Drudkh The Swan Road
Supernal Music FERLY022 March 14, 2005
By Rodrigo Escandon
With the release of two fantastic albums, Drudkh has established itself as a very important black metal band and I was highly looking forward to their new album. Those familiar with Drudkhs first two albums will recall an ambient/folk/black metal sound that to my ears was nothing that I had heard before. With their compositions, they created a lush and depressive atmosphere that evoked feelings of both warmth and cold. For their third release, The Swan Road, Drudkh decided to change things around and expand their sound.
The album starts of with 1648 and in this 1:40 instrumental piece you hear a raw guitar riff combined with bells creating the typical Drudkh atmosphere but as soon as the albums first proper song Eternal Sun starts you will notice a faster and angrier band with the added presence of blast beats! Immediately, you should also notice that the albums production evokes a more raw sound, along the lines of Burzums catalog, with the fuzzy guitars clearly being the focus. The vocals are also harsher, more up front and sound more like the vocals found in Hate Forest rather than the sparse background screams of the past. However, the old elements of the band have not been lost rather they have been combined with this new musical direction. This song will feature acoustic guitars, plenty of melody and a slower pace but the point I am trying to get across is the overall sound of the band has changed since we last heard them in Autumn Aurora. Blood follows a similar compositional path in that the slow and fast sections are intermingled together and a great melodic guitar solo is heard at about the 6:00 mark of the song. Glare of 1768 employs the faster tempo for most of the song and the thing I most enjoy about this song is the singing because it sounds very powerful and very aggressive. The last 5:10 minutes of the The Price of Freedom should appease those of you who wanted to hear more of the atmospheric sound and repetitive riffing that the band is known for but keep in mind that it will have the raw fuzzy guitars. The little bit of singing that is heard at the beginning of the song is of note due to the increasing desperation that is heard as the lyrics progress. Fate opens up with an awesome guitar melody that is extremely enjoyable to hear. It also contains more folk elements than the rest of the songs and the guitar solo that starts at 4:54 is phenomenal. The last song Song of Sich Destruction is a beautiful traditional folk song that is sung in a baritone chant with the lyrics taken from the Ukrainian poet Taras Schevchenko (1814-1861).
Yes, some will reach the conclusion that Drudkh has completely changed their sound but I hear it more like an expansion and an evolution of what they have been doing. It was obvious that they wanted to make a different album and they definitely succeeded in that regard. I can understand those people who may feel disappointed by the direction that Drudkh took with The Swan Road but this album has really grown on me to become one of my favorites of the year.
9/10
Supernal Music Official Website
Supernal Music FERLY022 March 14, 2005
By Rodrigo Escandon
With the release of two fantastic albums, Drudkh has established itself as a very important black metal band and I was highly looking forward to their new album. Those familiar with Drudkhs first two albums will recall an ambient/folk/black metal sound that to my ears was nothing that I had heard before. With their compositions, they created a lush and depressive atmosphere that evoked feelings of both warmth and cold. For their third release, The Swan Road, Drudkh decided to change things around and expand their sound.
The album starts of with 1648 and in this 1:40 instrumental piece you hear a raw guitar riff combined with bells creating the typical Drudkh atmosphere but as soon as the albums first proper song Eternal Sun starts you will notice a faster and angrier band with the added presence of blast beats! Immediately, you should also notice that the albums production evokes a more raw sound, along the lines of Burzums catalog, with the fuzzy guitars clearly being the focus. The vocals are also harsher, more up front and sound more like the vocals found in Hate Forest rather than the sparse background screams of the past. However, the old elements of the band have not been lost rather they have been combined with this new musical direction. This song will feature acoustic guitars, plenty of melody and a slower pace but the point I am trying to get across is the overall sound of the band has changed since we last heard them in Autumn Aurora. Blood follows a similar compositional path in that the slow and fast sections are intermingled together and a great melodic guitar solo is heard at about the 6:00 mark of the song. Glare of 1768 employs the faster tempo for most of the song and the thing I most enjoy about this song is the singing because it sounds very powerful and very aggressive. The last 5:10 minutes of the The Price of Freedom should appease those of you who wanted to hear more of the atmospheric sound and repetitive riffing that the band is known for but keep in mind that it will have the raw fuzzy guitars. The little bit of singing that is heard at the beginning of the song is of note due to the increasing desperation that is heard as the lyrics progress. Fate opens up with an awesome guitar melody that is extremely enjoyable to hear. It also contains more folk elements than the rest of the songs and the guitar solo that starts at 4:54 is phenomenal. The last song Song of Sich Destruction is a beautiful traditional folk song that is sung in a baritone chant with the lyrics taken from the Ukrainian poet Taras Schevchenko (1814-1861).
Yes, some will reach the conclusion that Drudkh has completely changed their sound but I hear it more like an expansion and an evolution of what they have been doing. It was obvious that they wanted to make a different album and they definitely succeeded in that regard. I can understand those people who may feel disappointed by the direction that Drudkh took with The Swan Road but this album has really grown on me to become one of my favorites of the year.
9/10
Supernal Music Official Website
