Artist: Drudkh
Title: Eternal Turn Of The Wheel
Type: Album
Label: Season Of Mist

 

It’s now album number nine for Drudkh, it seems like nothing is going to slow the Ukrainian horde down and stop them releasing albums. Actually it has been over a year since ‘A Handful Of Stars,’ even if it does feel like it was only released yesterday. Perhaps it is because when not recording as Drudkh, the band members are all really busy in other projects, it certainly was only yesterday that their collaboration with Alcest’s Neige under the Old Silver Key banner dropped. Then again Roman Saenko and his comrades do not have the distractions that others in bands have; they don’t give interviews and they don’t play live so apart from the normal run of the mill things like day jobs and families that we guess keep them busy, it’s just the albums to contend with.

 

So what with so little information can I tell you about Drudkh that you don’t already know? Well this rather prolific output may have led you to think there was a certain stagnation setting in. What was the last truly great album they released in your mind? Put on the spot I would probably go with ‘Blood In Our Wells’ from 2006. There is absolutely no touching the first couple of albums in the slightest but things have gotten a bit samey and apart from a slight experimental feel on ‘Handful Of Stars’ the group have stuck to things with dogged perseverance, possibly succeeding as even Drudkh at their safest is still damn good. So onto the ‘Eternal Turn Of The Wheel,’ again no surprise looking at the formatting. We have a brief intro and four songs bordering on the 8-10 minute mark; 36 minutes and all done. Apparently the band are “returning to their black roots” and using “self penned lyrics” rather than those from some hoary poet (not that we would have been any the wiser on this particular fact to be honest).

 

After ‘Eternal Circle’ sets the frame with acoustic guitar and whistling wind we are dropped into the ‘Breath Of Cold Black Soil’ (possibly a sample of which will be included in the special edition) and a bruising welter of drums from percussionist Vlad. Yes we can immediately see that they have their anger back and Roman’s guttural, indignant howls only go to add to the blazing, incendiary musicianship. The melody is as ever very important and the track goes into a canter and allows it to gleam through with bouncy riffs and jagged fervour before it again unmercifully ploughs back in. Add a maudlin acoustic part with haunting tones, and eerie keyboard, and the atmosphere and passion is invoked. Just when you think the track is going to simmer and stir and repeat itself for the ten minute running time they do surprise and the way it trails towards the end has an experimental feel with odd bass strums and an almost freefall drumming rhythm taking it to conclusion. Continuing, the band mix and match textures. ‘When Gods Leave Their Emerald Halls’ is full on and played expertly, hitting magnificent peaks raging around the gravid vocals. ‘Farewell To Autumn’s Sorrowful Birds’ even has the avian cry in the background around the wind, as the song starts sombrely before emigrating speedily away and gathering flight majestically. Well excuse the literal interpretation from the song title but what are you meant to do when they are so descriptive?

 

That leads to last one “Night Woven Of Snow, Winds And Grey-Haired Stars.’ No, seriously that’s just silly and taking it too far, whoever heard of a grey-haired star? (type it into a search engine and you get a hair care product fit for covering up the hairs of stars like Helen Mirren), preposterous and as far removed from the ethos of black metal as possible, luckily the track is excellent.

 

It kind of makes one wonder if Drudkh are just having a big old laugh at the fans lapping up their stuff really, doesn’t it? Well you can take what you want from this and either yawn and think of it as same old, same old, or indeed think it’s their best effort in ages. Writing this review I actually find I am arguing with myself but at the end of the day can only say it’s Drudkh, it’s a solid album and musically without them bringing us something new every year or so, we would certainly miss them.  (7 Pete Woods)

http://www.myspace.com/drudkhofficial