshopped onto his shoulders).

The album starts with a pleasant synth intro. That should come as no surprise to seasoned fans of the genre. In fact, it is almost expected for a pagan metal band to start each album with a short instrumental. The second track begins with a speech sample (a film sample?), and then the metal starts. The vocals at first are in a death metal style, but then turn into a more high-pitched black metal style. Then there are some nice folky melodies played on keyboard before the death metal growls start again. At this point, I was reminded of the Ukrainian band Dub Buk, a reference that I would come back to several times over the course of this album. It has that same "black thrash" type of sound, though this band seems to be too restless to settle for one particular sound throughout the album.

Not only is there variety in the music, but the vocals alternate among different styles, including the aforementioned death metal growls and black metal shrieks, as well as gravelly shouts that remind me of Rusich (Ukraine) and proud clean vocals reminiscent of Temnozor. This variety is nice, and keeps things interesting. There are a lot of time changes within the songs as well, as well as some acoustic and folk passages. It's all very pleasing to my ears and quite entertaining, though (as usual) I have no idea what is being said in the lyrics. The vocals sound both very proud and very angry. The album ends with a sad a capella song that reminds me of the Ukrainian folk songs that served as intros on Hate Forest's Battlefields and the track that ends Dub Buk's Rus Ponad Vse! I don't know if the track is composed of samples or if it's the members of the band singing, but it sounds mournful and probably an appropriate way to end an album called Slavonic Butchery.

I've never read a review on this album, nor have I seen many people discussing it. Personally, I think it's a really good CD and a pretty safe bet for fans of the bands I mentioned over the course of this review. The easiest comparison to make is Temnozor, but Rodosvet seems to have more creative energy and certainly better production (while lacking the flute that is such a big part of Temnozor's sound). Hopefully Rodosvet will continue to release albums and will be able to better differentiate themselves from other bands in the genre. Regardless, Slavonic Butchery is a very strong debut from a promising young band.

Krynitza live clip on Youtube

Here

I wasn't sure if Russian folk band Krynitza ever played live, but here is a clip of them performing at a folk festival.


While you're at Youtube, you might as well watch this fan-made video of the Krynitza track "Angel."

Angel video