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/:: Artist :: Drudkh ::\
:: Album :: Microcosmos ::
:: Year :: 2022 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Covil Records R.date :: 09.09.2022 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: COVILCD017 Size :: 84,0 MB __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 265kbps : .
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint-Stereo .
. .
Website ::
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. Days that Passed 01:07 ::
:: 02. Distant Cries of Cranes 09:37 ::
:: 03. Decadence 10:32 ::
:: 04. Ars Poetica 09:48 ::
:: 05. Everything Unsaid Before 09:33 ::
:: 06. Widow's Grief 01:08 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 41:45 min ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: 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 bandÆs 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 wouldnÆt ::
:: 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 DrudkhÆs ::
:: 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 ôplay guitar on bassö 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 ::
:: ôSlavicö 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 bandÆs tradition of ::
:: folk influence. The last special treat is extremely well- ::
:: thought-out and adeptly played guitar solos that lightly ::
:: pepper the albumÆs forty minutes with a taste of Roman ::
:: SaenkoÆs guitar virtuosity. The solos compliment their ::
:: respective songs and the rhythm sections exceptionally, and ::
:: are a nice treat as DrudkhÆs 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 isnÆt even ::
:: DrudkhÆs very best. But I can honestly say that I wouldnÆt ::
:: change a damn thing on this album. I easily give ::
:: "Microcosmos" 100 and will assuredly lose no sleep over it. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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