The four lengthy tracks unfold like a woven canvas of landscape, as such the cascading soundscapes have a charm of their own. The opening track “The Nocturnal One” conveys a sublime emotional feeling that finds a perfect blend of furious blast beats and aggression. There is often alteration between the tempos that provides plenty of space for the shimmering melodies where the guitars and bass are given their unique focus. The significant aspect of Drudkh’s music is the combination of the traditional black metal a la Burzum that often builds hypnotic harmony in the background. While all these melodies sound catchy the band managed to pull some brooding moments on the following track “Windmills”.

The soothing resonance of the guitars and the chants comes as a remarkable surprise however each track takes some considerable time to yield breathtaking overtures. As a result, the use of acoustic guitars, keyboards, and the humming bass guitar makes this track laden with folk melodies. There are tons of variations within the sonic spectrum that are enough to arrest your soul, the tremolo-picked riffs and Vlad’s drumming displaying such clarity. Thurios‘ fierce black metal growls unfurl with the fast-paced drums and the guitar patterns become a fine texture woven with a darker rhythm. The lyrics on the album are taken from Ukrainian authors and poets such as Yakiv Hryhorovych Savchenko and Antin Pavluk and this is to say that the vocalist Thurios sings all four songs in his mother tongue. Drudkh still holds the tradition of preserving the Slavic language which has become a dominant lyrical aspect of the previous records and the new album as well.

“All Belong To The Night” is enmeshed with folk melodies and keyboard textures but Drudkh combines them with acoustic guitar passages, while there are some noteworthy changes this time in the direction of the songwriting the music offers some breathtaking cinematic themes. To a certain extent, the new album differs from the 2018 album “Їм часто сниться капіж (They Often See Dreams About the Spring)” the songs are somehow refined and have some resemblance to the progressive/folk style of the past albums but they also bring plenty of progressive and atmospheric sections.

Drudkh gives more prominence to the slower pace with melodies dominated by thick riffing and the mid-tempo often tends to shimmer in darker winter hues. The atmosphere is still the heart and the soul of the music “November” is one of the distinctive songs of the album that attains a perfect balance of tremolo textures and somber melodies. All these remarks make “All Belong to the Night” one of the greatest albums in the band’s discography there are plenty of extrusive tempos driven by the swirls of the guitars. Although this time the songs are more distinctive and atmospheric the sonic spectrum seems to flow perpetually with creative ideas and somber themes infusing rhythmic hooks.

Although I enjoyed the previous album much more than the latest endeavor one can surely find a myriad of hypnotic guitar melodies layered into the songs. Roman Saenko‘s musical art has brought Drudkh to the forefront of the black metal genre next to bands such as Gaerea, Wolves In The Throne Room, Mgła and Auðn. “All Belong to the Night” is flawlessly crafted the minimalist use of the keyboards provides a sense of surrealism, while the use of the arpeggios offers some beautiful touches here and there the shrieking vocals of Thurios stand out. Despite the songs are not played in a straightforward manner Drudkh managed to encapsulate the songs with sublime art.

The closing track “Till We Become The Haze” is where the instinctive melodies contrast with despair and melancholy themes, this 15 minutes track sinks into dark melodrama that brings some brooding tones of tremolos serving as backdrop tapestry. Impulsive melodies stream through the upbeat drums offering some rich cinematic qualities that evoke the aesthetics of Drudkh. While the first half of the track had some great moments the remaining portion of the song takes the listener on a journey through the lush forest with the music taking a progressive direction which comes close to bands like Winterfylleth and Negură Bunget.

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