Only for avid collectors and die-hard fans - A review of Ария's Армагеддон 2020

This is the second and last studio album featuring former singer Arthur Berkut that Russian heavy metal pioneers Aria decided to record again with their current line-up. While the new recordings worked well for the other album in its atmospheric, calm and epic parts, they don't work particularly well on this traditional heavy metal album.

A good example for this is album opener ''Последний закат'' that started the original release with a bang with energetic rhythm section, heavy riffs and passionate vocals. The new version sounds more melodic and tame and while Mikhail Zhitnyakov's vocals sound decent as usual, the instrumental work sounds uninspired. Another obvious example is original single ''Чужой'' that made heads turn back in the days with a surprisingly dark sound with industrial soundscapes and slightly discordant guitar effects. The new version sounds much more polished which could please to fans of traditional metal but takes away the unique identity of the original version in my opinion.

The enhanced keyboard sounds and more polished guitar sound benefit the album's few calm and epic tunes. ''Викинг'' for instance has an intriguingly elegiac tone that invites to dream yourself far away. Bonus track ''На крыльях ветра'' had initially been released three years after the original album and was composed by Alexander Borodin for the opera Prince Igor and adapted and arranged by Aria guitarist Vladimir Kholstinin. This unusual instrumental tune works well in the context of this new mellower version of the original album.

In the end, this re-recorded version doesn't have the energy, flow and grit of the original album as especially the bass guitar sounds less domineering while keyboard passages enhance mellower soundscapes. This approach doesn't work well for the record's shorter an heavier tunes and only offers interesting new soundscapes in the few more atmospheric tunes. In the end, this re-recording was rather unnecessary and is only interesting for avid collectors and die-hard fans. Anyone else should stick to the better original version that offers very good traditional heavy metal with powerful rhythm section, energetic vocals and crunchy guitar sound.

Final rating: 70%