I covered the previous incarnation of this band in June last year. The debut was one of the more noteworthy black metal releases in recent years and the band's live show became a must-see. Unfortunately, controversy reared its head when founding member Krzysztof Drabikowski and vocalist Bartłomiej Krysiuk each claimed that they kicked the other member out of the band. Each member claimed ownership over the band's name and each one released a new album under the name Batushka (or rather the name in the title). I am not going to get into all of that right now. I might save it for another post. This is the Batushka formed by Drabikowski and has been accepted for the most part as the more legitimate version.
What made the prior iteration of the band stand out was the blending of Eastern Orthodox liturgy and ugly black metal. That element is still very much on display here. Many of the vocals are delivered in a clean chanting style reminiscent of religious services. There are also moments where the black metal falls away in favor of chiming percussion and choirs. It should not work at all, but it does, maybe not quite as well as the prior release, but certainly better than I thought it could.
One thing that I did notice this time around was how much more somber and melodic this release is. A lot of the aggression has been stripped away, though certainly not all of it. What results is an album that has a lot of doom metal to it. A reason for this may be the subject matter of the release. The title translated means "Requiem", so it is more of a remembrance of the dead which is obviously a much more somber affair.
This album is a worthy successor to the prior Batushka release. I have also picked up the other band using the name and everyone will have to wait to see my thoughts on it. This release does an impressive job of picking up where the prior release left off and certainly carries forward the spirit of that album.
No comments:
Post a Comment