Drudkh — Eternal Turn Of The Wheel

"Eternal Turn Of The Wheel" is the first new Drudkh full length after almost two years of silence, and uninterestingly enough it's the second Ukranian black metal release I reviewed recently.

First off I must say  this album is a welcome return to a more "trve", traditional and simple black metal territory after the experimentation of "Handful Of Stars": Drudkh here are at their best, and their long, repetitive and strangely soothing tracks are a pleasure to endure. Lead singers Thurios' vocals are as painful as ever. They're very clean, loud, aggressive and intelligible (well, as long as you speak Ukranian) and probably they're one of the highlights of the album.

Nature sounds creep through the whole record starting from the beautiful, bittersweet and melancholic opening intro. Gushing winds, rainy storms, squeaking crows and gulls fit perfectly with the bleak and pagan atmospheres exhaled from Drudkh's sound. It feels a bit like they added a cherry on top of the pie, even if I'm sure that the field recordings were carefully planned since the beginning and intrinsic to the album's composition.

The pace of the tracks is incessant and perfect in the difficult art of making the listener perceive extra-fast blast beats as something that somehow sits between still and slowly creeping grim soundscaping. It's one of the things I like  bout well made black metal.

There are a few melodic and calm moments that break the constant cacophonic tremolo torture, conceding a bit of rest to the ears. I especially appreciated the incredible guitar + wind duet on the final "Night Woven Of Snow, Winds And Grey-Haired Stars".

In conclusion, "Eternal Turn Of The Wheel" is a success. I found absolutely nothing wrong with it. The tracks, even if long, drag you in with ease and the whole album demands one attention. It didn't strike and annihilate me as their great "Songs Of Grief And Solitude", and probably it's not something I will remember ten years from now, but never the less it's an excellent black metal album. Easily recommended to all Drudkh admirers: don't worry, it's the good stuff!

Poppy's Corner:
Nicola: "Poppy, what do you think about Drudkh's new album?"
Poppy: "It sounds like belching, i like it!"