Ukrainian veterans Drudkh return very quickly after their last full-length from last year (A Furrow Cut Short), this time for a split with Sweden’s Grift, whose full-length debut album Syner was released last year. Each band contributes two songs to Betrayed By The Sun/Hagringar, which is a forty minute long split.
Drudkh’s contribution is up first, with each song being typical of their current style. Drawing upon Ukrainian folklore as their inspiration, Drudkh begin with “His Twenty-Fourth Spring.”
A blastbeat opens the song with fast riffing and the muted, harsh vocals of Thurios, but the song soon downshifts to a mid-paced tempo and introduces some mild guitar melodies.
“Autumn In Sepia” continues in much the same vein, with a mix of blastbeats, slower, mid-paced tempos, and a few melodies. Each song is an excellent example of a mature band producing solid music that is well produced and executed.
Grift are a lesser known, one man project from Sweden. Erik Gärdafors is the creative force behind Grift, and he draws upon man’s insignificance in the face of nature for inspiration. The two songs are much quieter and more introspective than those of Drudkh’s contribution with, for example, mild acoustic guitars to open “Källan.”
However, Grift also deliver harsh vocals, distorted guitars and occasional blastbeats. The production on Grift’s half of the split is thinner, but the two bands complement each other nicely on what is ultimately a good introduction to both.
(released September 16, 2016 on Season Of Mist)
