Watch: Derph’s Batushka’s (“BaTRUEshka”) Triumphant Return to the Stage

No matter whose side you’re on in the ongoing battle between the two Batushkas, the truth of the matter is that neither version of the band is in a particular great position. The version signed to Metal Blade and managed by 5B (Slipknot, Amon Amarth, etc.), led by vocalist Bartłomiej Krysiuk and dubbed “Faketushka” by detractors, was mercilessly derided by fans to the point where they had to cancel their North American and Australian tours due to poor ticket sales. Guitarist/founder Krzysztof “Derph” Drabikowski’s version, meanwhile, despite putting out an absolutely killer album earlier this year that won the respect of fans as the true version of Batushka (“BaTRUEshka”), hasn’t been able to do much of anything else, hamstrung by legal issues and presumably without the necessary cash to invest in any significant touring.

But, at least for one night, Derph’s Batushka reigned supreme. Derph made his triumphant return to the stage with a brand new lineup at MonteRay Club in Kiev, Ukraine, this past Saturday night, November 9, and from what we can tell based on fan-filmed video the show lived up to the expectations of epic spectacles for which Batushka first became known, complete with a mock coffin, a full shrine, numerous candelabras and, of course, hooded cloaks.

The world’s foremost Batushka documentarian / generally rad Twitter person Vomit Dragon attended the show and was able to capture scoured the web and shared some striking images and videos from up front, a few highlights of which I’ll repost below (check out the full thread here). Others have since uploaded their own video footage to YouTube, embedded below as well.

Here’s to hoping Derph can bring this Batushka show to the States ASAP, although we wouldn’t count on that happening any time soon.