向来对Pagan Metal不感冒，旋律太过口水的金属总是引不起我什么兴趣，不过现在，两支来自乌克兰的乐队在一定程度上改变了我的偏见，一个是Nokturnal Mortum，一个便是Drudkh了。Drudkh是一支非常高产的乐队，一年一张专辑，在今年甚至发行了两张，这样高产以及高质量的专辑自然就吸引了来自各方的关注。当05年的The Swan Road还在为众人津津乐道时，Drudkh带着更出色的Blood In Our Wells展现在我们面前。依旧是对于自然的崇敬，对于古斯拉夫文明的赞颂，大量的原声乐器演奏着斯拉夫民间小调穿插在本已十分动听的旋律之中，相得应彰。专辑中的每首曲子都很长，速度也多以中速为主，由Pagan的段落引出，不急不缓的诉说着古老的文明和历史。不知道是不是受到封面的影响，和一般黑金属带来的严酷寒冷的感觉不同，这张专辑总是带给我一种炎热的感觉，就如同封面上一样，破旧的马车缓缓的漂泊在中亚细亚炙热的荒漠中。Drudkh在下半年还发行了一张名为Songs Of Grief And Solitude的纯原声乐器的民谣作品，但凡响比较一般，我听着也不太喜欢，不过有这张专辑，Drudkh在06带给我们的惊喜已经足矣.by Chris TrueMaintaining a certain sense of mystery in black metal is hardly a novel idea, but even the Ukraine's Drudkh (Sanskrit for "wood") take it to a somewhat more puzzling extreme, not printing lyrics in a majority of their released work, being shown in photos, or granting any interviews at all. Formed in Kharkiv in 2002, the project was begun by Hate Forest and Dark Ages member Roman Saenko (guitars and bass), fellow Hate Forest member and Astrofaes vocalist and keyboardist Thurios, and Lucifugum member Yuriy Sinitsky (drums and keyboards). The band drew some criticism from some quarters for embracing arguably "nationalistic" causes, but Drudkh argued that they were merely acting in a politically and culturally "conservative" manner -- however that may be interpreted is up to the beholder. Political leanings aside, the band surely was responsible for furthering the ideals of Ukrainian culture and mythology through a atmospheric black metal filter, featuring folk-based music with direct and indirect lyrical inspiration from some of their nation's most prominent poets, such as Taras Shevchenko. Their first album -- Forgotten Legends -- first emerged from the band in early 2003. An expansive record, it acted as the blueprint for album number two, Autumn Aurora, which was released in 2004. The main difference this time around, however, was the use of markedly less traditional instruments, such as electronic keyboards and synthesizers. While Drudkh were notorious for not printing their lyrics, as mentioned above, they did make the texts of their next album, 2005's The Swan Road, available, due in all probability to the fact that all of the album's words were taken -- in some measure -- from the poet Shevchenko. More Ukrainian poets -- in addition to more Shevchenko -- were featured on album number four, 2006's Blood in Our Wells, which -- like much of the band's work -- was released on the Supernal label. While releasing two albums in one year may seem like a relic from rock & roll days past, Drudkh managed exactly that in 2006, pairing the more progressive black metal-leaning Blood in Our Wells with October of that year's next collection, the decidedly Ukrainian folk record Songs of Grief and Solitude. There was no need to raise a fuss about the lack of lyrics on the latter album of 2006, as it had no lyrics. Featuring a myriad of wind instruments and minimal percussion, the album marked a departure from the more traditional aspects of even a genre as malleable as black metal. A limited (999 copies) edition EP followed in 2007 -- entitled Anti-Urban -- which marked for the band a return to more "metal" territory, and 2007 also saw the release of a full-length album, Estrangement. Again, the band, which kept a fairly steady and full work schedule, was back in the studio soon after the album's release to work on album number seven.