Artist: Arkona
Label: Napalm Records
Released: 2009
Rating: 3.5/5
Arkona is a Russian folk/pagan metal band that has spent years successfully playing old traditional melodies from some long-lost era and mixing them with metal riffs. Goi, Rode, Goi is already their fifth studio album, and it doesn’t show what you’d want from them.
One of the defining elements of Arkona’s music is the female vocals of Masha, nicknamed “Scream”, a nickname that doesn’t suit her at all, since she mostly sings in a clean voice you could hear in any folk ensemble. In short, it can get pretty annoying at times, but Arkona have smartly combined her vocals with heavier male vocals and the occasional choir part, which undoubtedly improves the overall effect.
Musically, Arkona try to fill as much space as possible with as many instruments as possible. As a result, the sound is grand and even impressive, but at times there are just too many instruments, and the individual “voices” drown in this sonic sludge that was probably meant to be something special. Their compositions are built the same way. At times they try to make them so mighty and punchy, that the effect is exactly the opposite. All they manage to do is make you crack a smile while they strain to create their “epic” sound.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re all good musicians, but this time that’s not enough. The patterns where cheerful folk motifs get mixed with hard metal riffs, or an epic, dark intro is followed by metal sections, are good in themselves, but they’re not put together in any sensible way. The individual ingredients might even seem right for a great album, but Arkona just can’t build the right atmosphere. Just as you sink into some more ambient part, Arkona go charging off into “drunken” revelry on an accordion or some other traditional instrument. Individual parts can be excellent, but they aren’t put together all that skillfully.
Maybe some will think I was too critical, but I simply feel Arkona don’t deliver the real deal here. They’d have been better off focusing more on atmosphere instead of trying to cram as many influences and instruments together as possible. I do love a fast jump from one atmosphere to another, but with Arkona it just doesn’t work, because so much of it feels artificially constructed.
Goi, Rode, Goi is definitely nothing special. Arkona bring some interesting things to the folk/pagan metal genre, but the compositions aren’t strong enough. At times they can still be pretty interesting, but mostly they jump from one part to another too fast and don’t let us enjoy what they’ve built. The album is very ambitious, which makes it an even bigger shame that it doesn’t work all that well as a whole. Excellent at moments, almost laughable at others. It’s definitely worth a spin, and it’s best that you judge for yourself.
Lineup
Masha “Scream” – vocals
Sergei “Lazar” – guitars
Ruslan “Kniaz” – bass
Vlad “Artist” – synths, drums
Guests:
Vladimir “Volk” – flute, whistles (“Korochun”); Vladimir Cherepovskiy – whistles, flutes, ocarina; Ilya “Wolfenhirt” – choir; Aleksandr “Shmel” – choir; Aleksandr “Olen” – harmonica; Erik Grawsio – vocals (“Na Moey Zemle”); Jan Liljekvist – violin, flute (“Na Moey Zemle”); Baalberith – vocals (“Na Moey Zemle”); Sadlave– vocals (“Na Moey Zemle”); Peter – vocals (“Na Moey Zemle”); Edgar “Zirgs” – vocals (“Na Moey Zemle”); Kaspars – bagpipes (“Na Moey Zemle”); Heiko Gerull – vocals (“Na Moey Zemle”); Joris “Boghtdrincker” – vocals (“Na Moey Zemle”); Mark “Splintervuyscht” – vocals (“Na Moey Zemle”); Dmitriy “Vetrodar” – mandolin (“Nebo Hmuroe, Tuchi Mrachniye”)
Production
Arkona
Tracklist
1. Goi, Rode, Goi!
2. Tropoiu Nevedannoi
3. Nevidal
4. Na Moey Zemle
5. Pritcha
6. V Tsepiakh Drevney Tainy
7. Yarilo
8. Liki Bessmertnykh Bogov
9. Kolo Navi
10. Korochun
11. Pamiat
12. Kupalets
13. Arkona
14. Nebo Hmuroe, Tuchi Mrachniye
