Well I suppose an acoustic album coming from Drudkh is as natural as a lie from a politicians mouth. If you listen to the four that came before you will probably notice this band aren’t adverse to utilising acoustic sections in order to give a natural and folky feel to their sound. Despite the lack of heavy guitars and complete absence of vocals, you can still recognise Drudkh very clearly in the music and are one of only a handful of metal bands out there who can get away with this.
Is this an original album? Well, you could say that, but interestingly a number of the tracks contain re-workings of previously known numbers. ‘Why The Sun Becomes Sad’ for example takes in the basic melody of Autumn Aurora’s ‘Sunwheel’ and acoustifies it while ‘Tears Of Gods’ pilfers a bit out of ‘Forest In Fire And Gold’ from Forgotten Legends. Not realising this until afterwards, I found myself wondering why some parts of the album sounded familiar and if I was just imagining things…but also important is to mention these aren’t straight up covers of the original songs.
‘Sunset In Carpathians’ sets rather a grassy scene and more or less the first thing we hear is a snake hissing in the wild. The guitar is picked quite frantically creating a very nature-esque backdrop which is built upon with a variety of flutes and whistles and other folky instruments creating a very calm and unspoiled setting as the sun goes down. With a downpour of warm rain, ‘Tears Of Gods’ comes in and plods along at a slow pace. There is certainly a crestfallen vibe to this one, particularly as the lonesome guitar plays out in repetition until the whistle joins in chirping loudly in the mix.
‘Archaic Dance’ plays out at a much more lively pace; this one is instantly recognisable with part of its melody lifted from ‘Glare Of 1768.’ The guitars lay down the rhythm and is joined by a playful sounding flute and it’s easy to imagine a kind of archaic dance taking place in the thick of the woodland. ‘The Milky Way’ contrasts this with a much more laid back style that is totally unhurried, which ends with crashing waves against the rocks giving a calming oceanic vibe.
The album is really stripped down to the very crude element of what Drudkh are about. It shows off the sounds of nature, unsullied by the modern world and urban population. It isn’t Drudkh at their best, but then it is understandable why they chose to record an acoustic album. Not a recommended starting point if you’re new to the band, but for fans with an open mind its worth owning.
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