Artists: Batushka, Germ
Venue: The Corner, Melbourne, Australia (Woiwurrung country)
Date: 17th Jan 2026
Review by: Ulffe
Photos by: Dave Collopy
Ambient buzz fills the Corner Hotel this warm Friday evening. I’m energised by that warm pre‑set hum where everyone’s half‑chatting, half‑waiting for something to happen. Emerald lights wash over the room. Someone near the bar breaks the mood with a classic Melbourne complaint: “Seventeen bucks for a beer, cunt?!” and the crowd laughs it off as smoke begins to billow across the stage.
I don’t know Germ well, but I know enough to understand the Austere connection, and that alone had me curious. Tim Yatras is the multi-instrumentalist.
Germ’s music is hazy, folky, drifting. For a guy who’s drawn to melancholy and dreary heavy music, it’s a new kind of musical atmosphere that feels like it’s pulling you sideways into something distant and half-remembered.
As the set tightens, the band’s dynamic becomes clearer. Vocals are shared between Tim, on drums, and one of the guitarists, and it works far better than it has any right to. The bass carries this earthy, wandering pulse that gives their songs a folky backbone, especially when passages drift towards the heavier or more cosmic and expansive.
Tim’s delivery on the kit and vocally is raw. There’s something emotionally bruised about the music and this performance, almost traumatised, and it cuts through the mix in a way that feels intentional. However, there is sometimes an optimistic hope to the music.
The set, opening with Butterfly, moves eclectically through moods rather than genres. One moment you’re drifting through something delicate and shimmering, the next you’re hit with this triumphant swell that feels almost post‑rock. Beautiful lead lines pull you into hopeful lulls before dropping you back into something dreary and grey. It’s a strange balance, but it works so well. This is not exclusive to the song but the compositions of the entire set.
At one point as I’m moving through the band room to get different vantage points, as I step back I hear more details. Cleans become clearer, more fragile. The band have incredible control over dynamics. From bleak and brutal to something bright and almost victorious. It’s a band that knows how to move a room. Why don’t I know of them? They’ve been around for so long, I’ve been attending gigs for just as long? I absolutely love this.
By the time pack-down begins and the stage starts to empty, Germ have done more than warm the crowd. For a band I walked in barely familiar with, I walked out a genuine fan. Their merch reportedly sold out at the previous interstate show, and after this performance, it’s easy to understand why.
The True Batushka was a band I was pleasantly surprised to get the chance to see. Punters and fans of the band shared this sentiment strongly throughout the night.
With legal disputes finally settled, Krzysztof Drabikowski’s Batushka stands uncontested, and the certainty in the room was palpable. Those who refused to see the other band who once shared the same name are here tonight, ready to enjoy the full religious force of this mighty Polish black metal band.
There’s a buzz as The Corner Hotel band room becomes shoulder to shoulder as you approach the stage. People are ready for the offering. Ornate fabrics flow over plinths decorating the stage. As I surveyed the stage I’m hyper aware that this space has never looked like this before, and probably won’t again. It’s a special experience. A procession begins as robed members solemnly begin walking ritualistically barefoot onto stage. They ring bells, swing censers that spew smoke that waft sweet, musky ceremonial scents into the room. Candles are lit in front of tablets that depict the cover art of two albums. Deep organ has been filling the room for some time now. Male choirs resonate deep, warm but eerie melody as the procession plays out.
At the foot of the stage, a metallic container carrying sand is filled with orthodox candles- Krzysztof’s presence is somehow recognisable as one of the two members lighting these candles- even though he’s clad in the same robes as the others on stage. Once the final candle was lit, the two stand and face each other. Placing their own palms together in prayer position, they bow over the freshly lain skull between them on the central plinth. The whole process took maybe a few minutes, but I was so lost in the subtle, sacramental movements that time stood still, before even the performance properly began.
The set was filled with tracks from their catalogue. 2019’s Панихида is played, (I believe in full), and what a way to absorb this release. This version of Batushka has 2 albums to its name since the split. Without wanting to draw too much time or attention to the other band, Drabikowski’s Batushka sound is miles more robust. In a live setting, vocals hit much harder- especially the heavy vocals partly to do with the distortion and effects. Overall, musicianship is tighter and composition more interesting and true to the original sound. It has always been clear to me that on a creative level, this is the real deal.
As for the performance, it’s completely theatric and unique. There’s no showmanship, there’s little movement on stage apart from subtle, calculated, routine action such as one of the liturgical vocalists lifting their arms in an embrace to the gods, or reading from a religious text. This works- it was a 1.5 hour set, and if I had watched a normal death or black metal band perform with such little movement, you would be bored out of your mind. There’s something dark and spiritual about this band and I highly implore you to see them next time they are around if you get the chance.
The night ended with another display, reversing the setup. Candles were snuffed, and Krzysztof, now unmasked, collected candles and handed them to the crowd at the barriers. The liturgical vocalists approached the hanging sets and dipped aspergillums into (un?)holy water and blessed the crowd in cool liquid. Krzysztof remained tending to the crowed who embraced his presence. Dedicated members of audience were able to get a personal moment to look him in the eye and to say thanks while shaking hands. What a bloody event tonight was.
Gig Gallery:
A massive shout out to YOUR MATE Bookings for the unexpected media access- writing a review for this band without access to the barriers would have been incredibly difficult to articulate such a visual show.