Arkona (band)

Arkona () is a Russian pagan metal band formed in 2002. Their lyrics are influenced by Russian folklore and Slavic mythology. They also use some traditional Russian musical instruments.
History.
The band was formed in February 2002 by two neopagans, Masha Arkhipova and Alexander Korolyov. More members joined, and they recorded their first demo, "Rus", in 2002. After recording the demo, they started to perform live with bands like Butterfly Temple, Pagan Reign, Svarga, and Rossomahaar.
The band broke up in September 2003 because of a lack of enthusiasm from some of the band members. Masha Arkhipova continued to write music, and she presented some of her new work to other bandmates from Nargathrond. The material was released in 2004 in the album, "Vozrozhdeniye". By this time, Sergei Atrashkevich, Ruslan Rosomaherov and Vlad Lyovushkin Sokolov joined the band. Their next album, "Lepta", was released on the same year.
In 2005, the band released the album "Vo slavu velikim!". The album was very diverse in that it had many different types of instruments. It was popular in Russia. The group performed the CD live in 2006, and released the live album "Zhizn vo Slavu". They released their fourth album, "Ot serdtsa k nebu", in 2007.
In 2008, the band performed at the Ragnarök Festival (a festival in Germany that features Viking metal, folk metal and pagan metal acts). The were then signed to the Napalm record label, which reissued their "Ot Serdtsa K Nebu" album and organized a 30-day European tour.
Their fifth album, "Goi, Rode, Goi!", was released on 28 October 2009, and featured 40 guest musicians, including a choir and a string quintet. The album title, "Goi, Rode, Goi", means "Hail, Rod, Hail!" Rod is a Slavic great god, Father of the Universe.
In 2010, the band played in more than 150 concerts all over Europe. One year later, they released their sixth studio album, "Slovo". The album was said to be more complex compared to their previous work. On that same year, they toured the world. They played in Canada, Mexico, United States and other metal festivals in Europe like Hellfest in France, With Full Force in Germany and Metalfest in Austria.
Their 10th anniversary concert was played in Moscow on 11 February 2012, along with other concerts held throughout Russia and Europe. They performed with bands like Dalriada and Darkest Era.
In October 2013, the band toured in the United States.
In January 2014, Arkona announced that drummer Vlad "Artist" Sokolov had left the band. This was their first lineup change in 10 years. Drummer Andrey Ishchenko joined the band as his replacement. In 2014, the released their seventh studio album, "Yav". The album is named after a dimension described in the Slavic pagan Book of Veles.