Licensing issues prevented Aria from releasing their two albums with Artur Berkut internationally or even including tracks from them on compilations for years. As a result, the band simply decided to re-record the albums with their current – and best – singer Mikhail Zhitnyakov this year. Not a bad idea, because those outside of Russia and other former Soviet countries who are now discovering Aria’s discography through digital media were missing out on some truly excellent tracks. In fact, ‘Kresheniye Ognëm’ – originally released in 2003 and the first of the two albums – is loaded with Aria classics that are still frequently played live today.

At the time of the release of ‘Kresheniye Ognëm’, Aria had something to prove. Their legendary singer Valery Kipelov had left the band only a year prior and took both guitarist Sergey Terentyev and drummer Aleksandr Maniakin with him, leaving only founding guitarist Vladimir Holstinin and bassist and main songwriter Vitaly Dubinin to rebuild the band. Such a split could have crippled any band, but in Aria’s case, it only restored the focus of the band. Prior years had been plagued by various band members trying to pull Aria in different directions. ‘Kresheniye Ognëm’ brought Aria back to what they did best: traditional heavy metal with triumphant melodies.

While the album contained quite a few future classics, there is one song on ‘Kresheniye Ognëm’ that will likely get Aria into trouble if they don’t play it live and that is ‘Kolizey’. The song has one of the most incredible choruses in Aria history and a feel that is somewhat hardrock-ish, but not without the tight riffing that defines heavy metal. Zhitnyakov enhances the chorus beyond how good it already was and invites listeners to sing along even if they don’t speak Russian. The title track also became a classic with its strong build-up, propulsive rhythms and cathartic chorus.

Despite all these Aria staples – the dramatic, theatrical epic ‘Palach’ is another one – the most interesting thing about this re-recording of ‘Kresheniye Ognëm’ is probably to hear the deeper cuts with Zhitnyakov and a line-up that has nearly two decades of experience playing together. The uptempo, energetic opener ‘Patriot’ was one I particularly looked forward to and it does not disappoint. The original production was a little too dry for its own good; the re-recording tightens the track up as seemingly always intended. For similar reasons, tracks ‘Tvoy Noviy Mir’, the rocking ‘Beliy Flag’ and the pounding ‘Bitva’ – the first of many excellent songwriting contributions by then-new guitarist Sergey Popov – are lifted to a significantly higher level, with especially ‘Tvoy Noviy Mir’ suddenly revealing its brilliance to me.

Re-recorded albums will always spark discussion about which version is better. Vocally, I will always prefer Zhitnyakov’s cleaner, more theatrical approach, but I can see why people would prefer Berkut’s rawer vocals. In terms of production, the re-recording of ‘Kresheniye Ognëm’ really kicks up things a notch or two though. The bottom end got a significant upgrade, with Dubinin’s bass having a nice warmth to it and Maxim Udalov’s bass drums having a modern, tight low-end that really enhances the rhythms. Ultimately, the best thing about this version of ‘Kresheniye Ognëm’ is that everybody can now listen to it easily. I suggest that you do.

Recommended tracks: ‘Kolizey’, ‘Kresheniye Ognëm’, ‘Patriot’, ‘Tvoy Noviy Mir’