Batushka on Tour
Critically acclaimed Polish black metal band Batushka have had more than their fair share of controversy during their brief existence. The band was reportedly banned from performing in certain countries, accused of being blasphemous because of its liberal use of religious imagery in its performances and album art. Performing in hooded robes and liberally using images and texts from Eastern Orthodox Christianity, they sing their songs in the Old Church Slavonik language.
The band independently released their debut album, Litourgiya, in December 2015, which received rave reviews from critics and made it onto several best metal albums of the year lists. It was also a commercial success in their native Poland. This apparently wasn't enough to prevent the band from fighting and splintering into two factions.
Founder Krzysztof Drabikowski and vocalist Bartłomiej Krysiuk had a falling out and went their separate ways. Krysiuk ended up starting his own version of Batushka, which releases its own recordings and performs without Drabikowski. Drabikowski filed a lawsuit objecting to this, seeking to prevent him from performing and releasing music under the Batushka name, claiming that Krysiuk's band is not legitimate.
All controversy aside, Batushka puts on an epic, theatrical and transfixing live show that is not to be missed. Grab your tickets now for their extensive worldwide tour.
Batushka Live in Concert
Multi-instrumentalist Krzysztof Drabikowski founded Batushka in 2015 in Białystok, Poland. He reportedly decided to combine black metal with traditional liturgical songs after hearing someone say, "God's hymns are more metal than any satanic black metal music out there."
Drabikowski worked hard that year to realize his vision, composing and recording the music himself and eventually bringing in other members, including vocalist Bartłomiej Krysiuk and drummer Marcin Bielemiuk to rerecord the music. Rather than using their real names, Batushka initially left their identities a mystery and used invented monikers to add to the mystique of the project.
Batushka, which means "father," put out their first single "Yekteníya VII" in November 2015, just before releasing their debut album, Litourgiya (Литоургиіа), in December. Music critics raved about the album, calling it "black metal in its purest sense" and AngryMetalGuy.com saying, "the songs all share similar patterns of alternating grandiose black metal bursts enshrined in great, goosebump-inducing melodies...submerged in doomy harmonies."
In 2017, the band signed to Metal Blade Records in the U.S. and rereleased Litourgiya worldwide, apparently without the involvement of founding member Drabikowski. This led to the splintering of the band and subsequent lawsuits.
Fortunately for Batushka fans, this hasn't stopped Drabikowski from taking his iteration of the band out on the road for an epic world tour.
