Wow... I didn’t see this one coming! This is excellent Pagan Metal and I’m left exhilarated and at the same time gagging for more. ARKONA (not the Polish Black Metal band) hails from Russia
and it’s my first close encounter with them but definitely not my last. And I was ready to forward this promo??? Shame on me... now I’m glad I didn’t because I really dig what this band has to offer.
But what do we get on ‘Ot Serdca K Nebu”? Well the promo-CD I’m holding in my hands contains 14 tracks of Folk/Metal... that shifts between Traditionally Folk music and fast and aggressive Pagan Metal. They are very melodic and aggressive at the very same time and they have an excellent front woman in Masha “Scream” (Maria Arhipova) ...and believe me... she’s impressive. Her vocals range from clean passages to aggressive growls. I actually thought it was a male vocalist who was behind the growls... but I was so wrong.
When you first put this gem into your CD player you may not be convinced right away but just give it a few spins and you’ll get a massive kick in the balls. You’ll discover one beautiful melody after another and after maybe 6 or 7 listen, you’ll be caught in their web. Almost every single song has something that makes it special and different from each other so it’s very hard for me to name any standout tracks. But maybe “Pokrovy Nebesnogo Startsa”, the title-track“Ot Serdca K Nebu”, “Slavsia, Rus’!, “Sva”, "Kupala I Kostroma and “Katitsia Kold ” are a tad better than rest... however I like ‘em all.
This album is a must buy if you’re into Pagan Metal... period.
