Drudkh, the Ukrainian masters of atmospheric black metal, have returned in 2012 to bring yet another album. "Eternal Turn of the Wheel" sees the band continuing their signature sound, with relatively little new
elements. With that said, the band doesn’t really need to do anything new,
because they are fairly unique and usually deliver quality albums. As you might
expect, this album often switches between hyper-blasting drums with atmospheric
keyboards and the slower, more melodic sections. In that sense, Drudkh have
always reminded me of Burzum, which is probably why I enjoy their music more
than most black metal. The third element to this album is the clean and
acoustic guitar sections, which I found to actually be the best parts of the
album. It’s not often that an intro is memorable, but it was surprisingly
well-crafted and quite enjoyable. Likewise, there is a similar part towards the
end of “When Gods Leave Their Emerald Halls”.
The songs themselves are quite a journey; with the exception
of the intro, they all stretch to around 8+ minutes. The somewhat fuzzy guitar
tone contributes to the less-than stellar production, though given that this is
black metal, this production is actually very satisfying. The vocals on this
album were a bit surprising; there weren’t really many attempts at the classic
black metal raspy growl, but instead, the vocalist shouted his way through the
album. It’s similar to what Tom Araya would sound like if he were a black metal
singer. The best track is definitely “Farewell to Autumn's Sorrowful Birds”,
which opens with several minutes of melodic riffing. None of the other songs
are bad, but they aren’t particularly memorable. Unfortunately, there isn’t a
song (or even a riff or melody) that is as mind-blowing as “Only the Wind
Remembers My Name” from "Estrangement", for example. Despite that, the album is
enjoyable while it lasts, and I have the feeling that it will grow on you with
more listens. There are definitely some subtleties in the synths that are hard
to catch on first listen.
Drudkh aren’t going to blow you away with this album, but
they don’t need to. "Eternal Turn of the Wheel" is just another record that is a
testament to their ability to create this style of black metal. If you are a
newcomer to the band, it might be better to start with one of the older
records, but all fans of this style should be able to like this album.
Highlight:
“Farewell
to Autumn's Sorrowful Birds”
Final
Rating:
3.8/5
or 76%
Written
by Scott