By way of background, there is a significant pagan metal scene in Moscow, with many musicians playing in several of the bands (including Arkona, Rossomahaar, Rarog, Svarga, Butterfly Temple, Nevid’ and Alkonost, though Alkonost are not actually from Moscow); the styles range from black to power to doom metal, yet always with strong Slavic folk elements. The lyrics are usually sung in Russian and the songs are triumphant metal hymns extolling the pagan history and mythology of the Slavic peoples before the introduction of Christianity to Russia in the 10th century AD. One does not have to understand the language to get caught up in the fervor and passion these musicians feel for their distant ancestry. Arkona is one of the top bands in this scene with one of the most unmistakable female vocalists anywhere.

From the Heart to the Sky is a mixture of folksy symphonic black metal and somewhat doomy metal anthems along with frequent, often acoustic, Eastern European folk passages. The black metal passages are fast, crunchy and aggressive with folksy keys; warm bass lines put them closer to gothic than true black metal. The anthemic passages are mid-paced heavy doom / gothic metal driven by either folksy clean guitars or keys; they are extremely epic with a majestic, triumphant atmosphere that really does conjure visions of ancient battles and heroes even though I cannot understand the lyrics. The folksy interludes are filled with authentic folk instruments, from an accordion to a flute to a mouth harp, and they are infectiously festive and enthusiastic. I should note that From the Heart to the Sky is a significant departure in style from their earlier discs, which were overall more festive, less dark, somewhat less folksy, and much more power metal-based with only occasional black metal stylings, mainly in the drumming.

Their female vocalist, Masha "Scream", is completely unique. She provides both clean and aggressive black vocals and I would not have believed it was the same person singing both if I had not seen her on their DVD. Her clean singing is a warm, robust, deep, confident alto style, forceful and direct, filled with passion and conviction; her extreme singing style is contrastingly harsh and aggressive with a militant fierceness I rarely hear from male black vocals, yet with a smoothness and musicality that I never hear from them. She also leads a choir on many of the anthemic passages, adding to their grandiose and epic feel. As far as I can tell From the Heart to the Sky also has a male vocalist who contributes some extreme vocals along with Masha.

I am not pagan in my religious beliefs but I love folk music and am constantly amazed at the passion and authenticity of Arkona’s blending of Eastern European folk music with black and power metal. It intrigues me how much their heritage seems to drive their passion for music, which itself never fails to fill me with a sense of power and triumph and victory, like almost nothing else I know of.

For more information visit the band’s MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/arkonarussia or http://www.arkona-russia.com/en/enews/

9.0 / 10