We have three months left in 2016, and there are still can’t-miss releases on the horizon before we reach New Year’s Day. Judging by the stunning new song you’re about to hear, we’re compelled to say that the new album Lunaris by the long-running Polish band Arkona will be one of these. The album is set for release on November 4 by Debemur Morti Productions, and the name of the song is “Ziemia“.
Arkona must be considered among the pioneers of Polish black metal, with demos that date back to 1994 and a debut album (Imperium) released in 1996. Lunaris is the band’s sixth album in that long career, and the second following a span between 2003 and 2014 when the band only participated in a few splits. This is their first album on the Debemur Morti label.
“Ziemia” is a study in the integration of contrasts. It’s richly atmospheric — mystical and cadaverous, nightmarish and majestic — with a sweeping, mesmerizing melody that’s driven home by ringing chords, rippling lead guitar, and waves of symphonic and choral keyboard ambience.
But the music is also powerful and propulsive, driven by hard-hitting drumwork and a lively bass that are forward in the mix. The song’s intensity ebbs and flows, with mid-paced back-beats punctuated by bursts of double-bass thunder and rapid, blast-beat mortar fire. The vocals drip poison and spit shards of broken glass, becoming explosively wrenching as the music reaches its summits of emotional extremity.
The complex mood of the powerful melody that flows through the song as it crests and subsides is subject to interpretation — in the case of this listener, it seems like an unlikely intersection of dark romance, aching grief, and the fear of an impending doom. Although the emotional resonance of the song may change depending on the listener’s own mental and emotional state, one aspect of the music likely won’t change: It’s a song that’s hard to forget.
Circle the date on your calendars: Debemur Morti Productions will release Lunaris on November 4. To pre-order the album in a variety of formats, use these links:
Digital:
https://dmp666.bandcamp.com/album/lunaris
Digipack CD:
http://www.debemur-morti.com/en/arkona/592-arkona-lunaris-digipack-cd.html
Gatefold 12″ LP:
http://www.debemur-morti.com/en/arkona/593-arkona-lunaris-gatefold-vinyl.html
ARKONA on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/arkonahorde/
DMP Web Links:
http://www.debemur-morti.com
http://www.facebook.com/debemurmorti
http://dmp666.bandcamp.com
17 Responses to “AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ARKONA — “ZIEMIA””
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Not the Arkona i was hopeing for, but still pleasantly surprised
Polish one, actually predates the Russian band by several years
Pretty cool track…actually looking forward to hearing more from this
nothing special. underwhelming. fairly standard mid-tempo black metal.
Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your provocative thoughts with us. Please come back soon and share more thought-provoking thoughts, which no doubt will make us reflect upon and reconsider our opinions.
Well it’s hard to not have impression that “you kinda have heard that before”. It sorta sounds like ukrainian legend Drudkh. It seems like Drudkh ( and ofcourse related projects like Hate Forest and Astrofaes ) have really strong influence on polish BM. Yet it have some sort of individual character.
Methinks with a genre so niche as black metal and all its restrictions even with all those post-atmo-symfo-melo-whatever prefixes it’s hard for a band not to sound similar to or inspired by any other band that was or still is active, so I think your comment is kind of justifiable. Anyway, yours may just as well apply to any bm band trying to get into limelight – it’s as early as back in the 90s of the previous millennium that some journalists started to wonder if a new band played the genre in the Greek or Norwegian fashion whenever a new one came up somewhere – by this measure your opinion is already pretty generic.
Am I the only one thinking “Drudkh” while listening to track “Ziemia”? Especially in the part “DumDumDumDumTssss”.
Oh Man that was a fucking awesome song. I will check this band out. Another great find. About Drudkh though–I do not hear much resemblance.
Nice, to hear you like BM from “our” part of Europe. I recomend you to check out atleast polish and especially Ukrainian Black Metal scene. To me they are ( since about last 2 decades ) far more interesting than other parts of Europe.
And back to this track.
I do not say they sound rike “ripoff”. Arkona has also individual characteristics. Well drums and growling kinda reminds me the way Drudkh “do their job”. There is also something quiet close in variations of tempo during song. And the way this track was mixed also, but it’s non direct musical similarity.
Well just listen to albums like “Autumn Aurora” and “Blood in our wells”.
Their official bandcamp https://drudkh.bandcamp.com/
I think you would be more then glad to check also related to Drudkh ( members of Drudkh are/were members of those bands ) bands like Astrofaes, Kladovest, Hate Forest, Blood of Kingu. They are freaking legends.
On the other hand I may be biased as I’m Drudkh obsessed fan. But Drudkh’s influence on scene in this part of Europe is undeniable.
Ah and Polish bands like Plaga, Furia, Morowe may also be interesting for you.
Furia just released new material, if interested, go here:
http://www.pagan-records.com/webshop/shoper5/en_GB/p/FURIA-Ksiezyc-milczy-luty-CD/9573
http://www.pagan-records.com/webshop/shoper5/en_GB/p/FURIA-Guido-LP-EP/9572
You may also try polish band Morowe if you are not afraid of listening to post black metal avantgarde.
And also band Odraza
Thanks for these recommendations Slav. I do indeed like BM from “your’ part of Europe. I do know Plaga and they are great. And Blood of Kingu I have listened to. The others are new to me. Here’s a question for you: I have only been to one country in eastern Europe–Georgia (beautiful country, loved it). Any metal (BM or otherwise) from there?
you could also recommend Mord’A’Stigmata, Thy Worshipper, or lots of other stuff, but nothing beats Duszę Wypuścił or Wędrowcy Tułacze Zbiegi for post-whatever-y avant-anything (actually it’s the same things under different names)
Today we have another Arkona song premiere:
https://www.nocleansinging.com/2016/10/26/an-ncs-premiere-arkona-smierc-i-odrodzenie/