Arkona “Goi, Rode, Goi!” (2009)

01.  Goi, Rode, Goi!
02. Tropoiu Nevedannoi (On the Unknown Trail )
03. Nevidal (The Wonder)
04. Na Moey Zemle (In My Land)
05. Pritcha (The Parable)
06. V Tsepiakh Drevney Tainy (In Chains of Ancient Mystery)
07. Yarilo
08. Liki Bessmertnykh Bogov (Faces of Immortal Gods)
09. Kolo Navi  (Kolo of Nav)
10. Korochun
11. Pamiat  (The Memory)
12. Kupalets
13. Arkona
14. Nebo Hmuroe, Tuchi Mrachniye  (Sullen Sky Lurid Clouds)

Time: 79:39

Album recorded at CDM Records studio (Moscow sound) (October 2008 - May 2009),
except: Drums recorded at Gigant records studio, guitars recorded at Astia studio
Mixed at Deformation records studio (May, June 2009)
Produced by Sergey "Lazar" and Masha "Scream"
Mixing & mastering: Sergey "Lazar"
Music & Lyrics: Masha "Scream",
except:"Korochun" - music by Vladimir Volk;
"Na Moey Zemle" - lyrics by Arkona,  Månegarm, Obtest, Skyforger, Menhir, Heidevolk. 

Featuring:
Masha "Scream" - vocal, screaming, growling, keyboards, tambourines, shaker, khomuz, chore singing.
Sergey "Lazar" - guitars, acoustic guitar, balalaika, khomuz, Yakut jaw-harp ("Korochun")
Ruslan "Kniaz" - bass
Vlad "Artist" - drums
Vladimir "Volk" - Gaita Gallega, blockflute ("Korochun").
Vladimir Cherepovskiy (Pfeyffer, Coda) - Gaita Gallega, Small Pipe, tin whistle, low whistle, sopilka, zhaleyka, blockflute, okarina.
Ilya "Wolfenhirt" (Svarga) - chore singing
Aleksandr "Shmel" (Rarog, Kalevala) - chore singing
Aleksandr "Olen" (Kalevala) - accordeon
Erik Grawsio (Månegarm) - voice ("Na Moey Zemle")
Jan Liljekvist (Månegarm) - violin, flute ("Na Moey Zemle")
Baalberith (Obtest) - voice ("Na Moey Zemle")
Sadlave (Obtest) - voice ("Na Moey Zemle")
Peter (Skyforger) - voice ("Na Moey Zemle")
Edgar "Zirgs"(Skyforger) - voice ("Na Moey Zemle")
Kaspars (Skyforger) - pipes, kokle ("Na Moey Zemle")
Heiko Gerull (Menhir) - voice ("Na Moey Zemle")
Joris "Boghtdrincker" (Heidevolk) - voice ("Na Moey Zemle")
Mark "Splintervuyscht" (Heidevolk) - voice ("Na Moey Zemle")
Cosmin "Hultanu" Duduc (Ashaena) - tulnic ("Goi, Rode, Goi!")
Vasiliy Derevyanniy - domra ("Nebo Hmuroe, Tuchi Mrachniye", "Yarilo")
Dmitriy "Vetrodar" (Tverd) - mandoline ("Nebo Hmuroe, Tuchi Mrachniye") 
Also participated: string quintet under the direction of Aleksandr Kozlovskiy; female choir of Conductors Department of the State Musical Colledge named after the Gnessins (conductor: Sofia Sultanova).

 Goi, Rode, Goi!

Upon returning from a sea voyage, the warriors brave out a storm in the night which leads to a shipwreck on the reef. Wounded and freezing, the crew disembarks onto a small rocky island hoping to survive, but when they realize that they will not last out till morning, they pray to Wind-Stribog to bring the message about their death to their families and relatives. Perishing, the warriors thank Rod for the life they have been given.

“Not fallen victim to the surging water,
In the mortal fight with the wind,
Spreading hands to the skies,
You are waiting for Rod to answer.”

On the Unknown Trail

This song describes a man who perceives the Faith of ancestors as a dark evil cult. He performs dark rituals not realizing that he is appealing to a completely different form of power, alien to us. He soon falls mad, his mind prisoned by it.

“You are a child of false god
You roam the prison of vanity
The road to the arch Belief
You’re looking for is unseen.”

The Wonder

A young woman sees a dream which forebodes the suffering of her homeland and the death of her folk. Rising at the crack of dawn, she invokes the Sun to scorch all the filth that is drawing near her land. This song praises the strength of united people who can defend the Motherland from any disaster in their cohesion.

“Oi, my wonder
Oi, the restless
Oi, my soul
Is filled with sorrow.
Oi, we are dying
No mark leaves my foot
But no disaster I see
While we are standing our ground.”

In My Land

This is a song about a warrior who leaves his motherland to seek happiness in other countries. He meets foreign folk and asks them what their happiness is about. And they tell him that their happiness is their beautiful land, traditions, folk, home, their children, and Gods. After a long journey, the warrior returns back to his native land to find peace and happiness there.

“In the chains of oblivion
Of the coming force of joy
You will cry
“Here is my land!”

In Chains of Ancient Mystery

Standing near the grave of my ancestors, I swear to keep my Motherland safe and revive our ancient native traditions. Looking at the sky, I ask it to tell me about the heritage of the ancestry so I can bring it to life.

“What do the forgotten stones know?
What is hiding in them, alien to the living?
Wandering in chains of ancient mystery,
You invoke them with your thought.”

Yarilo

The song is about the celebration dedicated to the young Slavonic god of the spring sun called Yarilo. It is celebrated at the end of April by Slavic folks. Yarilo is believed to warm and fertilize the soil, so the first grass starts growing.

“Oi Yarilo, Yarilo, Yarilo!
The gloomy sky revealed you again
Goi, you, the young god!
Goi, we are invoking you!
Our hearts are blooming,
We praise you in our song.”

Faces of Immortal Gods

The song describes a human who has lost his reason for being. With his spirit in vexation, he stands on a crossroad, fearing death and having a wish to flee from the reality. Only the Faith can give him the will to live on.

“With life praying to your native shrines
You are looking into nowhere, in the mist of your dreams
And in this oblivion of the soul, in grey vain life
Will revive in your memory the faces of immortal Gods.”

Kolo of Nav

The song reflects the journey of the soul of a warrior fallen on a battlefield. Hovering above the ground, it sees the body, which was its home once, getting buried into the mound. The soul prays to the wind to let the gathered relatives know that it is near them.

“I see the fire flashes again
Souls of my family will perceive me.
In sore tears the memory is alive
Stribog will sing my song to them.”

The Memory

It is a prayer to Gods, asking them to return the forgotten past and the Faith of ancestors to us.

“Hey, get awake
The forgotten memory
Return to us the truth
Which has been hidden from people.”

Kupalets

A praising song. Kupalets is the ritual fire kindled for the Kupala celebration, on the day of the summer solstice.

“Oi flare, flare brightly
I invoke with my voice
Erect the bright Kolo
From the ground into the sky.”

Arkona

Arkona was once a fortress and the spiritual center of Baltic Slavonic tribes. It was destroyed by Christians in 1168. For us, as for many other Rodnovers, Arkona is the symbol of the lost but unforgotten lore which has been sleeping through the centuries, awaiting for its revival.

“Below the arch of skies
Arkona is sleeping in ruins
Soon the destroyed land will revive
And the fortress of Yar Kon
Will rise from the ashes.”

Sullen Sky, Lurid Clouds

A young woman receives a message saying that her husband fell in battle. Suffering from loneliness and desperation, she drowns herself in a river.

“Forgive me, my life
I leave, bowing to you
I see my dearest’s face in the sky
Sinking in the quick water.”