Drudkh
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Drudkh, meaning "wood" in Sanskrit, is an atmospheric black metal band from Ukraine formed by the leading member of Hate Forest and Astrofaes; Roman Saenko, and Yuriy Sinitsky of Lucifugum and Definition Sane. Their folk-influenced music focuses on a strong atmosphere, a lot of feeling, and the lyrical contents embrace Slavic mythology, seasons and poetry, especially the works of Taras Shevchenko, from which the lyrics to their 2005 album The Swan Road were derived. They have released four albums via the English extreme metal record label Supernal Music. All albums have also been released on vinyl through two Finnish black metal labels, Northern Heritage and Faustian Distribution. Several people have associated Drudkh with national socialism, although this has been more due to the nature of the band members' other projects than any content in Drudkh's music itself.
On the 23rd of March 2006 Drudkh released Blood in Our Wells, once again through Supernal Music. The new material takes a more pronounced nationalistic leaning on this album, with poetry from the most respected XXth century Ukrainian poets serving as lyrics, and brilliant soloing, while retaining the blend of black metal and Ukrainian traditional folk music. Because of the use of samples from classic Ukrainian cinema, the album is considered more cinematic than its predecessors, but it still retains a similar sound. Blood in our Wells was released in two non-vinyl formats: normal jewel case (unlimited and available everywhere), and super jewel case plus (limited to 1000 hand-numbered copies and made available only through Supernal Music).
In October 2006 Drudkh released yet another album entitled Songs of Grief and Solitude, marking a different path for the band. Rather than being a black metal album, this release was composed of Ukrainian folk music, with much of the music inspired or even taken directly from The Swan Road.
In 2007, Drudkh plan to release River of Tears, which will be a black metal album. No word has been heard yet as to an exact release date.
[edit] Band members
- Thurios and Roman Saenko (also in Hate Forest) - all instruments except drums
- Yuriy Sinitsky - drums
[edit] Discography
- Forgotten Legends - 2003 (39:23)
- Autumn Aurora - 2004 (40:19)
- The Swan Road - 2005 (43:29)
- Blood in Our Wells - 2006 (50:04)
- Songs of Grief and Solitude - 2006 (36:00)
