It’s hard to believe at times that all it takes is a single power-hungry asshole to fuck things up for the rest of us. While one name sits way above the others in terms of a hierarchy of evil, that doesn’t mean that list isn’t bursting at the seams with the bodies of the dead. French post-metal band Dragunov are acutely aware of this violent inequity, building a career on creating music that was inspired by the failed communist idealism of the Soviet Union. On paper, Lenin and Trotsky’s desire to build a utopian society based on the equal distribution of wealth and shared vision of communal bliss seems to be a no-brainer; but these two world-builders forgot one crucial aspect of human life: humans can be complete asshats. And no opportunity gives one a bigger chance to be an asshat than sitting in a capitol building and running a country, perched high upon a metaphorical throne of (fool’s) gold.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022 was a brazen move. With the false narrative that he was liberating Ukrainians from a Nazi regime, Putin’s quest for power was amplified by the sounds of the West rattling their make-believe sabers. While the US and other NATO countries were quick to give Ukraine what they needed, Putin was still able to move into the borderlands with impunity. But that’s not to say expressing a righteous rage against the global war machine isn’t something that shouldn’t be done. Dragunov have sculpted their entire persona around this, and their new video for “The Great Hour”- premiered by us at Everything Is Noise– is another chapter in the sordid history of war.
‘We wanted to collaborate with Stefan De Graef from the bands Psychonaut and Hippotraktor. We chose him because of his creativity and the different kinds of voices he masters (clean vocals, screams, and harmonized voices). We really believe those two bands are two of the best ones out there at the moment. The song speaks about the different revolutionary armed forces that fought in different times of Ukraine’s history, and all the actions they had to take to save Ukraine’s independence. It, indeed, mirrors today’s reality. So Stefan’s mysterious lyrics made this song even more emotional. We asked Clement Paris, a graphic designer to work with us on this project. His work allowed us to illustrate what we really wanted to make you feel when seeing and hearing this song : the fight for freedom, humans struggling in the cold weather of Ukraine, but most of all, the story of thousands of men and women going to war to stay free and independent, with slight light of hope down the road, even if it seems like it’s an endless story.’
The collaboration involved in making the video from their upcoming album VEPR, is the antithesis of war- even if at a microscopic level- aptly expressing the human desire for freedom and independence. The music itself sits firmly within the ever-burgeoning French post-metal scene, teetering on the edges of atmospheric black metal, with enough clean and growled vocals to keep it interesting. The two-man band consists of Sebastien Pineau on guitar and drummer Tristan Monein, often performing live as a mesmerizing infantry of two. Their music has hints of expressive, experimental metal bands such as Cult of Luna, Russian Circles and Triptykon. On “The Great Hour” they take this sound and magnify it by a thousand, a veritable blitzkrieg of sonic weaponry moving nowhere but forward.
The animated lyric video tells the story of Ukrainian troops fighting their way against Nazi Germany and ultimately fighting for their freedom from the Soviet regime. The video deals with death and redemption, the soul of a fallen soldier rising into the winter sky. The song’s midpoint represents the beginning of another familiar chapter- a godhead manipulating soldiers like puppets. And in a world where human beings never learn from their mistakes, where belief in a god seems to border on the ludicrous, those who see themselves as gods are the ones who send the masses to die in the frozen fields and mud-filled trenches. As Dragunov has said, it’s an endless story- one that the band has been telling since their inception in 2013. And if history is any indication, the powerful French duo will never run out of fodder for their powerful, ethereal story-telling.
You can pre-order the band’s new album VEPR, which is set for release on December 6th, here and be sure and follow the band on their Instagram and Bandcamp.
