Russkaja – Energia! (2013)

In the same vein of truly unique and completely bizarre bands like Diablo Swing Orchestra and the Leningrad Cowboys, today we have Austria’s Russkaja and their latest release “Energia!”. Featuring 12 tracks of ‘Russian Turbo Polka’ music as the band describes it, any fan of truly experimental and very unique music will be creaming their pants with this bizarre musical output. Combining Polka, Metal, Ska, Rock, Jazz, and Funk, this release is anything but standard and predictable.

Open the release wide open we have the catchy “Energia!” a track so engaging that we are sure some people will immediately start dancing. The band’s sound resembles some of the Ska we have listened to in the past, but with a higher intensity and heavier guitars. “Barada” sounds like old Russian Rock songs that we had the misfortune of listening to on the net, but the band adds the wind instruments to keep it interesting and very catchy.

The super playful “Radost Moja” reminded us a lot of the Leningrad Cowboys” and their insane rhythms. “Autodrom” and “Instanbul” are good tracks to keep things in high gear, but the very funny “Violina Mia” is one of the best tracks in this release. This last track has a very unique rhythm that is nicely complemented by funny vocals and playful percussions, showing off the band’s musical talents. In terms of Metal elements, “Dikje Deti” starts with some killer Thrash Metal riffs and it suddenly shifts to a parade of trumpets before going into a killer solo… WTF indeed, but nonetheless one hell of a track indeed.

With a very eloquent title as “Ajajaj”, this is one of those songs that really show that Russkaja can basically sing about anything and still create very unique and engaging tracks without anybody needing to care about the lyrics. While “Tanzi Tanzi” delivers heavier riffing, the melancholic “Sorry” is a very emotional closer for this release. Said track has one of the most dramatic vocal performances of Georgij Makazaria in this release.

For fans of very traditional Metal, we can’t really recommend this release. However, if you are very open minded and like bands like D.S.O and such, then you will love Russkaja. “Energia!” is full of solid riffing, exciting trumpets, diverse violin sections, all put together in a very epic and engaging way by the band. If you want something that will get you off your seat and into a dancing trance, look no further and get this excellent release.

Release: April 7th, 2013

Genre: Russian Turbo Polka

Country: Austria