Rating: 6/10
Release: March 2012
Label: SoundAge Productions

The Russian folk-metalband Kalevala has released an acoustic live-album. Kalevala is normally not very metal, their music can be considered as folk-rock with every now and then a song which is more metal, but they’re also playing songs which are almost pure folk. The voice of Xena is highly suited for this. For a huge band like Kalevala is in Russia it’s quite a logic step to make an album like this to highlight their great acoustic skills.
The arrangements for the songs are not or not strongly rewritten. Where we see in the Nackt-tour of Subway to Sally songs which are fully rewritten and sometimes almost unrecognisable, we find with Kalevala they keep it to playing their regular songs in an acoustic way.
Songs like Милый (Darling) and Гой, олень (Goy, Deer) sound different, without their electric guitar-sound, but they don’t sound less. In Goy, Deer is an nice piece where the song goes seamless to a little piece of Finntroll an back again.
Other songs like Пастушок (Shepherd), are almost the original.

In short this album has nothing to offer for our die-hard metalfans.
This one’s more a collector’s item for the Kalevala fan, rather than the folk-metalfan.
Do you listen to more music than only metal, and do you like folky music. This can be interesting for you, it’s a nice easy CD with folky music. And it must be said the music is of hight quality.
It’s sounds like fun to see the band perform acoustic sometime.
Personally I prefer their harder work, which sounds slightly less heavy because of the beautiful female vocals, which cut of the sharp edges.
The score of 3/5 is based on the larger part of our readers who especially like the heavier folky music.
I can’t wait to hear Kalevala’s next ‘normal’ album and keep this as a collector’s item.

Tracklist

1. Приветствие (Welcome) 00:47
2. Камышовая тропа (Reed Trail) 04:33
3. Ярило (Yarilo) 05:48
4. Плакали вербы (Weeping Willow) 05:01
5. Кукушкины дети (Cuckoo Children) 03:56
6. Гой, олень (Goy, Deer) 03:49
7. Милый (Darling) 03:06
8. Ладушка (Ladushka) 03:43
9. Пастушок (Shepherd) 02:36
10. Ведьма (Witch) 04:49
11. Сварожья ночь (Svarog Night) 05:02
12. Калевала (Kalevala) 04:55
13. Снега белые крыла (Snow White Wing) 04:40
14. Воротись домой (Returned Home) 03:29
15. Горсти талого снега (Handful of Melted Snow) 04:00
16. Там, где солнце отправляется в путь (Where the sun hits the road) 02:56
17. Ой, при лужке (Oh, the meadow) 04:52
18. Кудель белоснежного льна (Tow Snow-white Linen) 06:26