I have to admit that I went into this review a little blind, not really knowing much about Drunemeton except an awareness that they are Russian Pagan Black Metal……I googled “Drunemeton” to try to do a bit of background research and came across the Oxford Reference definition as “The ‘oak sanctuary’ of Galatia, the Celtic province of Asia Minor, as described by Strabo (1st cent. ad), the Roman geographer. A council of the Galatians met here.” I guess that may give some idea of the inspirations behind the band and their lyrics and it left me doing seem more background reading exploring some of these ideas, but that’s not what we want to hear about in an album review so I will move back to the music!

This is Drunemeton’s third full length, as well as numerous splits and singles, and comprises seven tracks, all clocking in at well over eight minutes with the exception being the closing instrumental. The opening track ‘Gates Of Antiquity’ is the longest on album at over ten and a half minutes. This is a bold move but works well as a statement of intent. From the outset there is a symphonic, majestic feel to proceedings as harsh vocals, riffs and blast beats wrestle to be heard over the prominent keyboard melodies.

This continues on ‘Over The Land Of Galatia’ which opens to the sound of screeching birds before more symphonic black metal with prominent keyboard melodies is blasting forth. On both of these tracks, the mix seems quite messy which is a shame as there is great potential here. Things step up a gear with ‘In Breath Of Majestic Carpathia’ and after the sounds of a bubbling brook, the keyboard melody kicks in accompanied by the sound of baying wolves. The track builds and feels far more substantial than the first two tracks, with more depth and urgency and is a fine piece of symphonic black metal.

The step up in quality continues with ‘Over The Bivfrost’. The keys are still prominent but the drums are now well balanced with the blast beats, galloping rhythms and harsh vocals. There is a subtle change with ‘Blood Ornament In The Soil Of Slavia’ which sounds a little more like pagan black metal with its glorious epic melody running through it like a pulsating artery. We return to symphonic, but gnarly, black metal for ‘Return to Old Europe’ with the vocals a little subdued but this has the effect of making them sound a little more sinister. The final track is nearly six minutes of keyboard melodies. It feels too long to be an outro and would perhaps have worked better as an interlude somewhere mid album.

So all in all this is something of a mixed bag. There are flashes of brilliance, showcasing the talent and potential here, but this album doesn’t quite show it off to its full potential. I shall wait for the next album with interest.

(7/10 Andy Pountney)

https://www.facebook.com/drunemetonsacredgrove

https://derschwarzetod.bandcamp.com/album/return-to-old-europe