Artist: Harvest Of Grief
Country: Spain
Label: Medieval Prophecy Records
Formats: Demo Tape
Year: 2026
Medieval Prophecy Records, home to Forbidden Temple, one of my favourite bands in the ancient rotting Black Metal genre, was once a label where you could buy anything they released without a second thought. Unfortunately, that has changed quite a bit over the past year. With many mediocre releases such as those by Törnen, Ichors Glaive, Drakonhail, Collier d’Ombre, Muvitium and Ablazen Winds, you would be well advised to give new releases from the label a proper listen before buying. The fact that I’m clearly not the only one who feels this way is evident from the fact that their releases no longer sell out in the blink of an eye, although that may also have something to do with the ever-rising prices. Fortunately, there are still highlights to be found on the Belgian label, such as this debut demo tape by Harvest Of Grief from Spain, which takes its name from the majestic Forest album.
The origin of their band name is actually most telling for how this first demo actually sounds like. While the musicians involved in Harvest Of Grief are also active in such bands as Nigromancer, Crucification, Stygian Storm, Strife, and Blood Ecstasy it is clear that they opted for a rather different direction with this project.
‘A Voice Prevails Through The Flames… Echoes Of Our Burning Spirit’ indeed bears some resemblances with Forest, or actually, more with the whole Blazebirth Hall movement from a good couple of decades ago. Stylistically, Harvest Of Grief falls somewhat between Branikald and Walknut. Its strong repetitive and almost incantatory character reminds of those Russian bands, or even the oldest work of Drudkh, but also holds that firm pagan and triumphant feel to its melodies. It has that unique combination of cold repetitiveness of the riffs that reflects the sombre and cold eastern winters with a strong sense of pride and an irresistible epic grandeur.
Some Spanish bands from the scene associated with these two musicians, such as the aforementioned Stygian Storm or the relatively new Blood Ecstasy, are treading similar paths, yet seem more like a fusion of northern and indigenous pre-Christian heroism; Harvest Of Grief, however, truly carves out its own niche and taps into a scene that is very slowly gaining some new recognition. This is definitely a very strong and interesting debut demo tape.
