AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: AZIMUT AND OCTOPUS KRAFT — “AGNI PARTHENE APOLEIA”

Feb 092026

(written by Islander)

In September 2023 the Ukrainian band Azimut independently released their debut album Stuma, which interwove a wide range of influences, including sludge, post-metal, and black metal. Now the boutique Ukrainian label Robustfellow Prods. is releasing Stuma on a limited edition of cassette tapes, with a special bonus track.

The bonus track is a musical collaboration between Azimut and the Ukrainian project known as Octopus Kraft (now the solo endeavor of Yurii Dubrovskyi). It’s two-part title is “Agni Parthene / Apoleia“, and we’re premiering a lyric video for it below. The piece is described as follows:

AGNI PARTHENE / APOLEIA is a fusion of sacred choral tradition and apocalyptic soundscape. It reimagines the classical Orthodox hymn Agni Parthene (Greek for “O Pure Virgin”), an ancient fiery prayer to the Holy Mother of God. Originally written by Saint Nektarios of Aegina during a time of intense personal suffering, this hymn continues to offer strength and hope to those in pain. The second movement, Apoleia (Greek for “Ruin”), marks a fall — a descent into heaviness, sorrow, despair, repentance, and ultimately, surrender.

This is a collision of the sacred and the human — a journey from light into darkness, from spiritual elevation to inner collapse. The contrast tears at the soul: the same voice that once prayed for protection now speaks from a place of hopelessness, confessing with the awareness of someone no longer truly alive — yet still conscious of their guilt…. A ritual in sound that exposes the tragedy of a soul that’s lost itself — yet still digs through ashes in search of meaning.

The rendition of the hymn that begins this two-part piece is slow, solemn, and reverent, a heartfelt combination of singer and organist. The singing earnestly yearns, and the organ music seems to do so as well, climbing higher. Here and there, drums dramatically thump and crack, as if a sign of things to come. The performances are mesmerizing but haunting.

As the vocals soar, the organ music swells in heavier and darker tones, another sign of things to come. With a brief pause, the track’s second half (“Apoleia“) begins, with a combination of notes that seem to dismally moan and feverishly quiver, undergirded by steady beats and slugging low frequencies. This time the vocals furiously roar, yell, and scream, gritty and impassioned.

The music and the vocals are dark, desperate, and unnerving, torqueing the tension toward a breaking point. Piercing tones flicker and squirm across the channels; the vocals become cacophonous, and wail. The decibels slowly subside, with sounds whooshing from side to side, and the song fades away — the moment of surrender having arrived.