Today is the time for an extraordinary album release and one of the earliest in 2025. I listened to it on Christmas Day and I thought it was very appropriate for the day. Of course it is not a Christmas album or any kind of radio-oriented adult music, but the mood was just perfect. Enough said, of course we are talking about PATRIARKH‘s return with a masterpiece of arcane Black Metal!
They present their new concept album ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ (Prorok Ilja) which translates as Prophet Elijah and will be released via Napalm Records on the 3rd of January 2025.
The concept of ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ is based on a real event in the band’s homeland, Podlasie, more precisely in the village of Grzybowszczyzna, about 90 years ago. The album gives us an insight into the world and life of Eliasz Klimowicz, the titular prophet Ilja.
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We get eight tracks full of journeys into a strange world. The instrumentation is excellent and very varied. I think PATRIARKH have used every musical instrument ever invented and maybe even some alien ones. We hear everything from tagelharpa, mandolin, mandocello, hurdy-gurdy and dulcimer to a full symphony orchestra and choirs alongside classical guitar, bass and drums.
Orthodox holiness is perfectly mixed with black, doom and folk metal. There are elements of Orthodox music, Byzantine monody, liturgical chant and Russian polyphony that create a very unique sound carpet.
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It is difficult to “judge” such an album song by song, as I usually do, so I decided to listen to it as a whole. This is my recommendation anyway. Don’t pick out one song, give the album the full listen it deserves. There are so many little gems to be discovered in each track, you won’t regret it.
The musicians’ technical skills are outstanding. The band creates a tight and atmospheric sound with ease. Sometimes the sound is so dense that you might miss a small but extraordinary detail if you are not fully concentrating on the songs. On the other hand, you could use the album as background music, creating a wall of sound for your own creativity or, you might laugh at the idea, while cleaning the house.
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And try to get a lyrics sheet, or even better, a translation sheet. There is a great variety of languages! The fragments of texts from the play “Prorok Ilja” combined with liturgical texts will also help you. ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ is pure sentimentality and folklore. It’s pastoral, lyrical, epic and multi-dimensional, and I can only invite you to join PATRIARKH on their fascinating journey!
Short Facts
ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ
Label: Napalm Records
Genre: Black, Doom, Folk Metal
Release Date: January, 3, 2025
PATRIARKH are:
LEH – drums
MONAH TARLAHAN – guitars
MONAKH BORUTA – guitars
ARCHANGEL MICHAEL – guitars
CHIATSYNTOS YATZA – choir
YAZYCHNIK – choir
VARPHOLOMIUS – vocals
Tracklist:
WIERSZALIN I (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН I (Cyrillic)
WIERSZALIN II (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН II (Cyrillic)
WIERSZALIN III (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН III (Cyrillic)
WIERSZALIN IV (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН IV (Cyrillic)
WIERSZALIN V (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН V (Cyrillic)
WIERSZALIN VI (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН VI (Cyrillic)
WIERSZALIN VII (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН VII (Cyrillic)
WIERSZALIN VIII (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН VIII (Cyrillic)
PATRIARKH live 2025:
I highly recommend to experience the songs of the new album and previous gems live, it will be both, an audio and visual outstanding entertainment.
NOWY WIERSZALIN Poland 2025
03.01.25 PL – Łódź / Wytwórnia – SINFONIA ORTHODOXIA w/symphonic orchestra and male choir
22.02.25 PL – Krosno / Rock Klub Iron
07.03.25 PL – Wrocław / Transformator
08.03.25 PL – Zabrze / CK Wiatrak
09.03.25 PL – Kraków / HYPE PARK
14.03.25 PL – Lublin / Fabryka Kultury Zgrzyt
15.03.25 PL – Olsztyn / Scena Zgrzyt
16.03.25 PL – Warszawa / Klub Proxima
17.03.25 PL – Białystok / Zmiana Klimatu
21.03.25 PL – Gdynia / Podwórko.art
22.03.25 PL – Szczecin / Kosmos
23.03.25 PL – Poznań / 2progi
Online:
PATRIARKH
Please buy merch and physical music or downloads from the bands official sources and don’t stream it for free because it steals your artists’ income.
Review by Friend.X aka Mr. Deep