Drudkh announce new EP 'Thaw' and unveil the track 'Memory' • GRIMM Gent

Ukrainian atmospheric black metal entity DRUDKH announce their forthcoming EP Thaw with the release of its lead single, “Memory.” Conceived during the same sessions as 2025’s Shadow Play, the new EP stands as a direct continuation of that album’s emotional and thematic landscape.

Rather than marking a departure, “Memory” extends the introspective current established previously. Running just over seven minutes, the track unfolds with deliberate pacing and sustained atmosphere. Its title suggests persistence rather than nostalgia, an emotional residue that remains present beneath the surface. Suspended melodies and restrained repetition guide the composition forward, reflecting the EP’s central image of thawing as fragile transition.

Thaw is best understood as a transitional release in the most literal sense. Recorded during the same creative period as Shadow Play, it shares its spirit and atmosphere, functioning as a distilled appendix rather than an independent statement. Across three tracks, the EP explores liminality, inner exile, and the quiet instability of change. “Memory” serves as its entry point, embodying the tension between stasis and subtle movement that defines this release.

Born from the whispering winds and the brooding landscapes of Ukraine, a realm steeped in history and draped in the enigma of folklore, emerges DRUDKH – a beacon of profound expression in the vast expanse of black metal. In their essence, DRUDKH are the custodians of a narrative, combining atmospheric and pagan influences into a mesmerizing portrayal of their homeland’s soul. Their journey is one of introspection, seeking to create music that evoke a profound emotional resonance that stirs the depths of the human experience.

With the unfolding of Shadow Play, their latest album, DRUDKH invites the listener into a realm where the boundaries between the corporeal and the ethereal blur. This album emerges as an ode to the contrasting forces that shape existence: light against shadow, silence against storm, ephemeral beauty against the decay of oblivion. A story untold, exploring themes of exile, the cycle of life and death, and the perpetual yearning for a return to origins—both personal and collective.

Through Shadow Play, DRUDKH transcends the conventional expectations of music, engaging in a dialogue that is both personal and universal. They challenge us to confront our own shadows, to find beauty in desolation, and to appreciate the intricate dance of light and darkness that defines our existence. This album is another chapter in DRUDKH’s storied discography – it represents an invigorated exploration into the myriad facets of human emotion, the relentless pursuit of truth, and the undying passion for unearthing the hidden threads that connect us to the past.

In the wake of Shadow Play, DRUDKH extend this same creative breath with Thaw, a three-track EP recorded during the album’s sessions and conceived within the same emotional horizon. Rather than opening a new chapter, it lingers within the existing one, offering a quieter, more concentrated meditation on transition and inner exile. If the album traced the tension between shadow and illumination, Thaw inhabits the fragile interval between stillness and movement, where change begins almost imperceptibly beneath a frozen surface. In doing so, it reinforces the coherence of this period in DRUDKH’s work, deepening its atmosphere and affirming continuity over rupture.

DRUDKH continues to illuminate the path for those who dare to wander, to question, and to dream.