i got into Drudkh purely by chance. I knew a guy with money issues who was selling a load of cds, so i bought a load of them and Drudkh's 'Blood in our Wells' was one of them. I was hooked! Amazing record and it led me to buy all of their albums. Handful of Stars was probably the first new release i bought and it was somewhat disappointing.
This isn't a bad album as such, but it is a long way from the exceptionally high standards this band set with their first 4 albums. In theory this album isn't too different, long songs with a relatively good production, plenty of atmosphere from the minimalist riffing etc. But something is missing. Other reviewers have noted how this album has shifted from black metal to shoegaze. The change in riffing style takes a lot of power out of the songs. I've no idea what the lyrics are about but they sounded powerful on the black metal albums, on this it just sounds slightly out of place. This sounds more like Alcest and would probably work better with more laid back vocals.
I seriously can't differentiate between the tracks on here. Aside from a calm intro and outro tracks, the 4 main tracks here are indistinguishable from each other so any attempt of a track by track guide would be futile. If somoene played this album to me randomly i probably wouldn't even notice it was Drudkh, whereas an album such as 'Blood in our Wells' is immediately distinctive. The band has a familiar riffing style mixed in with Ukrainian folk influences which is truly unique. This album has a totally different approach to riffs (as mentioned above this is more like Alcest or even Les Discrets), the drumming is more restrained and the folk influences seem to have gone here too. Only the vocals remain familiar. I don't mind the more ethereal, shoegaze influenced black metal but this album lacks in both extremity and songwriting.
Simply put, the tracks sound too similar on this. Floaty riffs, harsh vocals, long drawn out instrumental passages. Repeat again for 4 tracks then a short last track. I certainly don't hate this album but it's not one i play regularly. Definitely have to be in the right mood for this. At least the album after was more of a return to black metal so all hope is not lost. If you're still curious about this album, just pick a track at random, the rest will sound the same.