ARKONA
Two Decades: Live In Wroclaw
(Schattenkult Produktionen)
45:29min

Live albums, to me, are always a good way to feel the power of a live show without being there… to see if the band can deliver live as well as in the studio. Some bands’ live albums are a culmination of various nights, catching the best performances out of all of them, then combining them all to form one album. Thankfully, ARKONA recorded themselves playing a blistering set in one night. No tricks here. Just a bombardment of in-your-face Black Metal not for the weak. The live opener ‘Nieporozumienie W Bezsensie Istnienia’ blasts the audience with sheer Black Metal aggressiveness, setting the tone for the entire blood-draining performance. Celebrating 20 years of band history, ARKONA deliver scathing vocals, ear-bleeding guitars, and pounding drums taking us through ‘Kres Ludzkiej Doskonałości’, ‘Skrajna Nienawiść Egoistycznej Egzystencji’ and ending with ‘Zrodzony Z Ognia I Lodu’. Overall, eight tracks of pure Black Metal putridity reaching into our souls and ripping out the black hearts we all bleed through. If this live album is a fair representation of any given night, seeing them face to blood-curdling face in a small club performing live would make my life a little better. Hail to the mighty ARKONA! For more information, check out www.facebook.com/arkonahorde, www.facebook.com/pages/schattenkult-produktionen/695399133905557

David Simonton

David Simonton

Related reviews / interviews:
ARKONA - Arkona / Illness (Thomas Meyer)
ARKONA - Live... For The Glory (Matthias Auch)
ARKONA - Vozrozhdenie (Matthias Auch)
ARKONA - Vo Slavu Velikim (Matthias Auch)
ARKONA - Lepta (Matthias Auch)
ARKONA - Goi, Rode, Goi (Matthias Auch)

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