Release Date September 25th, 2026
Format CD/LP
Genre Black Metal
Origin Ukraine
Windswept is a Ukrainian black metal band and a creative outlet for Roman Saenko, also known for his work in Drudkh and Hate Forest. It is a trio, and its sound circles around hypnotic riffing under a wintry atmosphere. In 2024 the band joined Primitive Reaction for the mini album "Der Eine, Wahre König", and the same label now issues "A Sign Of The Cloven Hoof", the fourth full length, on CD and vinyl LP.
"A Sign Of The Cloven Hoof" lasts over 35 minutes across five tracks, and the production lets the wintry atmosphere hang over every riff. The riffing circles in cold, hypnotic loops, the playing is stern and unadorned, and the intensity stays austere and fierce. The opener "Behind The Masks Of Piety" runs 11 minutes, and its second half drops the pace into a slow, haunting drift that opens a new color for the band. "Thieves Of The Stars" also stretches past eight minutes, and the longer span lets the riffs unfold. The cost is dynamics.
The five tracks share one temperature, hooks are minimal, and some riffs circle a few turns too many before the direction changes. The concept draws on Ukrainian demonology and the early stories of Mykola Gogol, and titles such as "Buried Face Down" and "Towards The Abandoned Church" match that folk horror. The album has enough atmosphere and songwriting detail to remain a worthwhile entry in the Windswept discography.
|7.5
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