Release
Date: 12 September 2025
Format: Vinyl LP, Cassette
Genre: Black Metal
Country: USA
Burning Winds has always been a name passed around
in whispers within the black metal underground. Formed back in 1997 by NecroDan in Michigan, the project became infamous
through short-lived releases, raw demos, and an uncompromising sound.
Associated in spirit with bands like Profanatica and
Havohej, Burning
Winds never seemed interested in recognition or the scene at large. Over
the years, NecroDan would surface with crude
recordings, always limited and obscure, keeping the band’s existence shrouded
in secrecy. For decades, rumors of a full-length swirled, but none ever
came—until now. Through Werewolf Records,
“Hell And Damnation” finally arrives, carrying with it the chaotic, hostile
spirit that Burning Winds has stood for
since its beginning.
The album
is built on an unusual structure: every track is paired with its own intro,
creating a jagged flow that breaks apart any sense of rhythm. When the main
songs kick in, they’re violent, misshapen eruptions of primitive black
metal—short, ugly bursts of sound that echo the earliest days of the genre.
Guitars collapse into distorted fragments, drums stumble at unpredictable
speeds, and vocals rasp like they’re coming from a tomb. The result is hostile
and stripped down, closer to ritual noise than traditional songwriting.
“Hellsih Plague,” “Demons Of Darkness,” and “Burning Crucifix” are good examples of how NecroDan takes fragments of riffs and batters them into submission, letting them spiral into repetition until they fall apart. “Warhammers Of Death” and “Morbid Souls” show the same approach, hammering away at raw ideas with little interest in refinement. The sound is rotten—decayed in a way that is ugly and uninviting. And while this ugliness is surely the intention, it doesn’t make for strong listening.
“Hell And
Damnation” is extreme to the point of collapse. It’s the kind of black metal
that demands not just tolerance for filth, but a real desire to be buried in
it. For those already immersed in the most cryptic and abrasive sides of the
underground, it might carry a strange charm. For most listeners, it simply
sounds broken, chaotic, and unsatisfying. NecroDan himself
has suggested this could be the only Burning Winds album,
and if that’s the case, it won’t be one the world misses.
Score: 5.0
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