adg211288 Слово (Slovo) is the sixth full-length album by Russian folk metal act Аркона (Arkona), which was released in 2011. It follows on from the EP release Стенка на стенку (Stenka na Stenku) which was released earlier in the year, of which the EP’s title track also appears here. Like prior releases the album features a number of guest musicians including Meri Tadic of Eluveitie, and a full orchestra.

Now Аркона has really been on a role with their albums since 2005’s Во славу Великим! (Vo Slavu Velikim!). Each release has been pretty much faultless and they’ve delivered three masterpieces of their genre in a row. So logic says that eventually they’re going to trip up and after the fan’s only release that was the Стенка на стенку EP, I did wonder if Слово might end up being the release that did that tripping up. To be honest even then I was still expecting a solid album from Аркона since as a band they’re still miles ahead of many other acts, but to my pleasant surprise if this is that hidden tree root on the forest path then Аркона has casually stepped over it and delivered yet another folk metal gem. While thoughts of ‘how?’ may resonate through my mind at them being able to do a fourth album this great, here’s why it is.

The presence of the orchestra gives the album more of a symphonic feel than any of the band’s prior work, but I wouldn’t call Слово a change in direction for Аркона, more like it’s an expansion of their vision. Their use of actual instruments to produce their folk sounds remains and as usual I can’t find anything to fault with their take on the folk melodies. What’s perhaps more notable for the metal fan is that there seems to be some additional prominence given to Sergey "Lazar"’s guitar riffs, with gives the band’s songs some additional metal bite, not that they weren’t heavy to begin with since the band is rotted firmly in the extremer side of the folk metal genre. Back to the orchestra it doesn’t steer Аркона onto the symphonic folk path that acts such as Turisas follow. This is still very much a folk metal album with the band’s typical extreme metal leanings, but the orchestra really adds extra depth to the sections of the album it’s used on, and the resulting sound is an Аркона that is even more epic than before, which is quickly heard on the opening introduction track Азъ (Az’).

While music is in some ways typical for Аркона (but then bear in mind that typical Аркона is usually nothing less than masterful), Слово is notable for not sounding like a re-working of past releases. All the key elements of the band’s sound remain with the expansions outlined above, but the album has its own identity amongst their back catalogue. The flow of the songs is really excellent, especially the way Азъ moves into Аркаим (Arkaim), which is easily one of the very best that Слово has to offer.

As usual the band varies the approach to the metal side of their music. While there is plenty of room for vocalist and band mastermind Masha “Scream”’s folksy clean vocals, there are also some real intense metal parts where she unleashes her death growl, to the point that some of the music goes all the way into death metal territory, such as in Никогда (Nikogda). The riffs are sometimes more in a black metal vein in some places, although the group never go completely in this direction as they do with the death metal stuff. The folk side is usually leaning towards the darker and melancholy type, which is fitting with the extreme metal, but there are a couple of moments where the folk takes a ‘happier’ turn in Леший (Leshiy) and also in the familiar track from the EP, Стенка на стенку.

One more thing of note is how easily I was able to get into Слово compared to other Аркона releases, even the one’s I now dub as masterpieces. While I normally require a few listens to the albums in one hit to really get into them, Слово captures me right from the start and simply refuses to let go until its conclusion almost an hour later. Better still it doesn’t lose any appeal after becoming familiar with it.

Just how Аркона have managed to make a fourth masterpiece in a row is beyond me, but I’m very pleased that they have. They had me worried after the recent EP, but the doubts I had were ultimately needless. Once again Аркона proves that they are one of the most essential folk metal acts in existence. Overall I have to say that the prior album Гой, Роде, Гой! (Goi, Rode, Goi!) just about tops Слово because Слово does actually have one track that just doesn’t quite sit right for me, which is Потомок (Potomok), but fortunately Потомок is just one of a couple of interlude pieces, and one that doesn’t last even a full minute at that, but nevertheless I have to mention that Слово sounds a ever so slightly less cohesive package because of its presence.

But all in all this is definitely one of the albums of the year, and it is worth noting that it has been an extremely good year.

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven, scored at 9.7/10)