Album Review: PATRIARKH – ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ (Napalm Records)

Five years after the release of their critically acclaimed album, ‘Hospodi’, Polish black metal icons PATRIARKH (former Batushka) return with new concept album ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ (Engl. Prophet Elijah). Their label debut will be released on January 3rd, 2025, via Napalm Records.

ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ details a true story that happened in the band’s home area of Podlasie, in the village of Grzybowszczyzna, in the 1930s and 40s. The album takes the listener into the world of Eliasz Klimowicz, the titular Prophet Ilja, an illiterate peasant who was the leader of the Orthodox Grzybowska Sect, active until the 1960s, cultivating and transmitting the history of the self-proclaimed prophet.

Setting the conceptual bar high for 2025 already, PATRIARKH’s new effort is certainly epic and one that does an incredible job of transporting the listener to a different time and a different place. Not just through storytelling, after all, there are many languages spoken here and few will be able to understand all, but through an array of instruments. Some of which come from the world of folk, such as a tagelharpa, mandolin, mandocello, hurdy gurdy and stringed dulcimer. Some of which is more traditionally metal, drawing from the worlds of black and doom. All complimented by big symphonies and choirs, resulting in a textured and cinematic listen.

It won’t come as too much of a surprise to learn that ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ is an album that demands the listener’s full attention. Even if there are times where it doesn’t quite do enough to hold it. Colourful and vibrant, yes, but sometimes the hue is nothing more than different dark shades of grey, and it’s not always the most palatable.

It is fascinating though, and PATRIARKH really do weave a rich tapestry of conceptual music here. Creating atmosphere with ease, delivering cinematic grandeur, showcasing abundant heaviness melded with dramatic melody, and consistently telling stories. The spirituality of the record and how history is weaved so emphatically in, is constantly impressive.

Thankfully, this means the album has a more profound impact and a track like WIERSZALIN II can sound so heretical. It’s the first full track following an intro and it comes with weight. Not just because it has got heavy guitars, drums, and scowling vocals here and there, but because it sounds and feels grandiose. The choir, the bullish symphony, and the folk layering is very impressive.

It’s not a one-off either and WIERSZALIN III offers up something so much more haunting. Whereas WIERSZALIN IV blends melodic opulence with brutish blackness, WIERSZALIN V is more traditionally black metal and features a powerful spoken sermon at the start, and WIERSZALIN VI is all about melody. Each offers something unique, and each helps the album grow and grow in stature.

PATRIARKH do save the biggest and boldest of tracks for the end though. Crafting ominous ambience with WIERSZALIN VII, the most cinematic track of all, even when it transforms into something so much more dark, wicked, and savage. Before wrapping up this ambitious listen with WIERSZALIN VIII, a spectacular layering of all the elements that makes this album what it is. PATRIARKH promised a divine experience steeped in profane blackness and melodically charged spirituality, and they’ve delivered on that here.

PATRIARKH – ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ Track Listing:

1. WIERSZALIN I (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН I (Cyrillic)
2. WIERSZALIN II (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН II (Cyrillic)
3. WIERSZALIN III (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН III (Cyrillic)
4. WIERSZALIN IV (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН IV (Cyrillic)
5. WIERSZALIN V (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН V (Cyrillic)
6. WIERSZALIN VI (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН VI (Cyrillic)
7. WIERSZALIN VII (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН VII (Cyrillic)
8. WIERSZALIN VIII (Lat.) – ВЕРШАЛИН VIII (Cyrillic)

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