Patriarkh | 27–28.11.2026 | WE Thessaloniki & ARCH Club
Patriarkh, the new incarnation of Batushka, return to Greece for two shows behind the concept album “Prophet Ilja” — Orthodox liturgical music, black and doom metal.
By Dimitris (Bari) Polyzois
Patriarkh, the new incarnation of Batushka, return to Greece for two shows, bringing one of the most ambitious and atmospheric works in contemporary black metal.
After five years of silence since Hospodi, they open a new chapter with the concept album “Prophet Ilja (Prorok Ilja)” — a record that works as a complete musical and theatrical narrative. It is based on the true story of Eliasz Klimowicz, known as Prophet Ilja, who led the Orthodox sect of Grzybowska in Poland’s Podlasie region during the 1930s and 40s.
The music keeps the blend of Orthodox liturgical music, black and doom metal that made Batushka’s name, enriched with folk and neofolk influence, cinematic arrangement and symphonic elements. Traditional instruments — tagelharpa, hurdy-gurdy, mandocello, hammered dulcimer — meet polyphonic choirs and Byzantine motifs.
Lyrically it draws on Tadeusz Słobodzianek’s play and historical record, in a multilingual mosaic taking in Old Church Slavonic, Belarusian, Russian, Greek, Romanian, Bulgarian and Polish.
Details
- Friday 27 November 2026 — WE, 3is Septemvriou 3, Thessaloniki · 21:00 · €26
- Saturday 28 November 2026 — ARCH Club, Athens
