АРКОНА — Гой, Роде, гой! (review)

Album · 2009 · Folk Metal

5/5 · 2011-05-13
adg211288

Гой, Роде, Гой! (aka Goi, Rode, Goi! in English alphabet, which will be used herein so this review doesn’t keep flitting from English to Cyrillic text and become a drag to read) is the fifth full length album by Russian folk metal act Аркона (trans: Arkona, again used herein), which was released in 2009. This album is a couple of years old now but I decided to take a brief intermission on my 2011 reviewing to say some words on this very special album/band, because Arkona is one folk metal band who really knows how to pull off the genre in the most authentic way that few of the bigger known folk metal acts seem to be able to replicate and after reviewing a couple of releases that dismally failed to capture folk metal at what it should be - despite being good albums in their own right - I needed to be listening to something that was folk metal done perfectly, hence the inspiration to write this review.

Folk metal stands as probably the metal genre with the most variation in the way it is delivered, but that doesn’t always mean the result will sound authentic, even if it is good in its own right. Many bands create folk sounds through use of synths or folksy leads on the guitars. Arkona actually started by using synths to create their folk sounds, but really found their way on their third album which has continued through to Goi, Rode, Goi! Although Arkona still use keyboards in their music, here you’ll also find an assortment of many traditional instruments including flutes, whistles, bagpipes, mandolins, recorders, ocarinas, domras and balalaika. Arkona is also on the more extreme metal side of folk metal, delivering material that is melodic, but can be extreme as well, sometimes even leaning towards death metal (something heard particularly well in Коло Нави (trans: Kolo Navi)), and the combination works perfectly, with the fact that the band sings in their native Russian adding an extra level of authenticity to their brand of folk metal, and on Goi, Rode, Goi! Arkona has produced an album that, like the preceding two offerings, Во славу Великим! (trans: Vo Slavu Velikim!) and От Сердца к Небу (trans: Ot Serdtsa K Nebu), stands as some of the most authentic sounding folk metal that this reviewer has had the pleasure of coming across. It also happens to be some of the best.

As I stated above, Arkona stands as one of the heaviest folk metal bands around and that’s mostly because aside from some heavy guitar riffing from guitarist Sergey “Lazar”, the band is fronted by one Masha "Scream" Arhipova, whose vocals range from melodic cleans to full on death growling, with both styles usually turning up in each song. In the current metal scene something of a fuss seems to be made about female growlers, but in comparison to some performers, Masha doesn’t seem to get much attention, despite the fact that she can both sing and growl, and do both exceeding well, something showcased throughout Goi, Rode, Goi! and there is no doubt in my mind both on a professional and personal level that both vocalist and band should be getting more recognition. The whole band performs exceptionally well and although Lazar isn’t the type to throw in a guitar solo that often, the lead aspect of the music typically being given over to folk instrumentation, he demonstrates his skill in tracks such as На моей земле (trans: Na Moey Zemle) and when he does throw in a lead it is extremely fitting with the song, avoiding any mindless soloing that some groups insist on.

Speaking of that track, it stands as a particular highlight of the album. A fifteen minute piece, the songs features a number of guest vocals from many different bands, each of them singing in their native language as the track tells a story of a warrior who leaves his homeland to seek happiness in other countries. In each country the warrior meets people (the guest vocalists), who explain to him what it means to be happy in their land (in English the song title is ‘In My Land’) and eventually inspires him to return home where he finds happiness in his own land. The use of all the guest vocals gives the song an extra level of greatness. The guests including the vocalists from the bands Månegarm (Sweden), Obtest (Lithuania), Menhir (Germany), Skyforger (Latvia) and Heidevolk (Netherlands). This is about as epic as folk metal gets.

Of course it isn’t just this one song that tells a story. In keeping with being a folk metal band Arkona’s lyrics draw on Slavic mythology and Russian folklore, with each song telling a story, including one of their namesake, Arkona, which was the last pagan Slavic city-castle that was destroyed by Christians in 1168. The track stands as another highlight of this very strong album, along with its powerful title track, Ярило (trans: Yarilo), a short, catchy and energetic piece about the Slavonic god of the spring sun, as well as the likes of В цепях древней Тайны (trans: V Tsepiakh Drevney Tainy) and Лики бессмертных Богов (trans: Liki Bessmertnykh Bogov). There isn’t a really bad moment on the whole album though, which perhaps my only quibble being that the final track, Небо Хмурое, Тучи Мрачные (trans: Nebo Hmuroe, Tuchi Mrachniye) seems a bit drawn out after the main songs appears to be finished, with sounds of running water lasting for a good while before we get to hear some instrumentation again. Although this is somewhat in keeping with the mood of the album I did feel this was somewhat unnecessary. It’s like a hidden track, just with running water instead of the usual use of silence.

However that doesn’t alter the fact that Goi, Rode, Goi! is a folk metal masterwork. Folk metal and indeed metal in general does not get better than this. This is, along with the previous two albums, absolutely essential listening for any self-respecting folk metal fan. As for anyone else, well you can do far worse than to give this album a listen.

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven, scoring 9.9/10)