Drudkh - 'Songs Of Grief And Solitude'

As Season Of Mist continues the reissuing of Drudkh's back catalog, the latest installment to be re-released is Songs Of Grief And Solitude. It was the Ukrainian black metal band's fifth full-length, and a big sonic departure. In 2006 they released Blood In Our Wells, a progressive effort, and followed it up later the same year with an acoustic album.

Rather than being a black metal album, Songs Of Grief And Solitude is a folk album. And while I have no problem evaluating metal albums, Ukrainian folk is a little out of my comfort zone. It's very relaxing and atmospheric, and has some haunting and beautiful songs. It also gets repetitive, especially “Tears Of Gods,” which duplicates the same general riff for over 8 minutes.

Another thing that makes Songs Of Grief And Solitude nondescript is the lack of vocals. There's no crooning, no rasping, just 36 minutes of quiet folk music. “Archaic Dance” picks up the pace a bit, with pan flute and a slight tinge of dissonance. “The Cranes Will Never Return Here” even has some bird sound effects along with more repetitive riffs.

If you're looking for Ukrainian folk music, Songs Of Grief And Solitude should be right up your alley, although I doubt fans of that genre are visiting this website. Hardcore Drudkh fans might find this an interesting deviation from the norm, but for most black metal fans, it's non-metal nature won't be appealing.

(released May 25, 2010 on Season Of Mist)

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.