Artist: Ablazen Winds
Country: USA
Label: Medieval Prophecy Records
Formats: Demo Tape
Year: 2025
Originally self-released in a small run of 15 copies for a local show, ‘Burning Scripture Of War’ now sees a slightly larger release through Belgium’s revered Medieval Prophecy Records. Ablazen Winds is a new Black Metal outfit that consists out of Necklace Of Shadow (of past and present fame of Collier d’Ombre, Azelisassath, Ichors Glaive, Lunar Sorcery Garmsblod, Osgraef, Triumvir Foul and Excarnated Entity), Incubare (Collier d’Ombre) and Forlorn Spirit (Baphomancia). Normally I don’t get that impressed with the music made in the areas around these musicians, but this demo is hailed as being the pinnacle for fans of Astraofaes and Hate Forest. So then my interest is quickly piqued…
Generally I am quite fond of the output of the Belgian label, but the release of Törnen taught me that not everything Medieval Prophecy Records releases is equally interesting. And, frankly, Ablazen Winds is just another example of a release that is hardly worth spending your time and money on. Maybe it is not a co-incidence that Ablazen Winds founded around the same very same (sort of) people that are starting to drag down the overall quality of contemporary Black Metal.
Maybe Ablazen Winds isn’t really that bad, but the 20+ minutes of ‘Burning Scripture Of War’ go by without anything memorable. Generic riffs and drums go hand in hand with rather annoyingly loud and subpar vocals. The claim that this is on the same level of Hate Forest or Astrofaes is really the biggest nonsense out there, Ablazen Winds cannot even stand in the shadow of these Eastern European giants. Nothing of the strong and propulsive power of Hate Forest or the twisted riffs of Astrofaes can be found on this first offering. The lack of inspiration is also reflected in the fact that the new Azelisassath album is also titled ‘Ablazen Winds’.
I can’t even remember how many times I have said it, but these guys should just stop recording every damn idea they have and start a new band for it. Instead, concentrate on just two or maybe three bands and for goodness sake, start scrapping substandard ideas. Those 15 initial copies of this demo were more than enough.
