AN NCS PREMIERE: DRUDKH — “FIERY SERPENT”

In the wake of their excellent 2015 album A Furrow Cut Short, Ukraine’s Drudkh have decided to release their next recorded output through a series of split EPs, the first of which will see the band join forces with Norway’s Hades Almighty under the name One Who Walks With the Fog / Pyre Era, Black!. Drudkh‘s contributions to the split consist of two songs — “Golden Horse” and “Fiery Serpent” — and today we bring you a stream of the latter track.

We are told that Drudkh‘s principal creative force Roman Sayenko drew his lyrical inspiration for the songs from the poetry of Ukrainian writer Volodymyr Svidzins’kyi (1885-1941), “who was murdered by the Soviets after years of censorship and repression”.

As the name itself suggests, “Fiery Serpent” blazes from the start, the jaw-dropping drum-and-cymbal performance providing the rhythmic propulsion and the racing riffs generating an emotionally intense melody that moves like a wave under the caustic vocal savagery. As the song progresses, the storming pace of the drumming briefly subsides and a booming bass provides the anchor for a dramatic melodic passage. When the thundering resumes, the music begins to transform, as the guitar notes ring like chimes and a sublime keyboard layer shines like stars overhead in the vault of a night sky.

Well, those are the images that come to my mind. You will probably have your own, because this is a passionate, moving, inspiring piece of music that I think will stay with you once you’ve heard it. And it will be fascinating to hear the rest of this EP by two exceptional bands.

This split will be released by Season of Mist on June 3, 2016, and it’s available for pre-order HERE. This is the complete track list:

1. DRUDKH – Golden Horse
2. DRUDKH – Fiery Serpent
3. HADES ALMIGHTY – Pyre Era, Black!
4. HADES ALMIGHTY – Funeral Storm
5. HADES ALMIGHTY – Bound

Drudkh‘s line-up for these songs is as follows:

Roman Sayenko: guitars
Thurios: guitar, vocals
Krechet: bass
Vlad: drums, keyboards

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