Drudkh | ‘Handful Of Stars’

Could this be the biggest leap Drudkh have so far made? It’s possible. The one thing that’s characterised this band has been a stoic straightforwardness over the years. They’ve bucked that trend a little here - and made this album much, much more open.

Listening to this for the first time, the surprise is just how accessible it sounds. That’s accessible with a small ‘a’, mind. But even with the bellowed vocals that were always such a strong point with the band, there seems to be the tacit acceptance that it’s time to move on.

Perhaps it’s the guitars. They’re janglier - happier, even? - with nothing but the barest of distortions anywhere. Even less than the warm dirtiness of Enslaved’s Isa’ and ‘Ruun’.

It still manages to push. That’s largely down to the variety and forward drive of the drums. The whopping 18 minute opener ‘The Day Will Come’ shows that one off to full effect, changing from Drudkh’s trademark 4/4 pulse up to blastbeat with a pleasingly steep incline.

‘Downfall Of Epoch’ is another example of this newfound accessibility. Yes, all the attitude of blood, pride and land is still present - deep within it. Hear however how things are changing. The nods to 80’s goth and rock, or rather their modern expressions through Secrets Of The Moon, Celtic Frost and the smaller likes of Alcest are percolating through. Some of this track is pure Cure.

That’s a well trodden path. It also carries the advantage of being utterly deniable, while being audibly true. All the better for Drudkh who never give interviews. Never apologise, never explain.

So what are we to make of this?

Just reading back over MI’s reviews of the last four Drudkh numbers (I’ll get them re-uploaded), it’s apparent how outright praise turned to the slight suspicion of encroaching blandness. It seemed for a while like they needed new impulse, or a new muse.

This album sounds like that has been reached. While not being as good as the latest Alcest, for example, it straddles the same ground without the wimpiness. In fact, the more one listens, the more one thinks it may be a perfect complement to Burzum’s ‘Belus’.

It’s not like Drudkh have sold out in any way, nor actually diluted their core tone - and yet something is so obviously different. Just listen to that groovy beat in ‘Toward The Light’. As a long time fan, you may not credit it. But it works, and that much is undeniable.

So as always a highly rewarding spin - this time a little more provocatively so than before.

3.8 / 5 - Earl Grey ::: 15/08/10