Batushka

Batushka (stylized in Cyrillic as БАТЮШКА) is a Polish black metal band based in Białystok, founded by Krzysztof Drabikowski in 2015.^[1] Their music and lyrics, which are written exclusively in Church Slavonic language, are inspired by the Eastern Orthodox Church.^[2] The band members wear religious habits and Eastern Orthodox schemas during live performances to conceal their identities. In contrast with many other black metal bands, they use eight-string guitars.

Batushka
Batushka performing at Brutal Assault 2017
Background information
Origin	Białystok, Poland
Genres	Black metal
Years active	2015–present
Labels	Witching Hour, Sphieratz, Metal Blade
Members	Bart, Tarlachan, Lech, Boruta, Hiatsyntos, Yurodivyi, Grandfather, Pagan
Website	www.batushkaofficial.com

A dispute between Drabikowski and his band members, mainly Bart Krysiuk, in 2018 led to Krysiuk leading his own version of Batushka with the members of the band. This group released its own recordings and began performing separately from Drabikowski. Drabikowski protested the move and does not consider Krysiuk's band legitimate.

Name

The word Batushka (Cyrillic: Батюшка), meaning "father", is the titular equivalent of a hieromonk in Eastern Orthodoxy or, broadly, of any Orthodox priest.

History

Batushka was founded in Białystok in the spring of 2015 by multi instrumentalist Krzysztof "Derph" Drabikowski at his home studio, Sphieratz Productions in Sobolewo; he came up with the idea of combining black metal and traditional liturgical songs of the Orthodox Church after reading comments on YouTube videos of Orthodox music, saying how "God's hymns are more metal than any satanic black metal music out there". Throughout the first quarter of 2015, Drabikowski proceeded to compose and record the music, write the lyrics, paint the artwork for the album and create the band's overall concept by himself until deciding to bring Marcin Bielemiuk to re-record the drum parts in acoustic percussion. Drabikowski originally invited his friend and former Heuresis bandmate Lech to do the vocal parts but dropped out of the project because he didn't know how to write old Church Slavonic.

In July 2015, before adding the finishing touches on the album, Drabikowski recruited Hermh vocalist Bartłomiej Krysiuk to record the vocals. The album was completed in the following months and Drabikowski convinced Krysiuk and Bielemiuk to make Batushka an anonymous project; according to Drabikowski, this was decided in order for the listeners to focus on the musical experience itself, as such and for the next year the band's line up remained unknown to the public and started using monikers in Cyrillic to further conceal their identities.^[3]

The group released the single "Yekteníya VII" in November 2015, prior to their debut album Литоургиіа ("Litourgiya") ("Liturgy") in December. Both recordings were released through Witching Hour Productions, owned by vocalist Bartłomiej Krysiuk.^[4] The album was critically acclaimed, with various sites naming Litourgiya one of the best metal albums of 2015, it also became a commercial hit in the Polish metal scene. The album's overwhelming success prompted the band to start touring due to massive demand from various European festivals. The band's live line-up featured a total of 8 performers: Drabikowski on lead guitars, Krysiuk on lead vocals, and Bielemiuk on drums alongside 3 backing vocalists, a bassist, and a rhythm guitarist. The band would have inter-changing live members throughout 2016–2018, depending on individual members' other commitments.

Following some regional touring, concerts in Russia and Belarus were also planned, but were canceled due to protests^[5][6][7] and alleged death threats made against them.^[8] This incident also ended the public anonymity of the band's core line up since Drabikowski started doing interviews explaining the situation.

In 2016, together with Behemoth and Bölzer, the group embarked on a concert tour in Poland called Rzeczpospolita Niewierna ("The Republic of the Unfaithful"). In 2017 they performed at Wacken Open Air and Brutal Assault.

In October 2017, the band were signed to Metal Blade Records in the US and rereleased Litourgiya worldwide in both physical media and digital platforms. The signing of the band, however, was done without the knowledge and involvement of founder and main composer Krzysztof Drabikowski.^[9]

In April 2018, Marcin Bielemiuk left the project for undisclosed reasons. A year later on 24 May 2019, he stated on a Facebook post that he was fired by Drabikowski after criticizing his attitude and behaviour toward him, Krysiuk and the rest of the band's live performers.^[10]

Split with key members

On 23 December 2018, Drabikowski announced via the Batushka Instagram account that he had decided to part ways with vocalist Bartłomiej Krysiuk "due to inappropriate behaviour on his part." In the same post, Drabikowski stated that "There were attempts to take my creation Batushka away from me" and "the upcoming album Панихида ("Requiem") will not feature his voice".^[11]

The following week, the post was taken down and a new post stated that Drabikowski "was told earlier this month that he would not participate in Batushka activities as we move into 2019" and that any pages operated by him were to be shut down based on a claim "based on intellectual property and trademark ownership".^[12]

In a counter-claim, Drabikowski uploaded a video statement claiming that Krysiuk had been pressing him to release the new album and, when he disagreed, Krysiuk then "hired musicians to produce an album that he planned to release as the new Batushka record, behind [his] back". He also stated that he had taken legal action, being advised by his lawyer to not say anything further and that pictures on the website and Facebook page were of Krysiuk and people like his son pretending to be Batushka.^[13]

On 6 May 2019, Drabikowski released an update on the court proceedings, stating that the court decided that Bartłomiej Krysiuk cannot tour under the name "Batushka" or release new music under the moniker until the proceedings are over.^[14] Despite the uncertainty of the band's status, tour dates have been committed to from June 2019 and onward. Krysiuk also stated that he had no intention of honoring the court's decision. A month later Krysiuk posted an update where his legal team succeeded in appealing a reversal of the court's decision that forbade him from using the "Batushka" moniker for touring and merchandising while the case proceeds, however, Drabikowski is still allowed to use the band name in various capacities in spite of Krysiuk's attempts at censoring him through bans and takedowns on Bandcamp and social media.^[15]

On 13 May 2019, Drabikowski's Batushka released a song through their own YouTube account from their upcoming album Панихида ("Requiem"), called "Песнь I" ("Ode 1").^[16]

On 15 May 2019, Krysiuk's Batushka released the first single through Metal Blade's YouTube account from their upcoming album Господи ("Lord"), called "Polunosznica (Полунощница)". Their album was scheduled to be released on 12 July 2019.^[17] Subsequent music videos were made for the songs "Wieczernia", "Liturgiya", "Utrenia" and "Pierwyj Czas" but due to backlash from supporters of Drabikowski all music videos had the likes/dislikes and comment sections disabled on YouTube. Posts about Batushka on Metal Blade's Instagram also had their comments disabled. These actions stirred even more fan backlash.

On 27 May 2019, Drabikowski's Batushka released a new full-length album called Панихида ("Panihida") ("Requiem") and was very well received by both critics and fans alike.^[18][19]

On 12 July 2019, Krysiuk's Batushka released a full-length album called Hospodi ("Lord"), the album received mixed reviews from critics^[20][21] and was panned by some of the band's fans, with most of the criticism aimed at their "illegitimacy" to use the name Batushka.^[22]

 

Batushka in 2019

Despite the public backlash, Krysiuk's version of the band continued to tour^[23][24][25] and play at various festivals, notably replacing Dimmu Borgir at Bloodstock Open Air.^[26] and beginning a co-headlining European tour with Belphegor 10 November 2021. On 6 September, Krysiuk's Batushka uploaded a trailer for a documentary titled "Batushka: Uncovering the Truth", about the name dispute and the split between Krysiuk and Drabikowski. However, no further updates or a release date have been revealed since the first announcement. Amidst the backlash, Krysiuk's band canceled Australian and North American tours with fellow Polish band Hate.^[27][28][29] While no official reason was given for the former, Krysiuk later released a statement saying both tours were cancelled due to the costs of the legal battle. Krysiuk later stated the planned European tour would proceed and revealed plans to work on new music,^[30][31] but on 6 January, the European tour was announced to be indefinitely postponed due to an unspecified member of Krysiuk's band having to "undergo medical treatment".

Moving forward

After a prolonged silence, Krzysztof Drabikowski announced on 9 September 2019 that he will be performing Panihida live in its entirety with a new line up at the MonteRay Club in Kyiv on 9 November 2019, the performance was very well received and was reportedly a sold-out event for the venue.^[32] Drabikowski has also expressed his hopes of going on a proper tour in 2020. In late October, several dates were confirmed for Drabikowski's version of the band's European tour, and will take place in 2020, with confirmed dates in the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany. Drabikowski's Batushka also joined Malevolent Creation on their European tour from February to March 2020; the tour was a success with many sold-out venues, however the tour was cut short on 11 March, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the band's scheduled performances at Poland were canceled due to safety concerns, and Krzysztof Drabikowski tested positive of COVID, he was also suffering from cardiac issues and was hospitalized but was able to recover. On 19 January 2020 it was announced that Drabikowski's Batushka was going to perform at the fifth "México Metal Fest" at Monterrey on 14 November 2020,^[33] however the festival was postponed twice until September 23, 2022, and the band performed live as scheduled. Drabikowski's Batushka also performed at the Latvian ethnographic and crafts festival Zobens un Lemess on 7 to 9 August 2020 held in Bauska castle grounds. Since recovering from COVID, Drabikowski has been hinting at new Batushka music, sharing photos and videos on his social media.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic Krysiuk's version of the band was also forced to cancel and postpone performances and tours, he subsequently released 2 EP's; Raskol and Carju Niebiesnyj in August 2020 and March 2021 respectively, as well as a live album on Christmas 2020. All three records were released under Krysiuk's own label Witching Hour Productions.

Krysiuk's band resumed touring in the UK & Europe in November & December 2021, with the 'Black Rituals Tour' which featured guests Belphegor, Diabolical, Warhammer, Impalement, & Almost Dead. The tour was well received, and would see a follow up in April & May 2022 under the name 'Black Liturgy Pilgrimage 2022' and would again feature guests Diabolical and Warhammer. Prior to the online release of compilation album 'МАРИЯ / MARIA', the band sold exclusive physical copies at these shows. On February 21, 2022 'МАРИЯ / MARIA' was made available for purchase via the band's Bandcamp store, and on March 30 of the same year it went online to digital streaming services. The album combines the EP's 'Raskol' and 'Carju Niebiesnyj' seamlessly and closes with the previously unpublished title track 'MARIA (Posledeje Pismo).

Following the success of the 2021/2022 UK & European tours, Krysiuk took his band to North America later in 2022 on the 'North American Pilgrimage' which saw their first appearances in Canada, and a return to Mexico. The tour spanned from September 26 to November 1, with direct support from Polish band Hate. Hideous Divinity was not able to make the tour despite every effort, and so each date would have a local opening act. Imperial Triumphant would join Batushka in Mexico. Batushka and Hate would continue to tour together in Europe from February 16 to March 5 of 2023. From March 13 to March 19 the band made their first appearances in Japan, Thailand and Indonesia.

Krysiuk and co. would return to United States and Canada for the 'North America Black Pilgrimage 2023' for 20 dates from August 14 to September 5, this time with Swallow the Sun, and Stormruler. Batushka would tour Europe for the second time in 2023 during September and October, this time with Arkona and Aeternam. Batushka returned to Mexico in November for a handful of concerts before the end of 2023.

Members

Batushka's first album Litourgiya was written by Krysztof Drabikowski with a heavy use of Orthodox chants as a base for instrumental and vocals parts, and was recorded by Krysztof (guitars, bass, vocals), Marcin Bielemiuk (drums), and Bartek Krysiuk (lead vocals and choirs).

Many session players were enlisted to perform with the band over the following three years. Some players had obligations outside of Batushka, so there would be inter-changing personnel depending on tour dates and regions.

In December 2018, the band officially split into two entities. Each party would keep a handful of members from the original group.

Litourgiya personnel

• Христофор (Krzysztof "Derph" Drabikowski) – guitars, bass, vocals
• Варфоломей (Bartłomiej "Bart" Krysiuk) – lead vocals
• Мартин (Marcin "Beny" Bielemiuk) – drums

Live members up until the dispute

• Варфоломей (Bartłomiej "Bart" Krysiuk) – lead vocals (2016-2018)
• Христофор (Krzysztof "Derph" Drabikowski) – live guitars (2016-2018)
• Мартин (Marcin "Beny" Bielemiuk) – live drums (2016-2018)
• Черный Монах (Patryk G.) – backing vocals (2016-2018)
• Блажей (Błażej Kasprzak) – backing vocals (2016-2018)
• Хиацынтос Яца (Jacek “Jaca” Wiśniewsky) – backing vocals (2016-2018)
• Юродивый (Yuridovyi) - backing vocals (2017 - 2018)
• Kamil Popławski - backing vocals (2017 - 2018)
• Дедушка (Artur "Paluch" Grassmann) – bass (2016-2018)
• P. (Paweł Bartulewicz) – live guitars (2016)
• Wdowa (Paweł Wdowski) – guitars (2016 - 2018)
• Домниос - live guitars (2017 & 2018)
• Artur Rumiński – live guitars (2017 & 2018)
• Тарлахан (Rafał "Tarlachan" Łyszczarz) - live guitars (2018)
• Jatzo (Jacek Łazarow) – live drums (2018)
• Pavulon (Paweł Leszek Jaroszewicz) – live drums (2017 & 2018)
• Krzysztof Klingbein – live drums (2018)

Batushka full-time members

• Варфоломей (Bartłomiej "Bart" Krysiuk) - screaming & singing
• Лех (Paweł Leszek Jaroszewicz) - drums
• Тарлахан (Rafał "Tarlachan" Łyszczarz) - guitars
• Джейкоб Борута (Jakub "Boruta" Śliwowski) - guitars
• Хиацынтос (Jacek "Hiatsyntos" Wiśniewski) - choir

Batushka session & live members (2019–present)

• + # Язычник ("Yazychnik") - choir
• + # Блажей (Błażej Kasprzak) - choir, live bass
• + # Дедушка (Artur "Grandfather" Grassmann) - bass (2019-2021, 2023)
• # Домниос (Dominik _______) - live bass (2021)
• # Юродивый (Mateusz "Yuridovyi" Bułatewicz) - choir (2019-2022)
• # Andrzej Popławski - choir (2022)
• # Архангел Михаил (Michał "Archangel" Staczkun) - choir (2023-present)
• # Adrian "Klama" Meissner - choir (2024-present)

[+ = studio member] [# = touring member]

Former members

• Artur Rumiński – live guitars (2017-2018), Hospodi album (2018-2019)
• Дедушка (Artur "Grandfather" Grassmann) - live bass (2016 - 2018), studio and live bass (2019 - 2022, 2023)

Krzysztof Drabikowski's Батюшка (2019–present)

• Христофор (Krzysztof “Derph” Drabikowski) – guitars, backing vocals
• Jatzo (Jacek Łazarow) – drums
• Kamil Popławski - bass
• Черный Монах (Patryk G.) – backing vocals
• Lykanthrop (Felix Weischer) – lead vocals

Former members

• Лех – lead vocals (2019-2022)

Timeline

Discography

Original Батюшка

Studio albums

• Литоургиiа / Litourgiya (Witching Hour Productions, 2015)

Singles

• Yekteníya VII (Witching Hour Productions, 2015)

Drabikowski's Батюшка

Studio albums

• Панихида (Sphieratz Productions, 2019)

Singles

• Песнь 1 (Self-released, 2019)

Krysiuk's Batushka

Studio albums

• Господи / Hospodi (Metal Blade Records, 2019)

Live albums

• Черная литургия / Black Liturgy (Witching Hour Productions, 2020)
• Черные ритуалы / Black Rituals (Liturgy in Budapest - Live 2021) (Via Nocturna Records, 2024)

Compilation

• Мария / Maria (Witching Hour Productions, 2022)

Extended plays

• Раскол / Raskol (Witching Hour Productions, 2020)
• Царю небесный / Carju Niebiesnyj (Witching Hour Productions, 2021)

Singles

• Polunosznica (Metal Blade Records, 2019)
• Wieczernia (Metal Blade Records, 2019)
• Liturgiya (Metal Blade Records, 2019)
• Irmos II (Witching Hour Productions, 2020)
• Irmos III (Witching Hour Productions, 2020)
• Irmos IV (Witching Hour Productions, 2020)
• Pismo IV (Witching Hour Productions, 2021)
• Pismo I (Witching Hour Productions, 2021)
• Мария / Maria (Witching Hour Productions, 2023)

References

1. "Liturgia Batushki na OFF Festivalu". kultura.onet.pl. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
2. Kendrick, Monica (9 August 2018). "Mysterious Polish band Batushka evoke religious concepts in their black metal". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
3. Lawrence, Carina (12 April 2019). "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Krzysztof Drabikowski Of Batushka (Poland) "There is only one true Батюшка."". Retrieved 12 April 2019.
4. gwg.pl. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
5. "Orthodox Christian activists demanded to ban the concerts of a Polish band Batushka". orthodoxrights.org. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
6. "Batushka – Cancel Russian Shows – Metal Storm". Metalstorm.net. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
7. "BATUSHKA interview. "Everything that I wanted to tell is in the music, in the lyrics and in the cover art" – Hitkiller.com". hitkiller.com. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
8. "Witching Hour Productions". Facebook. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
9. "BATUSHKA: Polish black metal legion joins the Metal Blade Records roster – Metal Blade Records". metalblade.com. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
10. "A special statement from Martin – the former drummer of Batushka". Facebook. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
11. Noizr (23 December 2018). "Batushka parts ways with its vocalist Bartłomiej Krysiuk". Noizr. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
12. Kennelty, Greg (2 January 2019). "BATUSHKA Suffers Lineup Split, Both Sides Claim Their Version Of The Band Is The Real Version". Metal Injection. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
13. БАТЮШКА (30 December 2018). "Батюшка announcement". Retrieved 24 March 2019 – via YouTube.
14. "Update from the court". 6 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019 – via Twitter.
15. Neilstein, Vince (7 June 2019). "Polish Court Grants Bart's Batushka the Right to Use Band Name While Lawsuit Continues". MetalSucks. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
16. Vince Neilstein (13 May 2019). "One Version of Batushka Drops a New Track". MetalSucks. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
17. Vince Neilstein (15 May 2019). "Another Version of Batushka Drops a New Track". MetalSucks. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
18. Greg Kennelty (27 May 2019). "Krzysztof Drabikowski's BATUSHKA Drops New Album Панихида". Metal Injection. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
19. Vince Neilstein (30 May 2019). "Krzysztof Drabikowski's Batushka Streams New Album, and It's a Beast". MetalSucks. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
20. "Album Review: Batushka – Hospodi". Kerrang!. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
21. Hinds, Thomas (10 July 2019). "Batushka vs. Batushka: Liturgical Usurpation on Black Metal's Front". Invisible Oranges. from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
22. Vince Neilstein (26 July 2019). "The "Faketushka" Version of Batushka is Getting Slaughtered on the Internet". MetalSucks. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
23. Vince Neilstein (24 July 2019). "Bart's Batushka Announces Ambitious Fall 2019 North American Tour". MetalSucks. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
24. Greg Kennelty (25 July 2019). "BATUSHKA Announces North American Tour Dates". Metal Injection. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
25. Emmy Mack (16 July 2019). "Polish Black Metal Band Batushka Are Touring Australia This Year". Musicfeeds. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
26. "BATUSHKA REPLACE DIMMU BORGIR AT BLOODSTOCK FESTIVAL". Keerang. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
27. Vince Neilstein (9 October 2019). "Poseur Batushka's Australian Tour Has Quietly Been Canceled". MetalSucks. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
28. Vince Neilstein (29 October 2019). "Breaking: Poseur Batushka's North American Tour Has Been Canceled". MetalSucks. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
29. Greg Kennelty (29 October 2019). "Metal Blade BATUSHKA Cancels Tour Dates Until Lawsuit From Former Member Is Over". Metal Injection. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
30. Vince Neilstein (29 October 2019). "Batushka ("Faketushka" Bart Version) Issue Statement on North American Tour Cancelation". MetalSucks. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
31. Andrew Sacher (29 October 2019). "Batushka (Bart's version) cancel North American tour, issue statement". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
32. Vince Neilstein (11 November 2019). "Watch: Derph's Batushka's ("BaTRUEshka") Triumphant Return to the Stage". MetalSucks. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
33. Jorge Figueroa Tapia (20 January 2020). "Batushka (el chido, el original) llegará al México Metal Fest 2020". Svmma Infernø. Retrieved 20 January 2020.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Batushka.

• Batushka at AllMusic  
• Batushka on Encyclopaedia Metallum