Never giving interviews and never playing live shows is certainly a good way to give your band a certain mystique. It may seem pretentious and it does mean the art you create loses another dimension by never gracing the ears of a live audience, but there is something to be admired in letting the music quite literally speak for itself, especially when the scene is over saturated.

“Atmospheric Black Metal” seems to be in fashion right now, particularly when you look at what sells well on Bandcamp (Batushka, Harakiri for the Sky, Wode etc). Drudkh have been underground stalwarts for over fifteen years and have never been an act to seek out what’s popular. On their eleventh studio album we see them take another turn on their own winding, ever-changing career path, bucking their own trend of melancholic, folk-inspired Black Metal, in favour of creating a record that is more aggressive and easily accessible.

That’s not to say Drudkh have suddenly started writing 2 minute d-beat riff-storms, it still unashamedly sounds like Drudkh – and there is almost no hint of the progressive, post-rocky loftiness from Handful of Stars (Season of Mist) or Blood in Our Wells (Supernal) that no doubt turned some people off the band – and it feels more like a continuation of the kind of icy fury that re-emerged on A Furrow Cut Short (Season of Mist) a few years prior. Opener ‘Nakryta Neba Burym Dakhom’ is about as melodic as Drudkh have ever sounded with Roman Sayenko taking centre stage with a classic Black Metal rhythmic tremolo-picked barrage. ‘U Dakhiv Irzhavim Kolossyu’ follows the Furrow… format with the same scathing, throat-ripping vocals that gave that record its edge, albeit with a more trudging, pensive intro on this occasion.

Where the record doesn’t follow Furrow… is in its length, as They Often… delivers a much weightier punch in a shorter run time and isn’t as drawn-out as its predecessor. It feels much more anthemic than Drudkh have been in recent years, with these ascending guitars from the coupling of Sayenko and Blagih. This is all backed by solid, if rather dogged, rhythm section. Unyielding, machine-like drums from Petrov certainly suit the pace and rabid fury of the record, but perhaps some greater variation would have added a touch more to the soaring leads. Granted, that is a problem within Black Metal as a whole, but 11 records in you’d be forgiven for expecting more.

So, we have another Black Metal outfit who have released one more passable attempt at this kind of ‘thing’ – but that’s all it is. It creates an impressive atmosphere and, at times, is almost cinematic, and while there are plenty of claw-throwing moments to enjoy, it’s reliance on the monotony of Black Metal’s repetitive nature wears thin quickly. Perhaps finally seeing this material in a live setting will give the music that extra bit of character it desperately needs, but I guess we’ll never know.

6.0/10

ROSS JENNER