Drudkh is back at it again.
With Shadow Play, their twelfth album released by Season of Mist Underground Activists, the band embarks on a work of personal introspection.
The only musicians credited are Thurios (vocals/keyboards/guitar) and Roman Saenko (guitar/bass).
The album begins with a few steps to Scattering the Ashes, with an initial melancholy riff coupled with keyboards that slowly transforms, then returns to its original form, leaving us to wander as we walk. The composition remains mysterious, but it eventually gives way to fury on April, where fast drums and dark rhythm immediately come to life to join the familiar saturated vocal parts, irrevocably transforming the atmosphere into something more ethereal, although there are also some hazy transitions. If some moments are very raw, the transition to the haunting moments is all the more striking, as is the apotheosis of the final that leads to the catchy The Exile, which revives motivating patterns as much as it remains anchored in its latent aggression. Lighter melodies also enter the picture from time to time beneath the avalanche of coldness, sometimes transforming the sound into a gentle lament before Fallen Blossom charges back in and brings out the band’s wilder leanings, particularly in the vocals. The instrumental still takes us on a journey, capturing our spirit with every change of pace, and then The Eve softens the tone with soothing orchestrations, but the vocals still give it that dark, spiritual tinge, even during the quiet moment that suddenly appears towards the middle of the track. The composition eventually drifts into the raw sound of The Thirst, which in turn sweeps us along in its mystical surge with no possibility of turning back, tossed about by strikes and other harmonics until this brief moment of tranquility is quickly shattered by a luminous sound that finally precipitates us towards the album’s final moments, not without a final conflagration.
As usual, Drudkh develops a dark atmosphere before leaving us to face his flood of fury and mystery. I could simply say that Shadow Play follows the band’s legacy with dignity, but it seems deeper than a simple “additional album”.
95/100