Batushka - Litourgiya

I'm annoyed about this albums hype because there's something slightly going for it throughout, but not enough interest to reface the entire bm landscape.

Written by Alakazam on 03.08.2016 at 18:16

I'm annoyed about this albums hype because there's something slightly going for it throughout, but not enough interest to reface the entire bm landscape.

Actually it's just blackened doom

Written by Karlabos on 03.08.2016 at 18:19

Actually it's just blackened doom

I hear no doom in it. Sounds more like straightforward BM not unlike other polish bands, with some slower tempo songs which is also common in BM.


Anyway, this is still fucking awesome.

Written by Karlabos on 03.08.2016 at 18:19

Written by Alakazam on 03.08.2016 at 18:16

I'm annoyed about this albums hype because there's something slightly going for it throughout, but not enough interest to reface the entire bm landscape.

Actually it's just blackened doom

Just So we do have a hierarchy between genres here. Bm>doom?

Written by Karlabos on 03.08.2016 at 18:19

Written by Alakazam on 03.08.2016 at 18:16

I'm annoyed about this albums hype because there's something slightly going for it throughout, but not enough interest to reface the entire bm landscape.

Actually it's just blackened doom

Except that there is zero to no doom in their sound.

Written by [user id=157444] on 03.08.2016 at 18:35


Just So we do have a hierarchy between genres here. Bm>doom?

Nah... The word "just" is to emphasize there's nothing exactly new to the sound like everyone is implying since merging doom and black has been done a lot of times already. Not necessarily a demerit adverb for black or doom.

For people saying it isn't doom it's ok to think as doomed black instead of blackened doom then.
The tempo is hella slow and sometimes the guitar notes are played in a non-typical blackish manner (ie, tremolo) but rather crushingly and separatedly. Listen to this song until about 1:40 then stop. If that's not doom I don't know what is.

Absolutely fucking love this. Very aggressive bm with chants and orthodox influenced songwriting. Such an addictive listen. Their wooden tape boxes are fucking gorgeous. Sad nothing is available at a decent rate and the cassette wooden tape box is totally not available at all.

Also not doom at all here. Shame when I saw the doom tag everywhere else it wouldn't be here in ms, but not sure why its present here.

Written by Paz on 27.01.2016 at 20:51

Can't speak for others here, but I personally love the combination of black metal and orthodox russian chants. That's a pretty neat move if you ask me.

Definitely. It's one captivating, original touch.

Saw a bit of them live last Saturday and it was really bad.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 24.12.2016 at 00:12

Saw a bit of them live last Saturday and it was really bad.

Really? A shame. Was the performance itself? Sloppy? Bad sound?

I left after about 5 minutes, so yeah, not that great. They took forever to set up and it wasn't worth the wait.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 24.12.2016 at 00:12

Saw a bit of them live last Saturday and it was really bad.

Saw them this weekend at Brutal Assault and it was amazing! Even though the album didn't catch me before. And I'm now listening to it
Give them another try if you have the chance one day

Really good album! I have listened it twice so far. Definitely I am going to listen it more!

^ Only twice?!

In other news, this guy did a fine job with covering their songs. His intro is dope too!

Written by Paz on 24.10.2017 at 23:53

^ Only twice?!

Sola dosis facit venenum.

An absolutely massive release! The only reason I dont give it the perfect score is because I feel that the chants arent mixed into the music to be as loud as I would like them to be. The unique orthodox chants are often drowned by the thunderous drums and growls, which damages the atmosphere in my opinion. It sometimes feel as if the two are clashing against each other instead of building upon each other.

Masterpiece. Very few albums achieves this perfectly balanced atmosphere between beautiness and agression.

Very enjoyable, unique black metal!

Of Drabikowski and Krysiuk, who did the deep, chanting vocals and who did the more traditional black metal rasps?

One of the best albums of last decade. Still sounds amazing from start to finish.

Solid album. Just discovered the band recently. Why did they disband though?

Written by K4$$33 on 13.11.2024 at 17:00

Solid album. Just discovered the band recently. Why did they disband though?

Oh boy, the drama, you're in for a ride

Written by K4$$33 on 13.11.2024 at 17:00

Just discovered the band recently. Why did they disband though?

The two parties involved had grown apart on an artistic level and eventually parted respectfully and amicably.

Written by Starvynth on 13.11.2024 at 17:16

Written by K4$$33 on 13.11.2024 at 17:00

Just discovered the band recently. Why did they disband though?

The two parties involved had grown apart on an artistic level and eventually parted respectfully and amicably.

Aha I get it, they could have created two bands instead of fighting over one, like for example Batushka North, and Batushka South. Countries do it all the time. Just saying.

Not a black metal fan, but this album is a total masterpiece

Finally got down to listening to this gem of an album. The first song is out of this world.

Woah, didn't expect anything and I'm surprised by how underwhelming this is??? I feel like I heard a different album from everyone else

Written by Roman Doez on 21.05.2026 at 11:26

Woah, didn't expect anything and I'm surprised by how underwhelming this is??? I feel like I heard a different album from everyone else

I dunno what to tell you, man. If you don't like it you don't like it but yeah it really does seem that our experiences are as far away as to wonder what are we listening or not listening here.

I just really like the riffs, the songwriting, the slow songs that have this solemn, melancholic vibe. And on this album the mix with the chants is fucking glorious. They fit so well together. Neither of the halves that made Batushka will release something like this.

Written by X-Ray Rod on 21.05.2026 at 22:09

I dunno what to tell you, man. If you don't like it you don't like it but yeah it really does seem that our experiences are as far away as to wonder what are we listening or not listening here.

I just really like the riffs, the songwriting, the slow songs that have this solemn, melancholic vibe. And on this album the mix with the chants is fucking glorious. They fit so well together. Neither of the halves that made Batushka will release something like this.

Yeah it's definitely just a matter of taste but I'm kinda bummed, since it gets high ratings everywhere I figured I'd at least come out of it with a track or two I'd like but this was genuinely difficult to sit through at times, didn't grab me in any way unfortunately

Written by Roman Doez on 21.05.2026 at 23:17

Yeah it's definitely just a matter of taste but I'm kinda bummed, since it gets high ratings everywhere I figured I'd at least come out of it with a track or two I'd like but this was genuinely difficult to sit through at times, didn't grab me in any way unfortunately

I find it so weird that you found it so difficult to sit through. This is as accessible as black metal can be most of the time. That's the kind of comment I expect from Sunn O))) and Khanate. xD