Arkona - Stenka Na Stenku
Stenka Na Stenku
CD Info
2011
Napalm Records
6 Tracks
Mostly Russian Lyrics
In anticipation of a new album, a band will often release an EP to make the wait easier. I’ve been waiting for Arkona’s new album since their last album, Goi, Rode, Goi was released in 2009. I’ve been wondering just how a band could possibly top an album like Goi, Rode, Goi, which is easily one of the best folk metal albums I’ve heard to date. Well, Arkona’s Stenka Na Stenku EP certainly did its job. Not only do I have just a little something to listen to while I wait for the band’s upcoming opus Slovo, due out at the end of August, but it’s got me even more excited for the new album. In fact, I can barely contain my anticipation!
Arkona have always been known for taking folk metal seriously. I’ve complained before about how most bands just sing drinking songs with added accordion and call it folk metal, but Arkona are one of the few bands that do it right. They don’t make metal songs folky, but make folk songs more metal, resulting in a musical synthesis of the two genres that is an absolute treat for the ears. But even Arkona needs a break sometimes, and for the first time on Stenka na Stenku, we see a lighter, more fun side of the band. The EP’s title track, which is the only song from this release that we’ll see on the new album as well, is as fun as folk metal gets and is likely a big crowd pleaser at shows. It describes an ancient Slavic tradition that seems to be akin to a scaled-down Wall of Death, so I’m sure you can take that and imagine what this song sounds like. If not, see their most recent music video.
Imagine an old traditional song that you heard a lot as a kid. Maybe your grandmother sang it to you to get you to sleep or something. Now take that, and make it totally metal. "Valenki" is exactly that. It’s an old folk song that pretty much every Russian has heard at some point or another, and Arkona have taken it and molded it to their own sound, which is another way of saying they took it and made it a hundred times more awesome. Can you tell I’m excited about it? It might just be my Russian roots talking, but this is most certainly the highlight of this release.
The real test of a folk metal band is an acoustic song. When you take away the metal, does it still sound like a folk song? Well, the third track on this EP is an acoustic version of "Goi, Rode, Goi," the title track of their previous album, and it certainly proves that Arkona need to release more acoustic material. Perhaps they can take a leaf out of Eluveitie’s book and release a whole acoustic album! This version "Goi, Rode, Goi," is hauntingly beautiful, and you can’t help but imagine yourself in a dark forest by a campfire on a gorgeous starry night.
"Skål" is not sung in Russian. In fact, "Skål" is the word for "cheers" in a number of Scandinavian languages, and the song itself is sung in German. The song features the German band Varg, and in an interview with Femme Metal Webzine, Arkona’s lead singer Masha noted that "We were on tour with Varg last year and this song was our ‘drinking song’! Later we decided to realize it and show friendship of Russian and German people." A noble cause, and an entertaining song to boot! So yes, Arkona wrote a drinking song, but at least they have proven that they can write other things as well, which is more than I can say for many a folk metal band.
The last two tracks are covers: "Duren’" (originally by Svarga) and "Noviy Mir" (a cover of a Shaman's Odda Mailbmi). Both are done excellently and successfully tie up this appetizer of an EP. My anticipation for Slovo grows daily, and as early reviews pour in from various sources, my expectations are even higher than they were. However, I doubt I'll be disappointed. Arkona really are that good.
9 / 10
