Drudkh - Blood in Our Wells, February '06

I haven't got around to The Swan Road, is it any good? I've heard mixed things about it and the MA reviews were decent.
 
They're putting out stuff pretty quick but I expect they'll keep up the quality.

And I'll use this thread to post some other band news (though many fewer will care compared to Drudkh news):

Moribundcult said:
AZRAEL: Avant-garde black metallers whose creativity knows no bounds, Minnesota’s enigmatic AZRAEL will be soon recording their next album for the CULT – and similar to the classics “Into Shadows Acts 1” and “2,” it will be a double-album. Reveals vocalist/bassist/drummer Algol, “We will be recording our next album in August. The studio is not clear, but it might be Hellion Studios [SUMMON, Cephalic Carnage, Anwyl, Cobalt]. It will be a double-album entitled ‘Self…Goat.’ We also have an exclusive track on the just-released compilation ‘Destroyers from the Western Skies.’” For more information on that compilation, which alsos feature CULT bands LEVIATHAN, DRAUGAR, SUMMON, and XASTHUR, consult www.killzone-records.com.
 
Swan Road lacks the earthy natural feel of the previous albums; the production isn't as distant sounding. There's nothing "wrong" with the album, but the riffs aren't as attention grabbing or hypnotic. There's also more vocals, and they are louder in the mix than before.
 
haha

but I do agree with Master...it does lack that "earthly" sound we loved on Autumn Aurora and Forgotten Legends...it's still pretty decent.
 
I suppose that is somewhat contradictory. Let me explain. Take the first riff on False Dawn. I would consider this a hypnotic riff. For the 3 or 4 minutes they play it, it stays catchy and doesn't get boring. The second riff in the song (1:06) is powerful as fuck. It just makes me want to throw up the horns every time I hear it. It stands out and demands your full attention, whereas the other riffs of the song are catchy, but don't require much attention.

Glare of Autumn is similar to me in that it has a hypnotic first section and then an ass-kicking second half. The contrast between the two riffing styles is one of the things that makes Drudkh great.

The Swan Road just didn't have riffs that were as good, that's basically it. I don't think anyone would care about the production if they delivered the riffs they did on the first two.

Hopefully this new album turns out well. I'd like to see them really try to put together about a 50-60 minute album solid from start to finish. They've always had epic songs, but I wouldn't consider any of their albums to be really epic.