MACHUKHA

Ukrainian band Machukha went live only in late 2023 but may well be the band of the day. They use elements of post-black metal and dark hardcore on their debut album Мочарi (Mochari). It was released in 2024 via Consouling Sounds and involved producers Jan Oberg (Downfall of Gaia; The Ocean) and Jack Shirley (Deafheaven; Amenra; Wiegedod) in the process.

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The theme of Mochari is resilience. It explores the human capacity to withstand atrocities and learning to get going. It takes more than strength, though. Machukha is Ukranian for stepmother, which may refer to the music as a site of caretaking, where pain and loss can be socially shared.

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With lyrics exclusively in her native Ukranian language, Natalya Andrasova’s voice is an outlet for genuine anguish, a part of her own journey. In waves of fury and melodic melancholy, Machukha invites the listener to acknowledge their own pain, to grieve by embracing it, and then to let it go.

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FFO:  Gaerea, White Ward, Liturgy

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