Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Album Review: Drudkh - Handful of Stars

Drudkh - Handful of Stars

Artist: Drudkh (Ukraine)
Album Title: Handful of Stars
Record Label: Season of Mist (France / U.S.)
Released: 2010 (September)
Purchased From: Ebay

If you ever want to stir up conflict among metal fans, the subject of Drudkh is sure to do it. Whether the discussion is about their alleged politics, the overrated/underrated-ness of the band, which of their albums is the strongest, and at which point in their career the band began to drop in quality (or whether or not that point has happened), there are tons of different opinions out there. For a band that has shunned publicity throughout their career, Drudkh sure seems to stir up controversy, and their latest album, Handful of Stars, will do nothing to stop that trend.

Fans are sharply divided in their opinions of this album. Even before any album tracks "appeared" to fans, the album artwork was a source of contention. The cover is a departure from their previous albums, which tended to draw from nature scenes or old paintings. In the artwork department, this time the band employed the help of Fursy Teyssier, the frontman of French rock band Les Discrets, and a part of the circle that includes Alcest. Already some fans were declaring Drudkh to be "sell outs." And then when tracks from the album started to appear online, well, it really began to hit the fan.

You see, the artwork isn't the only departure for Drudkh on this album. The biggest change from previous albums, and the one that has, not surprisingly, stirred up the most controversy, is the use of a cleaner guitar tone on Handful of Stars. While previous Drudkh albums (not including the folk album) had a thick, very distorted guitar tone, on this album it's very clean and mellow, sounding somewhat like the tone used by Alcest or Agalloch. Normally, guitar tone isn't such a big issue, but Drudkh has always relied heavily on the thicker tone in order to facilitate the atmospheric, hypnotic atmosphere their previous albums have had. Since they don't give interviews, it's anyone's guess as to why they made the switch, but everyone seems to have an opinion on it.

I don't mind the clean tone so much. It does make it easier to hear the lovely guitar harmonies, which were previously somewhat buried beneath a blanket of distortion. However, accompanying this change is a shift in songwriting. It has grown more complex (by Drudkh standards), perhaps to accomodate for the loss of sheer atmosphere. While this isn't bad, in theory, it does redefine what we have always thought of as "the Drudkh sound." Maybe that's why they did it. Were they tired of being stereotyped and pigeonholed, and decided to do something that would shake people up?

Despite the changes, this is still distinctively Drudkh. Melodically, it still sounds like them. The gruff, unique vocals of Thurios haven't changed. There are still those nice and appropriate solos. The musicianship is as solid as always, and I think the drumming has further improved over Microcosmos. However, I don't feel that the songwriting on this album is as strong as we've seen on previous efforts. "Downfall of the Epoch" is, in my opinion, the strongest track on the album, and the one where all the elements seem to come together the best, and "Towards the Light" is also solid. But I feel like things drop off a bit with "Twilight Aureole" and "The Day Will Come." This is not to say that they're bad songs, but sometimes I find my interest flagging by this point in the album. I feel like sometimes the cleaner guitar tone may work against the band because it places a greater burden on the songwriting itself, and while they've proven themselves to be great songwriters, not every track is as strong as the last.

Also, I have a criticism to make about the bonus CD, "Slavonic Chronicles," that only appears with the very expensive limited edition box set of the album (ie: the Ebay Profiteer Edition). I don't mind the idea of having a limited edition of the album, but for those of us who want to get all the tracks but don't want an expensive limited edition, it seems like a kick in the teeth to demand that (in order to get this bonus EP) we shell out for this edition (before it sells out, which happens quickly) or pay huge Ebay prices to those scoundrels that bought multiple copies just to profit on the "limitedness" of it. I legally acquire all the music in my collection because I respect artists and labels. Why turn around and punish me by denying me exclusive Drudkh tracks simply because I don't feel like $100 or so is a reasonable price for a CD and a bunch of extras I don't have any use for (or, perhaps, can't afford it)? Well, at least the songs included on that CD are covers, and I can live without those. I suppose I'm still upset that I couldn't get the Anti-Urban EP on CD because I didn't jump at the chance to buy the previous overpriced box set.

Anyway, Drudkh continues to be one of my favorite pagan metal bands, and I admire the fact that they aren't afraid to confound their listeners now and then. Handful of Stars certainly isn't their strongest album, but, in the end, it's still a good CD and most fans will enjoy it, despite a very vocal group of people that continue to accuse the band of selling out to appease the Alcest crowd. I hope that either the band will find more solid footing in this new style or that they will dust off the old distortion pedals for the next full-length.

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