DRUDKH: “FAREWELL TO AUTUMN’S SORROWFUL BIRDS”

About one month ago, I posted a feature about the first song to premier from the new album by the reclusive Ukrainian band Drudkh, from their next album, Eternal Turn of the Wheel. Drudkh was a cult band whose music I had never thoroughly explored despite the fact that the few tracks I’d stumbled across over time were amazingly good. But listening to that first song from the new album — “When the Gods Leave Their Emerald Halls” — convinced me that the new album would be one to watch for.

Today, that conviction solidified even more. With an introduction by Brandon Stosuy, Pitchfork debuted a second song from the album called “Farewell To Autumn’s Sorrowful Birds”. The song title fits with the overall concept of the album — a five song collection that focuses on the four seasons.

The first song dramatically captured the transition from harvest time through fall and into the withering bleakness of winter. This new song is another fine piece of music. The first segment is slow and sorrowful but filled with pagan power and solemn beauty. After a brief interlude of relative quiet, the music surges in a blast of blackened power, yet still carries a memorable melody.

I have a feeling this is the kind of album that will find its way onto more than a few Best of 2012 lists by the end of this year. To listen to the new song, visit Pitchfork via this link.

Eternal Turn of the Wheel will be available on February 24th (March 13th in North America) as both a CD digipak and a vinyl LP with download card. Both editions can be pre-ordered at Season of Mist’s e-shop.