Artist: Burning Winds
Country: USA
Label: Heidens Hart
Formats: Demo tape
Year: 2023
Aside from a sporadic release as a demo CDR, a split LP, a compilation LP and a split 7″, Burning Winds’ entire (impressive) output has been released on cassette tape, so this latest work, ‘Black Satanic Mass’, falls squarely into that tradition and is simultaneously the band’s 14th demo tape.
For those who have heard anything by Burning Winds anywhere at all, they can actually claim that they “know the band very well”. After all, the band has been stoically carrying on producing extremely primitive Black Metal since its formation in 1997 and seems to boldly continue to refuse to deviate from its path. That path musically is best characterised as something roughly in between the harshest and earliest work of Beherit, Goatlord, Blasphemy, Archgoat and Profanatica. So you will also find no finesse, no subtlety and no musicality on ‘Black Satanic Mass’. Simplicity trumps all, that is the essence of Burning Winds, consequently it is that same simplicity that (dis)embellishes the entire experience here. It’s ugly, slow, messy and a simple miscreant might just call it amateurish. And, frankly, that same miscreant is actually not that far off. Still… For those who can appreciate it, it definitely has its charm and it’s unquestionably sincere, pure and it captures well the energy of the underground Black Metal of the late 80’s.
With its 14th demo, NecroDan, Burning Winds’ sole inspirer, will not win any new souls in the sense that it manages to offer an interesting musical turnaround. As might be predicted, it is quite the opposite, ‘Black Satanic Mass’ is yet another confirmation of the band’s underground status: unknown to the masses but loved by a select group of intimates.
