### Arkona: Lepta

#### 11/11/08 || Euthanatos

Apparently there are at least 3 bands called Arkona. A Czech one, a Polish one, and this one here, Russian. I don’t know what the others play, but this Arkona is folk metal sang in Russian, and with a female vocalist nonetheless! Plus, she not only sings (well) in a normal voice, she also screams like a banshee being raped! Can’t go wrong with this one, marriage material for sure.

Everyone in the band is good at what they do, but whoever does the keyboards and effects is the most talented out of the bunch for sure. It seems to be the drummer, Vlad “Artist”, and I really like the different elements he uses, a lot of Russian folklore bits and symphonic pieces, it all gets mixed nicely with the layers of vocals. And that’s another thing to highlight, vocalist Masha. As I said before, she not only sings with a sound voice in the clean, more folk parts, she also screams an aggressive screech in the metal parts. She reminds me of Arch Enemy’s Angela. No, not because they are both women and blond, their vocals are just similar.

While I’m sure a lot of interesting stories are being told about the Russian motherland and the very rich Slavic mythology, I have no idea what’s going on in the lyrics, as I don’t speak Russian. I kind of wish I did, though. I’ve always found the different alphabet thing to be fascinating, and the pronunciation is absolutely killer. Remember Ivan Drago? “If he dies, he dies”. You can’t beat that shit, man.

I would need to listen to the rest of Arkona’s discography to compare “Lepta” with their other works, but analyzing this sole effort, I can say that, while not mind-bogglingly original, the group does offer a refreshing take on folk metal, particularly because they are exploring such a unique perspective on their own country. There’s a little something for everyone who is into folk metal here, so it’s very unfair that Arkona isn’t really acknowledged for what they do. Here’s hoping we’re getting them some exposure.

The cover: Wow, I don’t mean to sound gay, but this is really pretty. Yeah, that did sound gay.

7 Gorbachev’s dancing to the sound of a balalaika out of 10.

- Information
- Released: 2004
- Label: Sound Age
- Website: http://arkona-russia.com
- Band
- Masha “Scream”: vocals
- Alexei “Lesiar” Agafonov: vocals, guitars
- Sergei “Lazar”: guitars
- Ruslan “Kniaz”: bass
- Vlad “Artist”: synths, drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Sotkany Veka
- 02. Lepta O Gneve
- 03. Chernye Debri Voyny
- 04. Zarnitsy Nashey Svobody
- 05. Vyidu Ya Na Volyushku
- 06. Voin Pravdy
- 07. Marena
- 08. Epilog
- 09. Oy, To Ne Vecher…