I've fallen in love with Soundage recently. This small-town Russian record label is consistently churning out quality folk/pagan/viking metal from the widest reaches of eastern Europe. Wolf Rahm, Beer Bear, Arkona...all have had their names made through this obscure group of metal enthusiasts. I'll admit, it's usually the album art that attracts me. I know the artwork shouldn't be anywhere near as important as the music within - but it really does make a difference when a band decides to have eye-catching or atmospherically appropriate album art. It was for this very reason I checked out a song by Sventoyar on YouTube - because the colourful and cultural packaging on "Unity", their 3rd full-length release, was so damn good! I mean...look at it! Gorgeous!
"Cultural" is the keyword here. After cautiously slipping this disc into your CD player (because you know how 'hit & miss' folk metal can be) you are instantly transported to the summery rape-fields of Ukraine, populated by the Slavic pagans who hold their ancient traditions in high regard. This atmosphere is achieved through various methods. Firstly, the use of traditional eastern instruments such as the sopilka and various types of whistles and flutes all contribute to the cultural timbre of "Unity". Secondly, the songs themselves are all traditional Russian/Ukrainian/Belorussian folk songs which have simply been 'metallized' - can't get more cultural than that! It may seem like a cop-out for a band, in terms of composition. But Sventoyar really make each song sound their own, smartly placing interesting time-signatures and familiar metal rhythms behind these ancient melodies.
However, the jewel in Sventoyar's crown is the hypnotic voice of Poloneya. The Ukrainian vocalist employs a traditional Slavic singing technique which comes across as brash and boisterous - but never loses that cultural flavour. At times she sounds slightly tuneless, but her performance is so bold and confident that it sweeps you away in a flood of atmospheric beauty. Just take a listen to the opening of 4th track "A Za Lesom-lesom" for a true taste of her ability as not just a singer, but a real expert of her craft. It's sincerely beautiful and gives me shivers every time
As previously mentioned, the songs themselves are all historic Slavic folk songs that have had the metal added to them. The metal in question bears strong resemblance to melodic death metal of the Gothenburg variety. In hard-hitting tracks such as "Na Gore Kalina", or opener "Travushka", it almost sounds as if Amon Amarth are providing accompaniment. This similarity is down to guitarist Yarognev's monstrous guitar tone, which really is the heaviest thing I've ever heard from a folk metal band. I'm not even kidding. It makes for an interesting and appealing contrast between the two styles, as opposed to being juxtaposed beyond common sense. From: https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/%D0%A1%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%8F%D1%80/%D0%84%D0%B4%D0%BD%D1%96%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C/395363/
