Патриархь - Пророк Илия (2025)

Finally putting all their legal messes behind,Bartłomiej Krysiuk’s Batushka is now Патриархь or Patriarch, and they are back with an impressive release titled “Пророк Илия”. Keeping some of their ‘old’ stylistic themes and sound, but also adding some extra layers and new dimensions, this release unleashes over 40 minutes of highly ritualistic and hypnotic music, that while not close to “Литоургиiа”, it does show the band in a new light and with a unique identity.

The release kicks off with an atmospheric piece that slowly transitions into the chilling “Вершалин II”. This track perfectly exploits the band’s eerie choir arrangements alongside a good dose of Black Metal harshness and some new string instruments. The full effect is quite cinematic, unveiling new layers to the band’s sound while keeping their own uniqueness. This bleeds into “Вершалин III”, another engaging ritualistic track that masterfully incorporates some haunting female vocals.

One of the best tracks in this release is the pummeling “Вершалин IV” which features a folkier edge with Eliza Sacharczuk vocals, and further immerses the listener into the band’s new sound. Keeping that cinematic experience going, “Вершалин V” continues to showcase the band’s duality of fierce BM riffing and shrieks alongside dreamy atmospherics and a dramatic Doomy edge that is hard to replicate, think of Arð meets Black Metal.

The additional instrumentation makes for a very rich and engaging listening experience, setting different moods thought this release, but particularly on “Вершалин VII” and the dramatic closer “Вершалин VIII” with its lush arrangements. Overall, we are quite impressed and captivated with “Пророк Илия”. The band nicely distances itself from their troubled past with a very engaging and cinematic style that fits perfectly with their underlying stylings. Before taking sides and jumping on bandwagons, give this release an honest try, we are sure you will be impressed.

Label: Napalm Records

Release: January 3rd, 2025

Genre: Atmospheric Black/Doom Metal

Country: Poland