HEADLINER: BATUSHKA
SUPPORT: GERM
DATE: JANUARY 14TH 2026
VENUE: CROWBAR, BRISBANE
REVIEWER: NATALIE LORENZ
PHOTOGRAPHER: NATALIE LORENZ PHOTOGRAPHY
Батюшка (Batushka)’s very first mainland Australian performance was a beautifully coordinated ritual, and for clarity, if you think you saw them in Melbourne in 2024, you didn’t. This is Krzysztof Drabikowski’s Батюшка, the original and authentic incarnation.
Support came from Australian band GERM, whose blend of post black metal, shoegaze, and electronic elements created deep, cinematic soundscapes. They played a tight, immersive set that set the tone for the evening. Having seen Tim perform last year with Austere and live for Skuggor, it was a pleasure to witness his haunting presence again.
Батюшка’s ritual began before a single note was played, We Bow Down Before Your Cross echoing through the room as the clergy slowly emerged onto the stage wearing the analavos robes of Great Schema monks. As bells rang through the venue, liturgy was called into session; the air filled with the scent of frankincense from a swinging thurible, candles were lit, and worship began.
The band then performed Панихида (Panihida) in full, beginning, of course, with Песнь 1 (Pesn’ 1), as the congregation moved rhythmically to the hymns set before them. The deep, resonant Slavonic Znamenny chanting merged with harsh black metal vocals, drawing the assembly into a trance-like state.
Батюшка then moved into fan favourites, including Ектения I: Очищение (Yekteniya I: Ochishcheniye), followed by select offerings from Литоургиiа (Litourgiya), before closing once more with We Bow Down Before Your Cross. The crowd response was attentive, reverent, and fully immersed. In a final act of communion, the congregation was blessed with holy water and gifted extinguished candles from the performance, sealing the ritual long after the final note had faded.
For this reviewer, it was a long-awaited and deeply satisfying experience, finally witnessing a band I’ve enjoyed for years.
— Natalie Lorenz Photography
