“A wszystkie ptaki nasycone są ciałami ich…” […and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh, quote from “Wierszalin“]
The world stepped into the year 2025 with one less BATUSHKA, as KRYSIUK’S BATUSHKA had to change its name, upon the verdict of the Polish court, which granted the name BATUSHKA to K. Drabikowski. They chose the name PATRIARKH, which is very close in meaning to the previous name. On January 3rd, 2025, at Klub Wytwórnia in Łódź, PATRIARKH celebrated the release of their debut album under the new name, called “Prorok Ilja.” It tells the story of a Belarusian man, Eliasz Klimowicz, who claimed to be a prophet predicting the end of the world.
The evening started with the performance of a solo project by the former vocalist of the Polish band WILCZYCA, Nidhogg. Nidhogg, first and foremost is a performer. He turned the stage into a ritual ground with lit torches, a ritual table, a neat chalice of blood, and a massive flaming pentagram. The band played a long set consisting of songs both by WILCZYCA and from an upcoming solo album by Nidhogg. They didn’t shy away from pyro, which properly roasted the front row, to the point where during a moment of silence a voice from the audience could be heard – “opaliłeś mi jajka!” [Eng. “you torched my balls!”]. The entire performance was recorded with professional equipment, probably to be released later, so by doing this the member of the audience kind of immortalized himself.
After a long break, PATRIARKH took to the stage, which was decorated with icons, orthodox crosses both inverted and regular, and candles… a lot of candles, big and small. The band was supported by a full orchestra and a male choir and the entire show was being professionally recorded for their upcoming DVD release.
They started with “Wierszalin I,” Wierszalin II, and Wierszalin III, which were released as singles. The spoken parts combined with both male and female clean vocals and a wall of sound created a truly epic show. Especially if you could understand what was being said. Give me an orchestra, choir, and some good old blasphemy and I’m a happy camper. However, playing the entire album live on the day of its release meant that people who attended the show had more or less 15 hours to familiarize themselves with the material. Which in turn meant that nobody besides the band and the true die-hard fans who put the album on loop multiple times since midnight knew more than the two singles released earlier. So you can imagine how engaged the audience was in the show. All we could do was stand, stare, and absorb the great show, but we couldn’t really participate. After a short interlude, where all the candles were put out and the lighting changed from yellowish to blue, the band reappeared, lit the candles again, and proceeded to play the first notes of “Wieczernia” from “Hospodi.” You could sense the shift in the energy of the audience, people started headbanging and growling along with the song. After that, they played a 40-minute-long set consisting of a variety of songs from their earlier albums which they released still under the old name. They played such well-known songs as “Powieczerje,” “Polunosznica,” or “Utrenia,” entertaining the audience for another 40 great minutes. The evening ended with a meet and greet with the band members in the entrance hall. Check our photo gallery here…
Nidhogg & Wilczyca
Patriarkh
Photos by Magdalena Niemczura
