Microcosmos

After "Estrangement" comes their seventh - "Microcosmos".

It is becoming a general rule that after a disastrous album (in the widespread view of many fans; not me), Drudkh releases the great one or at least just good one. That has happened in the situation with "The Swan Road" - "Blood In Our Wells", approximately the same happened in the current situation. After the "fail" (but again - for the majority; not for me) in the form of "Estrangement", rather coldly treated by fans, comes "Microcosmos", which can be characterized as the classics of such kind of metal up till now.

I don't know what is leading these people who gives absolutely different marks for Drudkh's albums. I do not mean that Drudkh performs a totally same music all over the years, but it doesn't really differ by its beauty, atmosphere and meaning. Every album has its own either positive or negative points, but, I suppose, it looks pretty foolish, if you give 10 for one album and 100 to another. It's not my deal, of course, but, to put it mildly, it is at least imprudent.

"Estrangement" has many ambient insets, sounds monotonous, melancholic and even one-sided, but I really like it. And "Microcosmos" has utterly different stylistics. Its sound is closer even to "The Swan Road" (yes-yes, exactly to this one). The presence of a big amount of atmospheric and breathtaking solos ("Ars Poetica" and "Everything Unsaid Before" are a really good examples - almost the whole tracks are big solos), much faster instruments' playing and more raw vocals and sounding point to the certain likeness to the third opus by Drudkh.

As for me, "Microcosmos" is the most atmospheric Drudkh's album (however, their style means the pure atmosphere a priori, that one is the most). There are less ambient insets (as compared with early albums). So, it has its own hand and it has its special thrill of performing. Not to say, I like it most from other works of these ukrainian genius (while "The Swan Road" is the best of the best for me), it is just appeals to me with the musical part.

Absolutely exact mark is 99 of 100.

To highlight: Ars Poetica, Everything Unsaid Before.

Opening with a sample of some Ukrainian folk music isn't so new for Drudkh, but the piece that opens this album is highly atmospheric and gives the album a strong folk feeling from the get go. Then we are treated with a blast beaten atmospheric black metal attack that transforms into a melancholic and beautiful mid-pace section. Yes this is pretty par for the course for Drudkh, but it's a step up from the at times dead feeling Estrangement.

Mixed in with all this are the super metal solos and sections that have a strong progressive feeling. The song structures are given a strong prog rock influence throughout, meaning there are some odd ball changes here and there to throw the listener in for a loop, and touches here and there of some post-rock elements that would be manifested even stronger on their newest album Handful of Stars. But all this is balanced out by the fact that the primary elements of the album are drawn from Drudkh's by now trademark sound.

I would say that where this album differs from older ones is that it takes the experimentation of songwriting begun on Blood in the Wells, and continued on Estrangement and magnifies it. It still is within the same general tone of the last few recordings, but has a stronger prog rock feeling, and an even more busy bass, which is pretty cool since anymore metal is general known for bass which generally follows the root notes like an Arab wife in Saudi Arabia.

The production is clear and one of Drudkh's best, easily up there with Blood In Our Wells, if not even better then said album. All instruments are crystal clear, and I like a lot the very powerful drum sound they got on this album (and continued on the next). Granted Drudkh's albums have for the most part always featured excellent production (except for The Swans Road) and have always had one of the best drum sounds.

Although I greatly enjoy this album, I have a few complaints, one is that the mixture of progressive, post-rock elements and the classic Drudkh sound somehow seem to clash a bit, this was at times an issue on Estrangement as well, but is magnified here. Though it flows fairly well, there is still the feeling at times of dislocation in certain sections, like they're trying too hard to throw the listener some curve balls. In this case the next album is a bit better since it's overall rather odd, so the post-rock and progressive elements seem to fit better.

Despite the above quibble, this is still a powerful release, and continues Drudkh's winning streak of excellent folky, depressive black metal.

Seeing as the newest Drudkh sucks balls, I figured it was time to revisit something that's been a steady grower ever since I first heard it. After hearing a few Drudkh albums- BIOW, Swan Road, Anti-Urban, whatever that crappy acoustic one was called- I'd assumed that these guys were never gonna top that majestic bit of Burzum love that's "Autumn Aurora". That assumption is still correct, of course- this isn't as good as that release- but it does prove that they're not a one trick pony. This is a pretty unique album, and a very good one, too.

I guess the simplest way to describe the differences between this release and the one other good Drudkh release is that a few years after Autumn Aurora our favourite ukrainians discovered two things, first off that you could layer stuff and secondly that the bass is an instrument, not merely a type of fish. Songwriting's got a bit more complex as well, I reckon; I remember thinking with some tune of Anti-Urban that these dudes had perhaps heard a bit of prog or even post- type stuff or something, here tunes like Distant Cries of Cranes affirm it.

Distant Cries of Cranes is the key here really, whether you've always been a non-fan or like me you think their only good album was Autumn Aurora, DCoC may be the thing to change your mind. Starts off typically drudkh-ish; solid enough riffs and stuff, but things get decidely better when these dudes pull a stunning instrumental section completely out of nowhere. Folky acoustics, lead bass with a surprisingly DeMaio like tone, eventually leading into a big wall of fuzzy foresty despair. Wouldn't surprise me if this track is meant to be some reflection on the Holodomor, maybe. Who knows, regardless it's sweet. The whole formula of that track is repeated very ably in Ars Poetica; 5 or so minutes of usual stuff, then a big build towards some very satisfying loud fuzziness. Arguably they're a bit too similar, perhaps; but seeing as both tracks end in a very satisfying manner it's no problem for me. If it works there's no harm in repeating it a few times, y'know?

In general this album has a lot more that keeps it interesting than most previous releases. More dynamics, more interesting guitar parts, generally less static. I think one thing that really elevates this album up is that there's less reliance on those big, stately sad chords type riffs, oh, they're still used, but more as a climax thing, and it works well. There's more in the way of dynamics being used, the songs have a lot of variation- that big guitar solo in Everything Unsaid!- lots of different tempos being utilised instead of the increasingly boring sad-varg temp that they were thrashing- while things that have worked well before- the production, the guitar tone, the busy yet still subtle drum lines, the buried vocals- are still there. Note to all bands (including Drudkh, who couldn't leave well enough alone and released "A Handful of Stars")- this is a great example of how to evolve your sound without sucking! It's not that difficult, just don't be an idiot about how you go about it.

Yep, all in all this is well solid, almost as good as AA and proves that hey, Drudkh didn't just make a good album by accident. Well worth getting!

I've fallen into a love/hate relationship with the music of Drudkh. Some of his early albums (Forgotten Legends and Autumn Aurora, I didn't care for The Swan Road) are paramount examples of longing, despair, and the bitterness of a neglected musical wilderness. Blood In Our Wells was a phenomenal, career defining album which addressed and honored the past of a people we sadly ignore in today's European-hating reality. But the past two albums went in and out of my ears with little fanfare.

Thankfully, Microcosmos is both a near return to the quality of his earlier works and a progression that showcases what this band is capable of: works of emotional intensity that resound long past the actual physical exposure to the songs, and a depressive, beautiful landscape for those deep in thought. "Days That Passed" opens a brief window into the great past of the Motherland, before the epic surge of "Distant Cries of Cranes", which is 9 minutes of bliss that contains shades of much of the band's far reaching career within a single 'microcosmos'. Melodic, haunting and glorious. "Decadence" is a far more somber piece, but I enjoyed the attentive, wandering bass guitars throughout the track, and the bluesy despair it conjures. "Ars Poetica" is a darker, swerving piece with an interesting prog rock break near the end, but not one of my favorites on the album. "Everything Unsaid Before" has some moments of brilliance, but just as many moments of dullness. "Widow's Grief" is a lovely little sendoff.

The album is fittingly raw when needed, yet clear enough to capture the myriad tones expressed through the bands almost constant sense for melody. Vocals are bleak but unimpressive. Overall, I enjoyed two of the songs deeply, as well as the intro and outro pieces. The other two tracks were a mixed bag, but Microcosmos will certainly please fans of this band's previous wanderings, and perhaps pull in a few more.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Drudkh is a Ukrainian atmospheric black metal band with folk influences. Drudkh has always been a very mysterious band, with a no pictures, no gigs, no interviews policy for the entirety of its existence. They actually have no official website, no band-run myspace (only fan pages), and no official line-up list. In fact, the only confirmed member of the band is guitarist Roman Saenko, mastermind of such projects as Hate Forest. The aura of mystery the band creates around itself does nothing to hurt their reputation and has led to them developing something of a cult following (or rather, kvlt) in many black metal circles.

"Microcosmos" is the band’s seventh full-length, and I would call it a masterpiece in its own right, easily worth a five-star rating. The impressive part is that I wouldn’t even call "Microcosmos" the best album Drudkh has made, with the albums "Autumn Aurora" and "Blood In Our Wells" tying for that honor. That I give this album 100 without it even being their magnum opus just goes to show the high esteem I have for Drudkh, and it is hard-earned indeed.

The cover art is a slight departure for Drudkh, which traditionally uses brighter and more organic colors such as light browns and sunlight oranges to convey their sunrise-in-the-Slavic-woods type of Pagan feel. Instead, this cover artwork has a dark blue that is reflective of their general change in lyrical direction in this album, switching from the formerly dominant Pagan/Slavic nationalism themes to a more cosmic and philosophical direction.

Musically, the album features outstanding musicianship in every department. The guitars play mostly extremely emotion-filled tremolo riffs using dissonant chords typical of black metal. The lead guitar has an extremely high-treble high-gain tone that will probably sound familiar to most Drudkh fans, while the rhythm guitar plays with a much lower-gain that is used for the soft quasi-clean passages that are tastefully spread out through most of the songs. The bass is far more prominent in this album than any other Drudkh release I have heard, and adds more to the texture of the songs than does the bass in probably ninety-five percent of black metal albums out there. The bass in "Microcosmos" aids the rhythm section wonderfully, while playing counterpoints and at some times entirely separate melodies that compliment the guitar line. In the first track proper (the first real song after the intro track), "Distant Cries of Cranes," there is even a bass solo that begins at 6:08 and kicks into full-gear at 6:30 or so. The guitar riff following this section is also one of the most notable examples in this particular song of Drudkh’s highly-emotional melodies. It would seem that Roman Saenko, who handles both bass and guitar on the album, had a bit of spare time on his hands and decided to become very good at bass as he was already an accomplished guitarist. The bass is also so clear that I can distinctly hear that he is using finger-plucking as opposed to a pick, and thus took (in my humble opinion as a bassist of course) the longer and far more rewarding road. For him this would have meant that he was forced to approach the bass as a separate instrument, whereas many guitarists who also play bass simply “play guitar on bass” by way of a pick, which I think is cheating somewhat. His use of slapping and popping the strings on his bass is also prominent, especially in the aforementioned bass solo, though also in random riffs in most of the songs.

The drumming on the album is some of the most innovative drumming I have heard in a good while in black metal. It has more combinations of mid-tempo blast beating, traditional blastbeats, weird fills, and polyrhythmic madness than most black metal drummers bother to do. Hence, the drumming is never boring but always fitting, and is also placed well in the mix so that it never becomes distracting which would detract from the music itself.

The vocals, while somewhat distant sounding, have the same “Slavic” sound similar to many other Eastern European black metal bands (i.e. Lutomysl, early Behemoth, etc.). They are also abrasive enough to sound angry and hateful, but not so hateful as to contrast with the music itself, which ranges from solemn to melancholic to (surprisingly enough) happy. Those of you who have sampled "Autumn Aurora" by Drudkh and have listened to the song "Sunwheel" will know what I mean when I say that sometimes Drudkh can sound happy and get away with it without being any less black metal.

The production is very clear on this album, though by no means polished, which perfectly brings out the atmosphere which Drudkh sought to create. It is easily the most well-produced Drudkh album to date. There are also just-over-one-minute folk instrumental tracks that open and close the album as a nice touch, and continue the band’s tradition of folk influence. The last special treat is extremely well-thought-out and adeptly played guitar solos that lightly pepper the album’s forty minutes with a taste of Roman Saenko’s guitar virtuosity. The solos compliment their respective songs and the rhythm sections exceptionally, and are a nice treat as Drudkh’s other most recent releases had no solos. Not to mention that guitar solos can tend to be very sparse in black metal in the first place.

Overall, this album is brilliant. And it isn’t even Drudkh’s very best. But I can honestly say that I wouldn’t change a damn thing on this album. I easily give "Microcosmos" 100 and will assuredly lose no sleep over it.

Standout Tracks: The whole damn thing. But I suppose "Distant Cries of Cranes" and "Decadence" are my personal favorites, though nothing is bad.

Originally written for Black Death Quarterly, at http://www.blackdeathquarterly.blogspot.com

Oh Drudkh. Wonderful mysterious Drudkh. You try finding me any band, let alone a BM one, to write such sumptuous atmospheric material like Drudkh do and I'll bite your hand off. To then tell me that said band are the one band for whom the phrase "let the music do the talking" was originated, well I'd probably bite your other hand off. "Microcosmos" is Drudkh's seventh LP since forming in just 2002. Yes, seventh. And how can they be so productive you ask? It probably helps that the band do absolutely no band photos, interviews, live shows, videos or even have a working website to their name. Oh, and only mainman Roman Saenko is widely believed to be one of the members; the others frankly noone's really sure about.

So when others and I will tell you that Drudkh are legends of the heathenish/pagan/folk influenced Black Metal genre, it can be about the music and the music only. From 2003's debut "Forgotten Legends", with a release a year (including two in 2006) up til 2007's "Estrangement", Ukraine's Drudkh have continually excelled at crafting dissonant, passionate, evocative heavily-paganised BM with two classics in their midst - "Autumn Aurora" (2004) and "Blood In Our Wells" (2006). Given the frequency of releases there has often been a lack of time to digest an album before the next one is along, but as I've discovered recently, endlessly repeating Drudkh has no side-effects apart from a longing to be physically submerged in the music as opposed to just mentally.

Like Agalloch, Negura Bunget and Wolves In The Throne Room before them, Drudkh's works are more than a bunch of guys making noise together - they are like looking into a unknown, beautiful world such is the influence nature has played on all four of those bands' spirits. "Microcosmos" is a 6-song journey, bookended by two one-minute traditional Ukrainian pieces performed on local stringed instruments by the sounds of it, sandwiching four ten-minute songs in the middle. The basic sound of Drudkh hasn't changed much over the years - a mid-paced speed, one highly dissonant trebly guitar against a cleaner more melodic one, harsh distant vocals and some surprisingly adept drumming for the required style. Added to "Microcosmos" as well is a pleasantly audible bass sound too, an instrument which plays a large part in "Далекий Крик Журавлів (Distant Cries of Cranes)" and "Все, Що Не Сказано Раніше (Everything Unsaid Before)", thus accentuating the increased dynamics present in "Microcosmos" against previous works.

Curious contradictions can be found in many great extreme albums bands and albums, and with Drudkh I feel no different. Despite the caustic dissonance to the rhythm guitar that will sadly turn away many who listen to them, in songs like "Ars Poetica" this 'dark' sound manages to emit a feel of brightness, an airiness felt like sunlight would in a clearing of a dense forest. Perhaps to feel this one has to know Drudkh more indepth than just that of a cursory first listen (I'm much too far down the road for that point). The relative frequency of professionally arranged solos, solos much more than organised chaos at the base of the guitar neck, add further to the feeling and give extra proof of Drudkh's uniqueness in music and spirit.

This over-whelmingly positive review will alas end with the remark that it still isn't the best Drudkh have to offer. At this stage it doesn't quite have the magic of "Autumn Aurora" or "Blood In Our Wells" but this seems to me the only way to describe the difference; for like I have eulogised before about some of the other previously mentioned bands, Drudkh do things so differently as to not be even comparable to most others. This is another great release to the masterful collection of Drudkh records.

Originally written for Rockfreaks.net.

Their is something to be said about a band that doesn't do gigs, interviews, have their photos plastered upon the internet, but still receives fans from all over the world singing praises to their work, and art. Drudkh is one such band, perhaps the most prolific in the art of atmospheric black metal, and continues to be my most favorite of bands. That being said, some who read this may expect it to be a typical fanboy review, where the band can do no wrong, and that they are the greatest thing on the face of the earth even if the album is considered by many to be utter rubbish.

I have been following Drudkh for a few years now, and have heard their entire discography many, many times. Some albums are wonderful, some great, others are borderline boring, but there are flaws within many, and here I feel the band has completed the breaks, and bridged the gaps. Some of the issues that I have had with previously releases will be compared with their current newest release, and I will attempt to show where they have fixed, or enhanced their former performances.

Their last two releases were very tinny, and heartless. Estrangement and the Anti-Urban EP were not as powerful as, say, Blood in our Wells, or anything before. There was definitely a lack of depth in the mixing, and there was not as much folk influence as well as diversity. I know that this band flourishes on their monotony, and is one of the only bands that I know which can do it without boring me to death. Unfortunately, due to very poor recording, their atmospheric prowess was not fully captured. In Microcosmos, there is crystal clear recording, and the fuzz from the guitar work and subtle keys are very well documented. Accordingly, there is an excellent capturing of basslines; something unheard of in black metal in general, and adds extra depth and rounds out the music very nicely.

The lack of keyboard ambience in Estrangement, and Anti-Urban are also left in the past with thick, full keyboard atmosphere and leaves a smokey residue throughout the album not unlike their early works; namely Autumn Aurora.

The guitar solos are back, which were all but absent since Blood in our Wells, and do a superb job of highlighting the riffs laid down by the rhythm guitar. Once again, it leads to a much better sound; well-rounded, and powerful.

I feel that everything this band has done in the past, from Forgotten Legends and The Swan Road, to their misstep of their Anti-Urban EP, have built up to this wonderful masterpiece. Everything has eccellent feeling, with slow, dirge-like riffs, thick and heartfelt atmosphere, growling tortured vocals, and nice soft folk interludes capture the heart of the wild Slavic forests.

Their title chosen for the album even seems to appeal to the fact that the band took a step back and really looked at where this band should go, in my opinion. Looking at the small innuendos that are thrown throughout the album, such as harmonizing riffs, the basslines noodling up and down the frets, keys filling the background with early morning fog, and wonderful tremolos really make me feel that this album was for us, the fan. Everything that people have loved about their previous works are all well represented, without a single part lacking. The greatest aspect of this album, though, is the production. It is perfect. The production captures the true essence of Drudkh, and brings forth the true colors of the forest embodied by this band's wonderful, and mysterious atmospheric excellence.

Since the release of Drudkh's first three classics "Forgotten Legends", "Autumn Aurura" and "The Swan Road" they have been a seemingly untouchable and nearly universally beloved group. However, their explosion of internet popularity put their next releases under quite a bit of scrutiny, leading some fans to lose interest by "Blood in Our Wells", either expecting something exactly the same as an earlier release or something entirely different. The criticisms continued with their next two releases being an acoustic album including recycled riffs and a short EP. Yet the quality of the music had not really dipped, and most of these attacks could be explained by the phenomenon of anything that's perceived as "overrated" receiving some bashing. Their next offering "Estrangement" was attacked even more extensively, this time perhaps for putting a great deal of focus on bass over guitar, its short running time, and it being considered "boring" by many. And still at this point for the average Drudkh fan their music had not faltered. In fact, "Blood in Our Wells" and "Estrangement" are held up as favourites in recent years by many.

Unfortunatley for long-time Drudkh fans like this reviewer, they are indeed not untouchable. Drudkh's most recent offering "Microcosmos" offers little to the listener who has navigated their who discography. While it was never expected that they would up and change the key aspects of their style, they seem to lack the punch and creativity of their previous efforts. They recycle elements of Autumn Aurora (the hazy synth-laden breakdowns) and their more recent albums (the speedy intense tremolo picked riffs), as well as the usual acoustic breaks and overall moody atmosphere. Those who have listened to them enough can pick out a "Drudkh riff" easily, and many modern bands have attempted to replicate their sound. Perhaps for many Drudkh have become a workhorse, and will continue to produce album after album of basically the same thing. But it's not just the lack of interesting new sounds that diverts from this album, it's the inclusion of aggravating nuances that they were always able to avoid before. These include palm mutes where they ought not be used and filler riffs that don't match the atmosphere at all and sometimes just seem to be attempting to add some generic heaviness to the sound (something that's very anti-Drudkh and they would never have resorted to before). The songs and album in general lack consistent atmosphere and it seems as though they're either running out of ideas or have just really hit a slump here.

Despite the drawbacks of this album, newcomers/less picky Drudkh fans, or those who like Astrofaes or other mediocre-to-bad Drudkh-like bands will likely enjoy it. The production is still clear, yet dull and fuzzy enough to allow the haziness to flourish. Many of the riffs are at least enjoyable, despite the less impressive than usual composition of the songs. Really by the standards of modern black metal it's not a bad album, but by the standards of Drudkh it is. The same sort of thing has been said by negative reviewers for the last few albums, so this review likely won't be paid much heed by die-hard fans, but this really is where Drudkh have begun to slip. Everything they produced before this (excluding the acoustic album, although it was enjoyable) was top notch, and miles ahead of what the majority of folky/"atmospheric" black metal bands were attempting. The fact that they stayed strong through five proper albums is a testament to their legendary status, but it's not fair to assume everything they produce will be perfect, and even the greatest bands will usually falter at some point and never return to their former greatness.

Drudkh's "Microcosmos" is by and large a let down. They've failed to capture the atmosphere, power and consistent songwriting of their previous efforts and really brought nothing desirable to the table aside from some rehashes of sounds from older albums. This reviewer predicts a cavalcade of mediocre to bad-rated reviews once fans get past the initial giddiness of there being a new Drudkh release (which is practically an annual event) and get down to listening to it with an objective ear. Those who were introduced to Drudkh in the past year or two and those who enjoy the less impressive folky black metal of today are the most likely to enjoy this. Long-time die hard fans who claim this album is anything more than average are kidding themselves. It's unfortunate to see Drudkh slip after so many great albums, but it was almost an inevitability. At least they haven't completely ruined their sound and produced an entirely unlistenable album (yet). And perhaps they won't, but it's unlikely that they'll ever produce another classic.

Every new release from Drudkh sets off a tingly feeling in my heathen soul. Will this one be as glorious as Autumn Aurora, a recording that is always and forever on my top 10 stuck-on-a-desert-island list. The closest the band came to recapturing the magic on that disc was with Blood in Our Wells. And now… Microcosmos? Well, no. But it’s still a good record. And like the fungus on that tree in the cover art, it grows on you. Until you actually start to feel it may be one of their best.

Microcosmos benefits from its own unique ambiance and feel, aided by a sound mix that is superb. All instruments compliment each other perfectly, including the bass. Yeah, no shit! It sounds awesome, whether it’s blasting black metal or subtle acoustic guitars or bass passages, everything seems mixed perfectly for this style of impressionist music. It also helps to lose myself in the strikingly beautiful cover art that takes me to a hiking trail by that tree, looking up at the sky at my spiritual freedom. Yes it really is that fucking cool.

Another reason the overall atmosphere of this record is different from previous works by Drudkh can be found in the compositional elements. Although the music is highly structured, it’s a lot less streamlined than the perfect Autumn Aurora. The typical Drudkh mastery that we know and love is still present and dominant, but with that comes an enormous variety of modal minor riffs, melodies, tempo changes, instrumental sections, solos and acoustic parts.

The impression I get is that all of these different elements were thrown in all the tracks, which all shift from one vibe to another at what seems like any given moment. It feels like the musical equivalent of a Jackson Pollock painting, where the canvas was nothing but a recording of an emotional event. Here you have interesting and mystic sounding intro and outro, sandwiching four 10-minute songs. You could easily remove all the song titles and simply have one continual piece of music, like the pagan metal equivalent of Tubular Bells. In a sense it’s actually the record’s biggest selling point. Drudkh manage to make a record that is greatly varied and different from previous works, but that maintains an overall cohesive vision.

You can’t expect any band to always deliver their masterwork at every new record, and Autumn Aurora simply can’t be topped. But Microcosmos stands on its own, as a proud testament to Drudkh’s creativity and artistic valour.

This album was one of the releases I looked forward to most this year, ever since Season of Mist made the announcement several months ago that it will be releasing Drudkh’s latest opus. Ever since the mediocre “Estrangement”, the band has been through quite a tumultuous ride; a failed venture of purchasing a music studio and the resulting loss of funds saw them part ways with long-time label Supernal Music, and the future of the entire project was shrouded by a large question mark. “Estrangement” left many fans questioning the overall musical direction Drudkh were taking, greatest criticism centering on the choice of the new drummer and loss of atmosphere that made them so special in the first place. “Microcosmos”, therefore, was a very important album for a few reasons.

From the onset it was apparent this was going to be a new and special chapter in the band’s career. The beautiful cover art posted on SoM’s website is bathed in rich blue overtones, contrasting sharply with earthly, autumnal colours of practically all their past efforts. While the song titles echoed those of their prior work, it seemed like the themes were taking a step back from heritage and history to focus more on mysticism and spirituality. Musically, the change reflected itself not only in revitalised energy and production, but a revamped approach to song structure and refined musicianship, apparent with every moment of Microcosmos’ playing time.

One of the biggest developments here is the bass sound. On the vast majority of the band’s work it plays a more traditional rhythm support role, so common to a lot of black metal bands, and makes only a fraction of the impact that it has the potential for. On “Microcosmos” bass is not only more prominent in the mix, but plays a major part in filling out the harmonic space, providing extra melodies and counterpoints to the main guitar parts. The lead guitar work returns to its former strength, with neat tasteful solos that aren’t over- or under-played. The drum work is greatly improved, and it seems that Vlad has integrated his playing into the band’s sound, compared with the misplaced and out-of-time work on Estrangement. Taking a cue from the former drummer Yuri Sinitsin, he has incorporated some of the fills into the new songs, giving them an air of amalgamation of the Old and the New.

For a band that’s gone through a loss of label, money and a re-consideration of their entire career, maintaining of the musical focus is an impressive feat in itself. To find themselves on a reputable, established label and to create an album that rivals the glories of their early career is commendable and praise-worthy. A fresh stroke of inspiration has opened a new door for Drudkh, adding an introverted and contemplative mood to the palette. Hopefully this inspiration will continue so that they can gift the musical world for a long time.

Finally the very much expected (at least for Drudkh fans like myself) brand new full length Microcosmos is here, and my expectations, as one would expect, are extremely high, after six wonderful full lengths, one of them completely acoustical. And here it is, fresh in all the senses of the world, what we have here is a rather different Drudkh. I would not say better or worse since, this album carries a fairly new spirit and sound, one that caught me profoundly by surprise. Drudkh seems to be improving constantly in little details like sound quality and fierce delivery of extreme music, and regarding the latter they have reached a new high in their career.

We have a nice, folky intro as a welcome, not much unlike the ones at Krov u nashykh Krynytsyakh. A minute or so later we are introduced to the first proper song on the album, "Distant Cries Of Cranes", which, after an almost 3 minutes of harsh and aggressive attack of blastbeats and tremolos, delivers the typical mid-paced Drudkh spirit, not lacking in the emotional riffs Drudkh is well known for, and Roman's vocals, which are better than ever. The melodies themselves are not completely different form the ones on their classic releases, but they do sound fresh and exciting, since the sound quality itself seems to have improved a lot in the last two years.

The approach on this album is similar to that of aforementioned Krov u nashykh Krynytsyakh, with even acoustic sections in songs and dispersed semi-solos dancing around the melodies now and then. However the formula seems considerably renewed and refined, and we get strange but awesome moments of what I call musical plays (as in games, not as in plainly playing instruments), that is a certain incursion in alternative, one would say non-black-metal-ish approaches to deliver melodies and emotion, which is not new on the band, but the actual performance certainly is. For example, the bass seems to take an ever increasingly more important roll in the music compositions, so it gets a lot of moments to shine on it's own, while guitars make alternate spaces of silence to the purpose. Drums seem a bit more varied, reminding me of the most shining moments of Autumn Aurora, they've got this jazzy feeling at times, what with the incursion of time shifts and hi-hat alternation along with drumming that doesn't just settle with a regular blastbeat interspersed with mid-paced drumming.

The guitar tone, albeit heavily distorted at times, is not to surprise any Drudkh aficionado, but it's certainly more distilled than previous efforts which in my opinion is amazingly great. The riffs themselves are as Drudkh as possible: Repetitive yet compelling and full of emotion, but at times we get new, I'd say experimental, approaches to the music, which is really a breath of fresh air for any fan disappointed with their previous effort "Estrangement".

There's not much else I can say about this release. It might very well rank among their best. It's really breath taking at times, in ways they haven't been able to pull since Autumn Aurora. The melodies are considerably more intricate and experimental at times without getting really far from the classic Drudkh sound. Drums sound great, they're not as abrasive as they were on Estrangement, nor as opaque as they were on the older releases. There's a lot of variation and at the same time, the typical, almost hypnotic Drudkh sound is more than present throughout the whole release. This might be one of the best albums to have been released so far in 2009. Extremely recommended.

Originally written for the paper version of the Terror Cult Zine
http://www.terrorcultprod.glt.pl/