It's pretty long. This will be edited down, but I don't have time right now
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I have a very high opinion of Drudkh's previous records, but there have always been aspects I wish they would take further. There is no doubt that this is intended to be Ukrainian Nationalist music, and I believe that some of the techniques the band use to achieve this are not as convincingly integrated as I would like. Here's an example of what I mean. Song of Sich Destruction- the closing track from last year's The Swan Road album- is an intruiging, otherwordly piece of Slavonic folk music that sounds quite unlike anything else I've ever heard on a metal record. But placing it right at the end of the record as an afterthought seems to me to be a disappointing admission that- while this type of music can sit uneasily alongside metal- it cannot be convincingly integrated. A shame, because one of Black Metal's greatest achievements is its ability to incorporate dark folk music from other regions of Europe seamlessly and evocatively.
I was hoping that Drudkh would prove me wrong with Blood in our Wells, and happily I think they have taken a few large steps towards doing so. These strange folk interludes have been scattered more liberally, often appearing for just a few moments at the start of tracks, as well as for a more extended period at the very beginning of the album. I'm still not sure the band will find a musical midpoint between these eerie acoustic sections and their epic, minimalist metal songs. But their decision to be less shy about using them frequently- and no longer hidden away at the end of the record- allows their unique atmosphere to imprint its feeling onto the whole record. The beginning of Eternity is the best example of this.
Of course, this only refers to a tiny part of Drudkh's music. The vast majority of the album will be familiar territory to any existing fans- but it should also include pleasant surprises. It combines the best features of The Swan Road and 2004's Autumn Aurora, but it has additional elements that were not present on either. Like on TSR the band display an ability to forge intelligent, subtle melodies from faster riffs and whirlwind tremolo picking, but they're never afraid to return to the more emotional, keyboard-highlighted slower passages of AA that manage to make Black Metal seem gentle, and even uplifting. Take the first track after the introduction- Furrow of Gods. We begin with familiar strangled vocals above a slow, simple melody very much in the Autumn Aurora vein, but the sound here is so powerful. The guitar tone is rich, and the sustained keyboard chords soak into the overall mix. The drums, too, are thunderously precise and given a high dynamic priority, meaning the album sounds larger and more epic than Drudkh ever have in the past. After a short acoustic guitar interlude this melody reappears, but this time layered on top is an emotive twin lead guitar melody that repeats itself in the mind long after it has stopped playing.
These occasional passages where the lead guitar is allowed to shine have always been major high points of Drudkh's output for me, and one of the best artisitic decisions they have made with BIOW is to give it a greater role. Interestingly, however, whereas before the lead solos had skipped around folkish breakdowns, here Drudkh branch out into more conventionally metallic, shred passages. It's a big change, and the fact that the fastest guitar lines are often buried unusually deep in the mix may indicate they were slightly unsure about making it, but it works- especially on Eternity, where a frantic lead solo flickers underneath a furious tremolo riff. The improvements brought about by increased instrumental dexterity aren't just confined to the lead parts: The seamless rhythm guitar flicking between fast tremolo picking and crunching melody that forms the opening section to Solitude is another album highlight.
As I have said in my first two paragraphs, I think there are still avenues that remain unexplored for this band, but this does not have to be a negative point. This album is more proficient, passionate and adventurous than its predecessor, and the improved sound means that Drudkh's epic, repetitive melodic riffing sections are more effective than in the past. Admittedly some of these sections last for slightly too long, but nonetheless I believe there is nobody executing them as well as Drudkh at the moment. So a big step forward, but retaining the spirit of former glories, and still with ideas that should- and hopefully will- be perfected.
