Polish black metal band Batushka have just released their fourth video, “Utrenia”, in support of their second studio album, Hospodi.  The accompanying music video is titled “Chapter IV: Crucifixion – Utrenia (Утреня)”.

The music video starts with a few menacing shots of a man carrying a cross over his back in a swamp-like area.  He is all alone.  Soon after the video establishes this man’s solitude, a title card briefly flashes on screen, then it’s right back to the protagonist as Batushka’s black metal starts to kick the video into high gear.  As the bearded man struggles to carry the cross, falling to his knees, another figure appears.  This person is dressed in an all black hooded robe, with his face completely hidden.  He is swinging what appears to be some sort of incense burner on a bridge covering a small body of water.

As the video goes on, the bearded man’s struggles continue.  He falls again, but finds the energy to get back up and keep going.  Batushka’s mixture of black metal growls and religious chants soundtracks the man’s journey, giving a glimpse into the man’s inner turmoil.  Most of the instrumentation suddenly disappears, leaving behind a few deep voices.  The heavy guitars and drums reenter as the video cuts to a religious ceremony, with a few people dressed much like the one earlier in the video.

The video concludes with the crucifixion of the bearded man by more nameless, hooded, dark figures.  The religious chants and screams eventually subside, and as the guitar fades away, the final shot is revealed to be the crucified man against the backdrop of a sunset.  The final on-screen text reads, “To Be Continued”.

This video is the fourth part in a series of videos that have followed this man with the cross.  The first video, “Chapter I: The Emptiness – Polunosznica (Полунощница)” was released along with the announcement of the album on May 15th.  The next two parts, featuring the songs “Wieczernia” and “Liturgiya” continued his storyline.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat