Batushka – pronounced ‘batjushka’ – is Cyrillic for ‘Father’, the form of address for an Eastern Orthodox priest. Metal has seen its fair share of bands where the members’ identities were/are shrouded in mystery and while it’s easy to dismiss this as a gimmick that disguises a lack of quality, this is far from the case with Batushka. Rumoured to be composed of members of established bands, their 2015 debut ‘ Litourgiya’ was heralded as one of the year’s best black metal releases – if not the best. Most hypes lack substance but Batushka is a rare exception. ‘Litourgiya’ has all the ferocity and massively distorted riffs you’d expect from a black metal album but overall it’s their original and overwhelming amalgam of fast, atmospheric black metal and Slavonic Orthodox chanting that imparts a truly unique atmosphere of blackest solemnity. Their sophomore effort ‘Panahida’ dropped in 2019 after the band split into two separate entities, each containing a handful members of the original line-up. Since then two versions of Batushka have been active.(#GMM24)
