Drudkh
Ukrainian black metal band
title: "Drudkh" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ukrainian-folk-metal-musical-groups", "ukrainian-black-metal-musical-groups", "ukrainian-musical-quartets", "ukrainian-nationalists", "musical-groups-established-in-2003", "season-of-mist-artists", "musical-groups-from-kharkiv"] description: "Ukrainian black metal band" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drudkh" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Ukrainian black metal band ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| background | group_or_band |
| name | Drudkh |
| image | drudkh logo.jpg |
| caption | Band logo |
| origin | Kharkiv, Ukraine |
| genre | Black metal |
| years_active | 2002–present |
| label | Season of Mist |
| spinoffs | Blood of Kingu |
| website | https://www.season-of-mist.com/bands/drudkh/ |
| current_members | * Roman Saenko |
| :: |
| background = group_or_band | name = Drudkh | image = drudkh logo.jpg | caption = Band logo | origin = Kharkiv, Ukraine | genre = Black metal | years_active = 2002–present | label = Season of Mist | spinoffs = Blood of Kingu | spinoff_of = | website = https://www.season-of-mist.com/bands/drudkh/ | current_members = * Roman Saenko
- Thurios
- Krechet
- Vlad | past_members =
Drudkh is a Ukrainian black metal band. It currently consists of Roman Saenko (of Hate Forest and formerly of Dark Ages), Thurios (former member of Astrofaes and Hate Forest), Krechet, and Vlad. All four also were members of Blood of Kingu until it was disbanded. Their lyrics and artistic themes embrace Slavic mythology and Ukrainian nationalism. Many of the band's lyrics are derived from the works of nineteenth and twentieth-century Ukrainian poets (Oleksandr Oles, Oleh Olzhych, Maik Yohansen, etc.) and especially Taras Shevchenko.
Drudkh have been particularly secretive throughout the course of their career, even for a black metal band, giving no interviews and not releasing the lyrics to several of their albums. From their conception until 2009, Drudkh did not have any official website, but in May 2009, Season of Mist launched an official Myspace, operated by the label rather than the band.
The word "drudkh" is derived from the Sanskrit word for "forest" or "tree".
History
Drudkh has released eleven albums, two EPs, four splits, one single, and two compilations of material from the band's early splits and EPs. Their early releases were released on CD through the English extreme metal record label Supernal Music, with the exception of the EP (which was a vinyl release), and, again with the exception of the EP, on vinyl through two Finnish black metal labels, Northern Heritage and Faustian Distribution. More recent releases have been through Season of Mist, which has also issued remastered versions of the band's earlier albums as digipaks.
The band's first album, Forgotten Legends, was released on 18 August 2003. The album establishes the band's trademark epic sound. The album's three tracks and one outro span nearly forty minutes, with the longest track, "False Dawn", nearing the sixteen-minute mark. Terrorizer included Forgotten Legends in its Top 40 Black Metal albums list.{{cite web | url = https://www.ign.com/boards/threads/terrorizer-magazines-top-40-black-metal-albums.186480191/ | title = Terrorizer Magazine's Top 40 Black Metal Albums | work = IGN Boards | date = 30 October 2009 | accessdate = 5 November 2019
Autumn Aurora followed on 28 November 2004. While continuing its predecessor's general mood and atmosphere, it distinguishes itself by incorporating synthesizers and other such keyboard instruments. Autumn Aurora has frequently been cited as Drudkh's finest album, although some fans give the nod to the later Blood in Our Wells. This record had a strong critical success: for example, it was chosen as the best album of the year by Chronicles of Chaos web-zine.{{cite web | url = http://www.chroniclesofchaos.com/articles/rants/6-714_best_albums_of_2004.aspx | title = CoC : Rant : Best Albums of 2004 | work = Chronicles of Chaos | date = 28 February 2005 | accessdate = 11 October 2012
After Autumn Aurora, Amorth (drums, keyboards) joined the band and replaced Yuriy.
The Swan Road (Лебединий шлях), released on 14 March 2005, marked a departure in a number of ways. It was well-reviewed and is the first Drudkh album to have Ukrainian lyrics, all of which are adapted or taken directly from the work The Haidamakas (1841) by Taras Shevchenko, narrating about the Ukrainian anti-Polish uprising of 1768.{{cite web | author = Polarstern, Smierc | date = 2010 | url = https://politosophia.org/page/drudkh-s-anthology-of-time.html | title = Drudkh's anthology of time | work = Politosophia
On 23 March 2006, Drudkh released Blood in Our Wells (Кров у наших криницях), once again through Supernal Music, in a deluxe edition (limited to 1000 hand-numbered copies) and a normal CD edition. On this album, poetry from four nineteenth- and twentieth-century Ukrainian poets (including Oleksandr Oles and Lina Kostenko) serves as lyrical material, and the album itself was dedicated to Stepan Bandera, leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. Musically, the album adds progressive rock influences and increased use of traditional heavy metal soloing into the mix, while retaining the band's tradition of blending black metal and Ukrainian folk music. Because several tracks sample the Ukrainian poetic film Mamay (2003), the album has greater use of cinematic elements than its predecessors. It was Drudkh's first record to appear in the Terrorizer Top 40 year list, placing at number 35.{{cite web | url = http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/terroris.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060223075217/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/terroris.htm | url-status = usurped | archive-date = 23 February 2006 | title = Terrorizer Magazine | work = Rocklist.net | accessdate = 11 October 2012
After the release of Blood in Our Wells, Amorth left the band, and new members Krechet (bass) and Vlad (drums) joined.
On 19 October 2006, Drudkh released Songs of Grief and Solitude (Пісні скорботи і самітності). This release is composed of folk music, with much of the music containing melodic elements from previous Drudkh compositions (for example, "The Cranes Will Never Return Here" is based on a riff from "Solitude" on Blood in Our Wells, and "Archaic Dance" is based on a riff from "Glare of 1768" on The Swan Road). It is entirely instrumental, with barely any drumming, and prominently features wind instruments. The album received mixed reviews, with some fans criticizing the band for reusing old material, and others praising the band's radical reconstruction of its own sound.
On 16 April 2007, Supernal Music released Drudkh's Anti-Urban, a 45-RPM 10 inch coloured vinyl limited to 999 hand-numbered copies containing exclusive tracks available only to Supernal Music customers. Season of Mist later re-released it as a mini CD in 2009 as part of the deluxe box-set edition of Microcosmos, and it was also included on the band's collection Eastern Frontier in Flames.
The band's next release, a full-length black metal album titled Estrangement (Вiдчуженiсть), was released on 25 August 2007, again as a limited deluxe edition (1000 hand-numbered copies) and as a normal CD.{{cite web | url = https://supernalmusic.livejournal.com/37340.html | title = Drudkh (Ukr): 'Estrangement' CD Deluxe | work = Supernal Music | date = 30 August 2007 | accessdate = 11 October 2012
In Autumn 2008, the band signed with the French label Season of Mist.{{cite web |url = http://www.season-of-mist.com/light/index.php?action=news_all&title=NEW+SIGNING&date=10%2F08%2F2008 |title = New Signing |work = Season of Mist's News |accessdate = 8 October 2008 |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080622204608/http://www.season-of-mist.com/light/index.php?action=news_all |archivedate = 22 June 2008 |df = mdy-all | url = http://www.season-of-mist.com/light/index.php?action=news&title=A+PIECE+OF+DRUDKH%27S+COSMOS | title = Season of Mist's News | work = Seasons of Mist | accessdate = 7 April 2009 | url = http://metalarea.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=85268&st=30 | title = Drudkh - Microcosmos (2009) | work = MetalArea.org | date = 11 June 2009 | accessdate = 11 October 2012 | language = Ukrainian | url = https://stereogum.com/106711/best_metal_albums_2009/franchises/haunting-the-chapel/ | title = The 30 Best Metal Albums of 2009 | work = Stereogum | date = 19 December 2009 | accessdate = 10 October 2012
In November 2009, Season of Mist began re-releasing Drudkh's whole catalogue, starting with remastered reissues of Forgotten Legends and Autumn Aurora,{{cite web | url = http://www.myspace.com/drudkhofficial/blog/517760823 | title = Drudkh Re-Releases Announced | work = Drudkh's Official Myspace Blog | date = 9 November 2009 | accessdate = 21 November 2009 | url = https://stereogum.com/596411/haunting-the-chapels-top-50-albums-of-2010/franchises/haunting-the-chapel/ | title = Haunting the Chapel's Top 50 Albums of 2010 | work = Stereogum | date = 21 December 2010 | accessdate = 10 October 2012
Drudkh's eighth full-length album, Handful of Stars (Пригорща зірок), was released on 21 September 2010, via Season of Mist. Critics and fans noticed the changes in style and sound: it was much clearer than previous efforts and bore influence from post-rock. The record received mixed reviews as a result, though it appeared in Haunting the Chapel Top 50 Albums of 2010 at 8 position. Again, for lyrics was used the poetry of Ukrainian authors, such as Oleksa Stefanovych and Svyatoslav Gordynskyj.{{cite web | url = http://season-of-mist.com/bands/drudkh | title = Drudkh, Eternal Turn of the Wheel Album, Pagan Black Metal | work = Season of Mist | accessdate = 10 October 2012
The post-rock direction, that was present at Handful of Stars, has been developed in a new project titled Old Silver Key by Drudkh members with French musician Neige of Alcest on vocals. This supergroup signed to Season of Mist and released debut record titled Tales of Wanderings on 16 September (27 September in North America), 2011.{{cite web | url = http://season-of-mist.com/bands/old-silver-key | title = Old Silver Key, Tales of Wanderings Album, Post Rock | work = Season of Mist | accessdate = 10 October 2012 | url = http://season-of-mist.com/news/old-silver-key-2011-06-28 | title = Old Silver Key News: Old Silver Key Update | work = Season of Mist | date = 28 June 2011 | accessdate = 10 October 2012
Drudkh's album Eternal Turn of the Wheel, recorded in summer 2011, was released on 24 February (13 March in North America), 2012, through Season of Mist.{{cite web | url = http://www.metalcallout.com/metal-news/drudkh-eternal-turn-of-the-wheel-full-album-stream.html | title = Drudkh: 'Eternal Turn of the Wheel' Full Album Stream | work = Metal CallOut | date = 22 February 2012 | accessdate = 22 February 2012
Drudkh's tenth album, A Furrow Cut Short, was released on 20 April 2015.{{cite web | url = https://www.season-of-mist.com/bands/drudkh | title = Drudkh: A Furrow Cut Short | work = Season of Mist | date = 27 February 2015 | accessdate = 6 March 2015
In 2024, former drummer Mykola Sostin, who performed as "Amorth" and was in Drudkh from 2004 to 2006, was killed in battle while fighting for Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Politics
Drudkh has been accused of being a National Socialist black metal (NSBM) band. The band has denied this, and also denies links to fascism or any other political ideology. However, Drudkh's music has referenced the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, a Ukrainian nationalist formation from World War II. One reference is the sixth and final track of the album Blood in Our Wells being titled "Ukrainian Insurgent Army", named after the entity founded by the Bandera faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. Said album was also dedicated to Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist and divisive figure of Ukrainian history.
Drudkh and his relationship with Saenko, Konstantin Zmievsky, drummer for Khors have refused the accusations of being National Socialist stating "I played with Astrofaes from 1996 to 2000, for four years, and we played black metal with black metal style of lyrics and we’ve never been interested in national socialism or neo-Nazis and stuff like this." and also claimed "I know the guys very well and they’ve never been Nazis or neo-Nazis."
Band members
Current
- Roman Saenko (Роман Саєнко) – guitars (2003–present)
- Thurios (Roman Blahykh, Роман Благих) – vocals, guitars (2003–present)
- Krechet – bass (2006–present)
- Vlad (Vladyslav Petrov, Владислав Петров) – drums, keyboards (2006–present)
Former
- Amorth – drums, keyboards (2004–2006; died 2024)
Discography
Studio albums
- Forgotten Legends (2003)
- Autumn Aurora (2004)
- The Swan Road (2005)
- Blood in Our Wells (2006)
- Songs of Grief and Solitude (2006)
- Estrangement (2007)
- Microcosmos (2009)
- Handful of Stars (2010)
- Eternal Turn of the Wheel (2012)
- A Furrow Cut Short (2015)
- They Often See Dreams About the Spring (2018)
- All Belong to the Night (2022)
- Shadow Play (2025)
EPs
- Anti-Urban (2007)
- Slavonic Chronicles (2010)
Splits
- Thousands of Moons Ago / The Gates (2014; split with Winterfylleth)
- One Who Talks With The Fog / Pyre Era, Black! (2016; split with Hades Almighty)
- Betrayed By The Sun / Hgringar (Mirages) (2016; split with Grift)
- Somewhere Sadness Wanders / Schnee (IV) (2017; split with Paysage d'Hiver)
Compilations
- Eastern Frontier in Flames (2014; compiles 3 non-LP releases from 2007-2014)
- A Few Lines in Archaic Ukrainian (2019; compiles 3 non-LP releases from 2016-2017)
References
References
- True, Chris. "Drudkh – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". [[AllMusic]].
- Kaufman, Spencer. (6 November 2024). "Ukrainian Metal Drummer Mykola “Amorth” Sostin Dies in Battle".
- (3 January 2013). "When the gods hear the call: the conservative-revolutionary potential of Black Metal Art". Politosophia.
- Solodovnyk, Maksym. (3 May 2012). "Songs of Grief and Solitude".
- Berlatsky, Noah. (10 September 2009). "Fascist Folk".
- [[Yaroslav Hrytsak]]. (2005). Historical Memory and Regional Identity. In ''Galicia: A Multicultured Land.'' Christopher Hann and [[Paul Robert Magocsi]] (Eds.) Toronto: [[University of Toronto Press]]. pp. 185–209
- Crowcroft, Orlando. (15 September 2020). "In Ukraine, music's most extreme genre is on the cultural front line in the fight against Russia".
- https://www.season-of-mist.com/release/thousands-of-moons-ago-the-gates/
- https://www.season-of-mist.com/release/one-who-talks-with-the-fog-pyre-era-black/
- https://www.season-of-mist.com/release/betrayed-by-the-sun-hgringar/
- https://www.season-of-mist.com/release/somewhere-sadness-wanders-schnee-iv/
- https://www.season-of-mist.com/release/eastern-frontier-in-flames/
- https://www.season-of-mist.com/release/a-few-lines-in-archaic-ukrainian/
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