ARKONA – Yav (2014)

And here we are again, it is time to dive into the depths of pagan metal and dark Russian nature. For our Slavic brothers making music doesn’t seem to be a hard work and though after a three-year hiatus, we had some live albums, DVDs and etc. – satisfying the fan’s hunger releases.

This time in the center are again involved paganism and mythology, and in particular – the material world in which we live – Yav. After the first listen of the new work, however, this obviousness is missing – it sounds chaotic, imprecise and missplaced. Arkona (at least for me) are not one of those bands that you immediately fall in love with -from the first listening – you have to go through the discography at least several times to feel the music, the rhythm, the lyrics, the messages. And this time, I had to go through this process again – for a long time I didn’t have a specific opinion on the songs and I was postponing the writing of these lines. But the more I listened to „Yav“, the more I probed into the magical world of folk metal, presented by Arkona. And the cover art gives only a preliminary mental attitude for what lies ahead.

Long compositions (the shortest is around 5 minutes long) with a variety of instruments, tempo, vocals. Deep tunes that combine growls, talking (maybe here it’s a bit more than it’s necessary) and normal familiar vocals of Masha Scream, and interweave with ethno folk elements leading us to the secret unbeaten paths of the dark Russian forest. The darkness occurs more with each song and affects the apparent world in which we live: a world of lies, evil, immorality, forbiddingness and darkness; the world in which we fight with those constants with kindness, sincerity and light … in this case – with unadulterated pagan Metal.

This concept reveals the most with the eponymous „Yav „, which is the longest on the album. But no less an impression are making „Na strazhe novyh let“, the interlude „Gorod snov“, „Chado indigo“ (where the sinisterness of the guitars suddenly erupt from the beautiful piano start), as well as the closing „V ob’jat’jah kramoly“  which dramatically closes the circle and puts an end to our special walk throught the mysterious backwater of Arkona’s folk/pagan metal. And every new crusade through these paths make ’em more well-trodden and familiar. And every time you find something unheard or unseen until this moment. The darkness is not so scary and unpredictable when you get to know her.

8/10

„Yav“ is officially out on 25th April via Napalm Records.