Title: ARKONA - Goi, Rode, Goi!
Description: ARKONA - Goi, Rode, Goi!
Description: ARKONA - Goi, Rode, Goi!
metal4life - November 5, 2009 08:18 PM (GMT)
ARKONA
Goi, Rode, Goi!
Napalm 2009
Arkona plays authentic and grand sounding Russian, folky black metal with female vocals. In fact the lady in question can sing both angelically and also growl deeply which is a bit odd but she's actually very good at both. I have come across Arkona before but have never been able to fully 'get' into the band for some reason. It always came across as very quaint to me, without having a wider appeal in the metal community. It was like they were making music for a handful of friends without much thought to commercial endeavour at all.
Well it seems the new album is light years ahead of how I remember them sounding. The album is professionally produced which makes it very easy to listen to. The accordion is a major instrument in this band with direct comparisons with their Finnish counterparts, Finntroll and Korpiklaani very hard to resist. Of course the band also sings in their native tongue which actually further authenticates the songs.
This is fairly happy jolly music overall, but within a dark framework. It is rip roaring and thigh slapping at times and then has grand themes that allow the music to wash over you and take you on a journey. The guitar playing is a bit average but funnily enough guitar is not the main instrument in this band. It has it's place but the main melody is nearly always carried by the folk instruments or the keyboards. The lady singer switches vocals between black rasp and clean at the drop of a hat and effortlessly. Being a non appreciator all things nasty and black metal, these elements please me less; but being a big fan of happy go lucky, bouncy jigs, means I don't have to wait long before a nice passage emerges to grace my ears once again.
Arkona is a band playing at the top of their game on this album make no bones about it. Each song is blessed with enough pleasing parts to keep fans of the style happy. They also incorporate a number of influences which manifest themselves fruitfully within each song. Sometimes a bit darker and speedier, sometimes happier and then melding these elements to create an intriguing all round listen. It is not a perfect record in the sense that the songs could have catchier refrains but it would be a touch over critical to mark them down too much because of a lack of memorability. You may not remember it afterward but whilst the music is playing, you can easily close your eyes and let your mind wander with the sweeps and troughs contained within this rollercoaster of an epic journey.
© Pirage Forsi
Rating **** (4.0/5.0)
Buy at Amazon
Goi, Rode, Goi!
Napalm 2009
Arkona plays authentic and grand sounding Russian, folky black metal with female vocals. In fact the lady in question can sing both angelically and also growl deeply which is a bit odd but she's actually very good at both. I have come across Arkona before but have never been able to fully 'get' into the band for some reason. It always came across as very quaint to me, without having a wider appeal in the metal community. It was like they were making music for a handful of friends without much thought to commercial endeavour at all.
Well it seems the new album is light years ahead of how I remember them sounding. The album is professionally produced which makes it very easy to listen to. The accordion is a major instrument in this band with direct comparisons with their Finnish counterparts, Finntroll and Korpiklaani very hard to resist. Of course the band also sings in their native tongue which actually further authenticates the songs.
This is fairly happy jolly music overall, but within a dark framework. It is rip roaring and thigh slapping at times and then has grand themes that allow the music to wash over you and take you on a journey. The guitar playing is a bit average but funnily enough guitar is not the main instrument in this band. It has it's place but the main melody is nearly always carried by the folk instruments or the keyboards. The lady singer switches vocals between black rasp and clean at the drop of a hat and effortlessly. Being a non appreciator all things nasty and black metal, these elements please me less; but being a big fan of happy go lucky, bouncy jigs, means I don't have to wait long before a nice passage emerges to grace my ears once again.
Arkona is a band playing at the top of their game on this album make no bones about it. Each song is blessed with enough pleasing parts to keep fans of the style happy. They also incorporate a number of influences which manifest themselves fruitfully within each song. Sometimes a bit darker and speedier, sometimes happier and then melding these elements to create an intriguing all round listen. It is not a perfect record in the sense that the songs could have catchier refrains but it would be a touch over critical to mark them down too much because of a lack of memorability. You may not remember it afterward but whilst the music is playing, you can easily close your eyes and let your mind wander with the sweeps and troughs contained within this rollercoaster of an epic journey.
© Pirage Forsi
Rating **** (4.0/5.0)
Buy at Amazon