The PAGAN MUSIC LIST is an attempt to create a comprehensive list of Pagan, Heathen, Esoteric, Animist, and related music that we listen to and love. We include embedded YouTube, Soundcloud, or Bandcamp links when possible for each artist.

Previous collections in this series have been archived here, and new collections of reviews will be posted monthly (supporters get early access to new collections—find out more here).

We also provide a constantly updated index of artists that we have reviewed by name and genre.

And if you are a Spotify listener, you can click on the embedded player to listen to the full updated playlist!

Collection 19: Slavic Edition

This edition of the Pagan Music List focuses on music with Slavic pagan influences. Slavic peoples comprise the vast majority of Eastern Russia’s inhabitants, as well as majority of people in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, the Baltic states, the Balkans, and much of the Czech republic and Slovakia.

That is, the Slavic peoples all have a common historical origin, and despite current political strife and conflict, they all share a rich collective cultural heritage.

UGNIAVIJAS

Lithuanian folk

Website: https://ugniavijas.bandcamp.com/

Ugniavijas means “fire” in Lithuanian, and is also the name of one of this all-male folk band from Lithuania. Around since 2007, their performance are a mainstay for many Baltic musical festivals.

My favorite song from them is Tu Eglute, which tells the story of a rash young man who joins the army in rebellion, because his father forbade him to marry so young.

Another great song is Oi šermukšnio:

Żywiołak

Polish folk/punk

Website: http://zywiolak.pl/pl/

This band’s lots of fun, and it’s tragically rare to find this kind of music in the world. Żywiołak (“elemental” in Polish) makes Slavic folk punk, a lot like Irish folk punk but with actual pagan influences.

They were founded in 2005 in Warsaw, and are still performing from what I’ve been able to find out.

Check out their song Noc Kupały (Kupala Night), which is also the name of the traditional Slavic celebration of the Summer Solstice.

Even more blatantly is their song Sol Invictus, whose lyrics describe Slavic pagan rituals in detail.

Мельница (Melnitsa)

Folk/Rock from Russia

Website: https://melnitsa.info/

Melnitsa is a Russian folk-rock band headed by Natalya O’Shea which became quite popular in Russia and other neighboring countries. Their songs and videos borrow from traditional Slavic myths and stories, and the music is really, really good.

Here’s their song Прощай (“farewell”), which is probably their most engaging song:

This song, На север (‘to the north’) is not only quite beautiful but rather haunting. The lyrics tell of war and its sorrow, and especially of fighters making their last stand.

Стары Ольса (Stary Olsa)

Stary Olsa is a traditional medieval folk band from Belarus whose style is very reminiscent of many German medieval rock bands. Their name is a reference to a river, the “old Olsa” which is a tributary of the larger Olsa river.

Their specific focus is on re-creations of the music and spirt of the last pagan kingdom of Europe, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, before it fell to the Templars and the Roman Catholic Church. That being said, they also do covers of modern songs, including by Metallica.

Here’s Балада пра Цмока (Dragon Ballad):

GO_A

Electronic Folk (Ukraine)

Official Website: https://go-a-band.com/ (currently down)

And even if it were not for current events, no list of Slavic pagan music could possibly be complete without including the Ukrainian electro-folk band Go_A, whose song “Shum” became quite famous because of its appearance in the 2021 Eurovision song contest. The song is an old pagan melody about awakening spring.

The Pagan Music List 19: Slavic Edition