Pagan metal is a rising extreme metal subgenre that has origins in Northern Europe. Within this realm, many bands attempt to blend both the blackened and folk themes and musicianship through their efforts. Arkona happens to be one of those very influential acts found in that subculture. Coming out of Moscow, Russia, this project (active since the early 2000s) released eight other full-length albums and now perform and record under the Napalm Records label. With a legacy spanning over fifteen years, they have proudly unleashed their most recent creation onto the world.
Arkona's latest release titled Khram is a lengthy, 74-minute offering that encompasses an entire journey through pagan themes and lyricism. The album consists of nine fleshed out tracks, with each having its own elements, variety of sounds, messages and more. "Khram" is the Russian word for temple or shrine, which presents itself in a manner that, in this particular work of blackened folk metal, holds an eclectic range of emotions and vibes. Additionally, the band utilizes different types of instruments; such as those of the woodwing, strings, orchestral, traditional and other aesthetic qualities as well.
Getting right into it, the album starts off strong and in a rather unorthodox manner comprised of some background chanting as well as eerie shrieks and gutturals in the forefront. This introduction is soon accompanied by string instruments and more high-pitched yelling before the composition transitions into the next track "Shtorm" (Storm). These instruments play a very strong and sometimes dominant role in this music, making the blackened and extreme format work and mix well with the folk-like characteristics. The instrumentals and vocals seem to shift between more upbeat folk and very dark and dreary black metal consistently throughout Khram.
Aside from this the melodies in the background add a fitting touch to the ambiance, and the effects used on the vocals work very well in establishing a particular sort of feel. The guitar riffs in many of the songs are also fairly inventive and energetic. Even the bass lines have a strong presence in tracks such as "Tseluya Zhizn" and "V Ladonyach Bogov". Many of the songs also contain fairly memorable outros, with elements of chanting, solos or other aspects. The overall tone of the instruments is phenomenal for the most part, with very stellar production quality throughout, courtesy of the band itself.
The vocalists' range and transitions from kvlt black metal shrieks to chanting and yelling is another positive quality. Some of the songs like "V pogonye za beloy tenyu" also have instrumental or softer acoustic intros put in for added effect and build-up, which is yet another exciting contrast to the darker and heavier parts of the album. Personally, the strongest components of this album by far, though, are the eclectic instrumental utilizations as well as the vocal energy.
This may be one of the most enjoyable folk metal albums I've listened to in a very long time. However, it is also arguably one of the longest releases I've listened to in one sitting. The duration of Khram may put some people off, especially with the very lengthy tracks. Also, the outro is equally eerie as the introduction to the album, with the shrieking making a return. But, a little more could've been done with it. Overall though, this is a very strong release in most other aspects.
In conclusion, Khram is ultimately a fleshed out and lengthy journey through pagan themes of emotionally dark elements. The perfect blend of blackened extreme metal and music of the folk variety is certainly a very strong characteristic that works in the band's favour. Despite its lengthy presence, Arkona's newest effort is a very entertaining and dynamic one with a lot of versatility, great musicianship, solid structure, energetic vibes and many other positive qualities. It's a recommended listen for fans of both black metal and folk metal alike. In all, this progressive new creation from Russia's own Arkona demonstrates a lot of promise and creativity on the band's part.
Fave Tracks: "Tseluya Zhizn", "V pogonye za beloy tenyu"
**Khram by Arkona is available now at Napalm Records!**
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Review by: Dave Raffy
-Musician, reviewer, fan & promoter
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