Written by: J.C. Lerche
Ah, Batushka... what promise they showed back in 2015 with their record "Litourgiya". Now, having completely lived up to their orthodox namesake and gotten themselves a schism, their faithful have picked sides. We won't cover the subject of the hows, whats and whys of their dispute in depth, as there is plenty material on that matter for you to seek out, and make up your own mind. For now, know there is two bands calling themselves Batushka, and they have both released records insisting to be the successor to Litourgiya: Hospodi and Panihida, which we will try to review as objectively as possible. Know that we too are flawed humans, and have opinions on the matter ourselves, which might color our judgment in this matter (Isn't that just reviewing in a nutshell?). With that said, let's get to putting the dox in Orthodox.
PANIHIDA
Release date: 26/5/2019
Label: Independent
First to land was this album, Panihida.
By the first minute of listening to this record, it is obvious that Panihida has taken up the mantle from Litourgiya; The tone, atmosphere and style is hewn completely from the same vein as it's predecessor. The album starts with the slow opening track Pecn 1 (Meaning "Ode 1"or "Песнь 1" if you prefer the original Cyrillic lettering) building up the forthcoming ritual. Pecn 2 takes it's place, upping the tempo and finding time for some start-stop breaking of the song. Creative, if a bit un-immersive and spell-breaking. Thankfully it's followed up by a more atmospheric part with choral singing. Pecn 3 further cements the legacy of this album, while bringing a few new elements to the table.
Going through the record, there are few tracks which stand out from the rest. Not in a bad way, as this is clearly intentional, and designed to be listened as a whole. If I had to pick, Pecn 6 and Pecn 8 stood out the most, the latter is partly a reprise of the opening Pecn 1, which to my mind is a good choice to open and close this work on the same note. I have to commend the production, which is stellar. The guitars and drums are crisp to a fault, and the lower frequencies are empathized.
Overall the tone is more solemn than Litourgiya, which actually plays along really well with the title of the album; Panihida is a memorial mass for the dead in eastern churches.
While overall a very good effort, this album still have flaws. Some songs feel a bit unpolished, which given the rush to release this before the other is understandable. However, the pedigree and overall atmosphere of Panihida is undeniable, and I look forward to numerous replays of this album.
Христофор
Link for Panihida
HOSPODI
Release date: 12/7/2019
Label: Metal Blade
Hospodi opens with Wozglas, which sounds akin to a opening prayer. Dziewjatyj Czas follows up, and sets the tone for the album... for the worse.
The golden cover of Hospodi is fairly quickly tarnished. As a whole, most songs fall into the form of verse-chorus-verse, which to me is not really a sign of great songwriting. Add to that the creative decision to utilize endless palm-muted guitar-chugging and un-energetic, boring drums (Listen to Powieczerje for a clear example of this). Those two gimmicks gets old very fast on this record.
Listening to songs like Wieczernja and Utrenia was an ephemeral joy to say the least. Both songs has some potential, but that is squandered very quickly with their repetitive passages. Shame, since there is 1 or 2 powerful riffs in here. So it is all around all over the album; There is a glimmer of great potential, but its cobbled together by bad songwriting with inferior riffs to create a result that just drags on with too little to keep my interest. Not even the choirs, which on a song like Polunosznica feels flat, uninspiring and forced...
"Flat, uninspiring and forced". Those words could sum up my experience here... The overall feeling when listening to this album conjured those words. I felt cheated and let down by Hospodi. I'm doing a service to this album by not naming the most boring and hollow songs, but I will be looking at the latter half of the album ominously(!).
To summarize; Bland and boring. Listenable, but rarely enjoyable.
Варфоломей
Conclusion (A.K.A Opinion-time)
After such a scolding review, some might be inclined to think that Hospodi is a shameless cash-grab based on a known and well-loved product, and only serve as a platform to further sales. Of course, such an idea is merely the opinion of this writer, and can easily be disproved since this Batushka hasn't made a plethora of merchandise to milk their franchise.
If authenticity is your thing, the difference between Panihida and Hospodi is like night and day. Of course both albums has their defenders and their haters, however, given the choice between these two albums, our opinion at Metal To Go is clear; Panihida is the superior musical experience.
We give Panihida
Out of 6
We give Hospodi
Out of 6
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