Drudkh's
last and eigth full-length record, Handful of Stars, presents a face of
black-metal deprived of aggressivity, and more atmospherical and melancholic
than some of their early releases.
This
change of course happened some records ago and has now reached a certain level
of false monotony. The tracks are not always that varied though. The focus isn't
placed on virtuous riffs and harsh moods; mid-tempo tracks for the most succeed
each other, sometimes without a feeling of a thread going through the tracks.
When this is said, the set-up is far more controlled in this one than in The
Swan Road (3rd album from 2005) for example. There remains some harshness in
the voice, but I don't consider Handful of Stars to announce a revolution
in the band's career.
Fans of
Agalloch, this is all for you.
