After two years, Polish black metal band Batushka (Батюшка), led by founder Krzysztof “Derph” Drabikowski, are returning to Močvara to put on another metal spectacle, just like last time! The date when the popularly called “real Batushka” is coming to Zagreb is October 1st, and they will be joined on this European tour by French maritime black metal band Houle. Early bird tickets for 27 euros can be purchased through Hangtime ticketing. The pre-sale price of a ticket is 31 euros, and on the day if there are any left they will cost 34 euros. They will soon be available at Dirty Old Shop.
Batushka is a band formed in 2015 in Białystok. Their songs deal with Orthodoxy, and their lyrics are in Old Church Slavonic. The band’s name comes from the word for “father”, or any Orthodox priest, hieromonk. Multi-instrumentalist Drabikowski got the very idea of founding a band while reading comments on YouTube under a video with Orthodox music and how “holy songs are more metal than any satanic black metal”. In the beginning, the band decided to be anonymous and masked, in a way deprived of identity so that the listeners could focus more on the music itself. The band released the first single “Yekteníya VII” and then the debut album Litourgiía (“Litourgiya”) (“Lithurgy”) in December 2015. The album became a big hit on the metal scene and secured the band great popularity and performances at numerous festivals, and their performances in Russia and Belarus were canceled due to protests. Batushka soon split into two bands: one led by Drabikowski, the other led by Bartłomiej “Bart” Krysiuk, now called Patriarkh. In 2019, Drabikowski and the band released the eight-song album Панихида (“Panihida”) (Requiem), which received rave reviews and was also very well received by the metal scene. In May 2024, the Polish courts ruled in favor of Drabikowski in a first-instance ruling regarding the rights to the band’s name. However, the legal dispute over the name “Batushka” has not yet been fully resolved. In any case, Batushka’s performances are not to be missed, see for yourself on October 1st at Močvara!
FB: https://www.facebook.com/truebatushka/
YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvBkvjhXtBk
Houle was formed six years ago in Paris, and their style can be described as atmospheric black metal. Interestingly, their lyrics deal with oceans and maritime themes, which is not particularly typical for this genre. They have behind them the EP “Houle” from 2022, while last year they released the studio debut “Ciel cendre et misère noire”. Band members are:
Græy Gaast – bass, Vikser – drums, Crabe – guitar, Zéphyr – rhythm guitar, Adsagsona – vocalist.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/HouleOfficiel
YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_7H3ZYTMLQ
IG: https://www.instagram.com/houle_officiel/
SP: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6zS0YEPIRESv50RqqhIzCX