DRUDKH — Пісні скорботи і самітності (Songs of Grief and Solitude) (review)

DRUDKH — Пісні скорботи і самітності (Songs of Grief and Solitude) album cover Album · 2006 · Non-Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Vehemency
When a metal band goes entirely unplugged, the result isn’t often overly impressive, but for Drudkh a purely acoustic album doesn’t sound so strange. Knowing how much the band is inspired by folk music and nature itself, ”Songs of Grief and Solitude” seems only logical on paper. And luckily the actual music is astonishing, too.

”Songs of Grief and Solitude” sounds very earthly - the production is warm and the acoustic guitars sound clear but not very professionally produced, which is only a great thing because the last thing that Drudkh would need is a polished sound - especially on an acoustic folk release that relies on ultimately primitive, natural atmosphere where it doesn’t matter if every string isn’t plucked perfectly on each hit. This is why I enjoy ”Songs of Grief and Solitude” the best on vinyl, although I do always keep the CD version close too due to its more elaborate artwork when compared to the black and white vinyl version without a booklet.

Drudkh fans will find many, and I mean many, same melodies that have appeared on earlier records. Hence many of these instrumental compositions aren’t really original, but the way they appear on this acoustic release is so different when compared to the metal versions (the arrangements are totally different) so that I don’t think anyone will find this boring due to its familiar riffs. In addition to the acoustic guitars on left and right channels, there’s a bass drum keeping the pace every now and then, and also flute is on dominant role here. Emotionally, Drudkh relies heavily on heart-wrenching sadness as songs like ”Tears of Gods” and ”The Milky Way” tell, though the happy and energetic tunes of ”Archaic Dance” are quite the opposite.

When I first heard ”Songs of Grief and Solitude”, the album left me somehow unsatisfied, but since then the album has only grown in me and now almost four years after its initial release, I am willing to say that ”Songs of Grief and Solitude” is a crucial part of Drudkh’s discography. The melodies are otherwordly and trance-inducing, and the atmosphere is so strong that you can almost smell the grass and the fresh air of the desolate Ukrainian landscapes. It is an incredibly sad album, but the sadness is only beautiful. And its beauty seems to only increase throughout these years, and I’m almost scared what kind of an impact this album will have on me in 10 years.
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