20.10.2012 Arkona

Metal Female Voices Fest X

Oktoberhallen Wieze (Belgium)

(Pentax K-5 with Tamron SP AF 17-50mm 2.8 XR Di II LD Asp IF and Sigma AF 50-150mm 2.8 EX DC APO HSM II)

What entered the band now was the biggest surprise of the festival for me. At least I had taken a look at each single band and seen that Arkona plays Russian pagan- / folk-metal. But the songs and videos from the internet could not even give the slightest impression of what kind of hurricane all of a sudden was rising on stage.
"Singer" Maria "Masha Scream" Arkhipova swirled permanently around and growled the songs to one. In proper style to their influences of Russian and Slavic mythology the band members were wearing fur and traditional vestments. Also the folkloric intruments are quite unusual as the bagpipe and flutes played by Vladimir "Volk" Reshetnikov but were perfectly fitting. The atmosphere at the audience was outstanding and better compared to all bands that played before. Arkona really knew how to get along with the villeins in front of the stage althogh nearly nobody understood one single word of the lyrics. The energy with that they were conveying them was simply enough.
And so it in the middle of the concert something happened that never happened there before: Maria asked for a wall of death and directly the crowd speparated in the middle to storm onto each other when the music arose and to lead over into a big pit afterwards. Incredible! Such a heated atmosphere the Octoberhallen and the Metal Female Voices Fest had never seen before. What an energy and what a charisma, additionally brilliant songs, something more terrific had not been there during the festival. So unknown the band was to me beforehand, so strongly it remained in my mind and there will be several in the audience that were having the same impression.

Setlist:

Az
Arkaim
Goi, Rode, Goi!
Ot Serdca K Nebu
Piamat
Slavsya Rus
Zakliatie
Slovo
Stenka Na Stenku
Yarilo

Weblinks:

	Arkona Homepage of the Russian band Arkona.
	Metal Female Voices Fest Homepage of the Metal Female Voices festival at Wieze (Belgium).
	Oktoberhallen Homepage of the Oktoberhallen at Wieze (Belgium).