For my occasional moan about re-issues being an excuse for labels to cash in, I must thank Season Of Mist; initially having only one Drudkh album in my collection, that is gradually building up as their back catalogue is brought out one album at a time in deluxe digi-pak packaging that looks as sharp as it sounds. Their new label has also done a good job with the revised artwork thus far sticking with relatively similar imagery we are used to. Though at first glance the new artwork for Lebedynyy Shlyakh (The Swan Road) seems a bit on the “busy” side, it does represent what I see as a shift in the bands sound as they move away from the sounds of the remote forest perhaps not exactly into a mass-inhabited area, but certainly to a place with some level of civilisation.
Before you turn away in disgust, this is still irrefutably Drudkh and don’t let me kid you into believing they’ve forgotten their roots (or branches and leaves for that matter). Lebedynyy Shlyakh is a bit of a concept album, and so going back to the new artwork, you won’t be too surprised to know this album is based on the true account of the Ukrainian struggle for freedom during the 15th and 16th centuries. A brief history lesson courtesy of a couple of hours scouring Google and Wiki; ‘1648’ was the year of the Khmelnytsky Uprising – so called as it was spearheaded by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky. The Ukrainian peasants rebelled against the Polish dictatorship which led to a war of liberation; the country fought to free itself of Polish reign, however victory proved not to be so great as this left them subject to the Russian rule. All quite interesting stuff and Drudkh certainly put across the feelings of anger and pain of battle with this album. There’s certainly a feel of ferocity in the crashing drums on ‘Eternal Sun’ while guitars have a callous edge and seem to rage ahead in desperation. ‘Blood’ trickles in with a tender acoustic opening passage; soon enough this picks up with a distortion-heavy repetition that is nevertheless rather rich in texture and incredibly tuneful. A sudden shift in pattern keeps things interesting without losing momentum, meandering through the fog-cloaked ambience.
At times the guitars sound mesmerising; they emerge from the main rhythmic structure to soar off yet have a kind of dampness to them that’s the aural equivalent to the glaring sun beaming against the rain. ‘Glare of 1768’ is where the album really shines, with high-pitched guitars that ring out line a warning siren while the drums almost float alongside the bass creating a massive foundation. There is a real sense of anguish in the vocals here; sounding harsh and vengeful as ever and despite that are really harmonious on the ears. There’s certainly a paganic vibe to this as everything is stripped away leaving the bass to take over. This follows with ‘The Price Of Freedom;’ lyrically inspired by poet Taras Shevchenko this beautifully documents the spilling of blood in the name of freedom during the anti-Polish rebellion of 1768 and the music has equally a poetic feel. This takes on a more melancholic sound yet is almost certainly out for blood; it’s equally mournful and enraged as it veers through with harsh, downpicked guitars and fierce drums that slow down, taking one to a place more sorrowful and serene. ‘Fate’ continues with that dejected feeling of melancholia though suddenly interjects with a lively jig that has me doing a double take. The album comes to a close with ‘Song of Sich Destruction;’ referencing the destruction of the Zaporizhian Sich by the Russian army in 1775, and certainly this has an air of traditionalism with the sitar and ethnic warbling that adds something a bit different to the fold. As ever, Drudkh do a stunning job of painting a picture that encompasses desolate landscapes, destruction and anguish and while this isn’t quite their finest hour it’s still excellent and well worth your time.
http://www.myspace.com/drudkhofficial
