Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Drudkh > Пригорща зірок (Handful of Stars) > Reviews > Acidgobblin
Drudkh - Пригорща зірок (Handful of Stars)

A Cold Landscape indeed... - 90%

Acidgobblin, November 14th, 2010

Hmm, well- what to say about this album, Drudkh's 2010 "A Handful of Stars"? Should I mention the many great releases from Drudkh's past? Should I make reference to Hate Forest, a band with both similar members, and a similar sound? Should I refer to this year’s disappointing Blood of Kingu album? I don't know- what I do know is that I won't be making ANY reference to Alcest here. Well, maybe one....

We know what Drudkh do- long, repetitive, simple songs, sparse vocals, slow drumming. They have captured an intriguing essence of black metal; not the hateful, misanthropic aspects; nor the occult, orthodox elements. In fact, it’s rather hard to say just what Drudkh do capture, without resorting to flowery metaphors about seasons, winter, pagans and sorrow. This fact is made more prominent due to the use of Ukraine lyrics (a key trait of Drudkh, in my opinion). In fact, they could well be singing about ice-cream; it is the atmosphere of archaic mystery that grabs me with Drudkh, every time.

A Handful of Stars is a fantastic album; all the key Drudkh elements are present. The songs are long- the first 'real' track, track 2- Downfall of The Epoch clocks in at just over twelve minutes; and yet doesn't drag at all. The next three tracks are also lengthy, and also- they don't drag on. There is just enough variety in them to entice the listener (that being me) into spinning the album just one more time. And then another. And then...well, you get my point. The artwork is different to the usual 'landscape' style that Drudkh use; a crone, of sorts, reaching up to embrace what I will assume is a handful of star. The booklet contains various fairy-tale style, stallions and ships and some kind of kraken-like monster (I think....) Interestingly, the artwork was created by Fursy of Les Discrets, Alcest and Amesoeurs, amongst others. I personally prefer the standard 'photo-style' artwork of Drudkh, but this album is a slight change, and so a slight visual change is suitable.

Musically, it's obvious that Drudkh have progressed, sonically at least. The production on A Handful of Stars is a lot cleaner than any other Drudkh release, with a less fuzzy distorted guitar sound, cleaner drumming with an emphasis on compression, a less buried approach to the vocals and an excellent marriage between the bass and drums. Drudkh always impress with their use of prominent bass, as evidenced on their previous LP, Microcosmos. This time, we get a less 'twangy' bass sound, focusing more on smooth cushioning. It’s also nice to hear some blastbeats on Towards the Light, though Drudkh rely on weight more than speed, and rarely keep up any sort of fast pace at all.

The first track, Cold Landscapes; an intro; is a very dull instrumental; some mediocre piano riff that does very little besides setting a dubious mood. I find most intro's to Drudkh albums to be very pointless; this one takes the cake though. It’s utterly meaningless. In fact, it seems very out of place; I don't mind the folksy strumming stuff of previous albums, as they do at least fit into the general motif that Drudkh seek to convey. This "song" simply does nothing. Luckily it’s short, and can be overlooked.... Because, after that, we have the aforementioned Downfall of The Epoch, the second best track of this album. The simple repetition of a single, muted power chord works well in tandem with an overlayed melody and a "build-up" style of drumming, before evolving into a longer passage of several riffs. Vocally, a sense of true longing and nostalgia is captured; a sort of semi-apocalyptic anger, possibly enhanced by the tracks name. You do get a sense that something special is dying and that this death is worthy of extreme rage. And yet, the song itself is beautiful.

However- track four, Twilight Aureole is the highlight. A beautiful, subtle guitar melody, straight forward drumming, and some truly tormented and sorrow filled vocals bring to mind the rage of the natural world succumbing to the shitness that is modernity. Or something. There is a slightly clumsy stop-start/proggy style riff, which sort of annoyed me initially. I see it now as throwing the dynamic vocals into relief; light and shade, etc. An excellent song- possibly one of Drudkh's finest.

I don't imagine that those who dislike Drudkh will be won over by this album; this is a fan's album which perfectly fits into the band's catalogue, and offers little in the way of surprises. I can certainly see why people may label this as "post-rock/metal"; the production and subtle droning quality of the riffs do bring to mind bands like Isis or Jesu; I can also see why the album might be considered "boring" by some; the music isn't especially dynamic, and is very very very repetitive; to my mind, an attractive quality, but could be seen as a detractor. I can also see why people may insist that this isn't a black metal album; it’s not especially dark, nor is it raw, hateful, angry or dissonant. However, it IS black metal; atmospheric and evocative; and it IS a fantastic piece of art.

I have to take some points of due to the insipid intro and outro tracks, but overall, this has been one of my favourite albums of the last while, and (besides the new Deathspell Omega opus) one of the best albums of 2010.

90/100