And sometimes they return from the valley of death – this is the most important fact about the third release from Moscow based Pagan band ARKONA. Since the very disappointing “Lepta” album which showed the band on a wrong track (with only a handful of really interesting songs) they did not totally refocus on their aggressive debut but ARKONA at least recorded (again) an album full of Pagan hymns. “Vo Slavu Velikim “(“For The Glory Of The Great Ones”) was originally released in 2005 after an intensive recording session and the album shows a further face of this interesting combo. The folklore percentage increased again and ARKONA decided to use only real instruments and as usual you can hear the difference. With these new influences the FINNTROLL fans but also fans of real folklore bands like STILLE VOLK will for sure realize the potential of this new rising star at the Pagan horizon. Based on this release it’s for sure no surprise that their fourth album had been released in Europe in 2007 on a much wider scale via Napalm Records. The essential ARKONA trademarks could also be found on “Vo Slavu Velikim” which are for sure the remarkable female vocals by their singer Scream and the Russian lyrics which are adding a kind of exotic touch to their music – a fact which is helping every band to survive the ongoing release overkill. Every real Pagan heart will fell the passion and heart blood within this great release (just listen to the various authentic instruments) and I think that with this potential it’s not exaggeration to expect further great releases from one of the best Russian Pagan Metal bands. www.vicrecords.com, www.arkona-russia.com