I’ll spare you all the now-old drama surrounding the creation of Patriarkh (such a feminist name!). My job is to focus on the music; it’s yours to eat up the gossip. Anyway, in ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ, Patriarkh continues its quest to craft the most blasphemous mockery of Slavic Orthodox traditions. Full disclosure: yours truly might speak many tongues but has no clue what’s being said in this album from start to finish. Still, I assume it’s something evil and unholy, but, you’re not reading this for the lyrics. Let’s go!
Despite the obvious comparisons to Batushka, ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ takes the band down a different path—a more Rotting Christ path. The tracks have clear structures and follow an effective, haunting approach that clearly looks to fill you with dread and mysticism. This is the work of people who have put effort into their brand—and I mean that in a positive way. Everything in Patriarkh tells you exactly what the band is going for, and if you like your Black Metal with some Folk and ritualistic elements, then you’re in for a treat.
I’d say that ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ puts the most effort into methodically building its atmosphere. Don’t despair. It’s not a slow album per se, or even a long one, but it does take its time to stretch and show its big guns. And what are those big guns? Gregorian-like choirs, nasty blast beats, and harrowing shrieking. Everything you and Satan love to sacrifice teddy bears to. So, it’s definitely brutal enough for the average Metalhead. However, if you breathe Dungeon Synth, you might run into issues—similar to mine, actually.
You see, much like the aforementioned Greek band, every track is immersive enough, but it also plays the same trick over and over. If you shuffled them randomly, I’d have no way to tell them apart. Besides, there is some interlude work here that is fine, but there is nothing I could need to feel the heresy. So, in a way, the album plays too safe for my taste. It’s not the radical statement I believe Patriarkh needs to own its sound properly. It’s never been easy, but I’d like the band to explore the gimmick more deeply.
I don’t want to seem too negative about ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ. It’s still a rather unique take on Black/Folk Metal that we rarely listen to at this level of execution and atmosphere. It’ll make the hardcore fans keep fighting and hating for another few years (the same for the Batushka fans), and that’s what a Black Metal band needs to breathe and eat: controversy and edginess. The rest is just details! So, get your biggest hoodie, light some candles, put some plastic skulls around the house, and let these false prophets take you to new deprived places that you can only imagine since almost nobody speaks Old Slavonic. Cheers!
Label: Napalm Records
Release date: 3 December 2025
Website: https://www.facebook.com/patriarkhofficial/
Country: Poland
Score: A endless summoning, or 3.2/5.0
Metal Eclipse Reviews 