Forgotten Legends

Doing my usual on YouTube, searching songs that I like and looking to the side bar for unfamiliar (to me) artists and cool album covers, I came across Drudkh’s “False Dawn” ( I can’t remember what I was listening to at the time, probably Bathory or Borknagar) – a click that I will never forget nor regret, as they are now one of my favorite black metal bands. Attracted by a unique, wordless cover and a vintage Slavic (I learned from the MA later that it came from Sanskrit) name, I listened eagerly and after hearing Thurios’s powerful vocals and that deep, pummeling guitar sound, I was hooked.

Drudkh have prospered off numerous studio albums (Blood In Our Wells and Autumn Aurora to name a few) up to now, but their debut Forgotten Legends still resembles a rare, genuine black metal sound coveted by aspiring artists and fans alike. A deep brownish-red on the album cover immediately illustrates a landscape of a wet fall season, with towering trees reflecting in the river in front of them. Enter Drudkh’s debut. Brace for impact.

Forgotten Legends begins with a few whistling sounds, then a thunderous guitar entrance, leading into a repetitive, yet powerful sound, a trait noticeable throughout the album. The latter half of the aforementioned “False Dawn” consists of the same few riffs looped together, creating an atmospheric and soporific aura, one of Drudkh’s many fortes. Yet the first half of the song takes shape as a ferocious beast, accredited to Thurios’s rage-filled vocals. The final track (excluding the outro) “Eturnal Turn of the Wheel” (not to be confused with their 2012 album of the same name) paints the picture of its title—the music continues throughout the second half of the song with a rhythmic section, repeating itself three or four times until the song (unfortunately) ends. Having been the only song off Forgotten Legends with deciphered vocals (Drudkh do not supply lyrics for this or Autumn Aurora), “Eturnal Turn of the Wheel” speaks of the seasons, and the flow of the world.

“Every spring there's a different sky, every sunrise feels so right
Every tree that falls in hate, every stream that swallows the day
Every year that flows cyclelessly, every day flows so better”

Thurios puts all he has into these words for the beginning half, while once again the second half finishes as a cycling but riveting movement of guitar and drum sound that will keep your head nodding until the finish. All three songs of Forgotten Legends take this format—strong riffs and powerful vocals for the first half, while droning, repetitive melodies take control and carry out the rest of the track. While it may be repetitive, it still makes for well-structured and flowing songs.

Monotonous drum pounding combined with melodious guitar riffs throughout Forgotten Legends create what would become Drudkh’s trademark sound, providing music to put many (like me) in trance-like states, causing listeners to just focus on the music, and block all surrounding distractions. Good production combined with a unique black metal sound allows Forgotten Legends to stay in the listener’s mind long after a first listen, causing the listener to yearn for more (and thankfully for me, I had 8 more albums I could listen to). Ukraine’s Drudkh would continue this trend in their sophomore effort, Autumn Aurora, yet would slightly deviate it from it in their later albums. Forgotten Legends still remains one of my favorite black metal debuts, along with Bathory, Burzum, Ultima Thulée, and Dark Endless, and represents a step in the right direction for the then-rookies Drudkh