Krzysztof Drabikowski’s Batushka Streams New Album, and It’s a Beast

Krzysztof Drabikowski’s Batushka — the version of the band led by the founder, guitarist and sole songwriter of their critically acclaimed debut, Litourgiya — has unveiled a new album, titled Панихида, after releasing a powerful single a couple of weeks back. It should be noted that this is not the band signed to Metal Blade Records; that version is led by vocalist Bartłomiej Krysiuk. The two Batushkas are currently involved in a legal battle over the band’s name.

I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I do have ears, and on first listen I’m inclined to agree with the Twitter hoi polloi that this Drabikowski-led version of Batushka has produced a work that’s the closest logical successor to Litourgiya. Put another way, it sounds way more like Batushka than Krysiuk’s version (which has only so far released one song, to be fair). If there was any doubt as to Drabikowski’s claims that he wrote Litourgiya on his own, this should settle them. This album is a beast, and I think Batushka fans are going to be very happy with it. As such, Krsyiuk’s got a tough act to follow… but we’ll see what happens! Book, cover, that whole thing.

Панихида is the Bulgarian word for “Panichid,” which means memorial service, dirge or requiem. Drabikowski recorded, produced, mixed and mastered the entire album himself.

Stream the album below and purchase it via Bandcamp.