Drudkh
Handful Of Stars

They don't speak badly about it. They don't speak well about it. In general, it has been received with indifference or, by the group's fans, a bit of disappointment. In any case, it's certainly not possible to say that the latest album by the Ukrainians Drudkh has been called a miracle, speaking euphemistically. So, what is the problem? The problem is practically the same that presents itself every blessed time someone decides to change direction and propose something slightly different from the usual discography routine: they have to cross themselves because they will encounter the inevitable disappointment of some purist critics; yes, exactly them, those who say "the first demos/albums were better because they were more trve/cvlt."

Now, in the case of Drudkh, I still read about certain regretted titles like "Autumn Aurora," "Forgotten Legends," or "Blood In Our Wells," and not without reason, I might add. It's not at all simple to endlessly replicate the same artistic inspiration as time and albums go by, and this seems somewhat physiological even for the zealous Drudkh, who in the span of eight years have churned out just as many albums: besides the aforementioned masterpieces, there are also some decent ones like "The Swan Road" and "Estrangement," a not very exciting "Songs Of Grief And Solitude" (an entirely acoustic work, definitely dispensable), and finally the penultimate "Microcosmos," an excellent synthesis of their career. At that point, it was really necessary, if not inevitable, to change the game a bit rather than reshuffle the cards since most likely Roman Blagih (aka Thurios) and company had already extracted everything there was to say from that unmistakable, raspy Black Metal with a naturalistic stamp, and maybe even beyond.

Enter "Handful Of Stars" (2010), the "alea iacta est" of the situation.

With this work, Drudkh definitively abandon the Black Metal shores, explored with dedication and much personality until that point, to adhere to a certain trend that has now taken hold in extreme metal in recent times: that is, to inbreed the (post-)Black of the latest generation with flashes of post-rock, shoegaze and various rubbish that I highly appreciate. Even if you want to exaggerate, it can be inferred even from the album's artwork, different from the usual gloomy and desolate wooded landscapes, this time by the good Fursy Teyssier, the same author of the enchanting artworks of Alcest, Lantlôs, Amesoeurs, Miserere Luminis and, of course, his personal project Les Discrets; basically, that notorious bunch of eccentrics to which Drudkh themselves seem to have been added! Personally, from a closed and intransigent group like them, I would have never expected it. But for better or worse, there is always a first time, and in this case, in the opinion of the writer, it can definitely be called good.

It is really curious (not to say strange) to hear Drudkh in this new guise: even though they sacrificed some of their uniqueness, an obvious consequence for those who decide to follow a "trend," it cannot be denied that they have managed to create something truly particular. "Handful Of Stars" is essentially a monochromatic album (a bit like the cover), linear, without nuances, and it relies above all on an extraordinarily clear and crystalline production as we have never heard from the princes of Slavic Black Metal - just do a comparison with "Forgotten Legends" or even the more recent "Microcosmos" to notice the huge differences! Everything is supported by the length of the four songs (excluding intro + outro) that averages around ten minutes: it is therefore not very surprising if some found it simply boring and verbose; but precisely regarding this "boredom" I would like to spend a few lines.

"Handful Of Stars" does not shine for the typical primordial aggression of Black (of which, as already stated, there is no longer any trace), nor for technique, and much less does it play on possible nuances or variations on the theme to win over the listener. For the entire duration of these 40 minutes, we will deal with an hypnotic flow of detached and often vaporous riffs, accompanied by a calm rhythm section, never over the top, a strangely pronounced bass and Thurios' thundering scream, which now no longer sounds like the echoing and distant inhuman scream of past works, but rather distinct and sharp. As already said, the variations are few and certainly, dynamism is not the strong point of the album: just listen to the opening track "Downfall Of The Epoch" to be cradled by its undulating and even relaxed arpeggios, drawn out for the reasonable duration of 12 minutes! 12 minutes that, however, for some reason, end too soon. What pushes me to consider this album special is primarily its ability to be incredibly monotone, uniform, and at the same time so bewitching and dreamy that its immobility does not weigh at all.

Thus, "Twilight Aureole", even though it is not an exceptional episode, with its sweet and melancholic chime of guitars knows how to stamp itself well in memory during its 9 minutes, only to conclude in a chaotic clatter that leaves the listener with a mix of perplexity and inexplicable suspension. Of a completely different level is the last, splendid "The Day Will Come", a track so linear it seems to dematerialize in its own sound transparency; it surely encapsulates best the ideas (indeed, it would be more appropriate to say the single idea) of "Handful Of Stars", chock-full as it is of that indecipherable atmosphere, always hovering between dreamy anger and detached stasis, that pervades every minute of this lunar journey. Yet my favorite still remains "Towards The Light", perhaps due to the unusual pathos it manages to convey: Drudkh give themselves/us the only real nod to Black Metal with a waterfall of passionate blast beats, leaving plenty of room for more atmospheric and almost "psychedelic" guitar lace, not to mention the mysterious clean break that bursts in midway, in my opinion the most imaginative and fascinating moment of the lot!

Ok, so the world is beautiful because it's (a)var(ied), and frankly, it's not the first time I've seen a Drudkh album undergo such a snubbing (is that what it's called? oh well, who cares). For my part, as I go crazy for BM contaminations in recent years and additionally quite like transition albums, I can't help but appreciate those who try to offer a different dish from the usual reheated soup; thus lengthy and boring albums like "Handful Of Stars" are welcome, which will certainly not be a new "Autumn Aurora" (and who said we want another?), but it knows how to hold its own for what it is. Now, it remains only to discover whether this transition really intends to lead to something more targeted and defined, or if it was just a semi-experimental parenthesis detached from the 'drudkhiana' production. In all honesty, I would have far more fear for the second hypothesis...