In 2017, Roman Sayenko of Drudkh started a new band built on raw black metal. Now, Windswept are casting a cold spell over a dark moment in Ukrainian history with their upcoming third album The Devil’s Vertep.
“True Ukrainian Black Metal through and through”, This Is Black Metal writes in a review of The Devil’s Vertep. “Another stellar accomplishment out of Windswept.
“…a fiercely intense album that at times can be quite melodic and very raw” The Metal Pit says.
The Devil’s Vertep was released, Friday, December 12, 2026 on Season of Mist Underground Activists, and you can hear all six blazing tracks by listening to the full album stream at Black Metal Promotion.
Order the album here: https://orcd.co/windsweptthedevilsvertep
Across The Devil’s Vertep, Windswept retrace the witch trials that took place in Western Ukraine between 1753 and 1754. The album blisteringly unfolds across six acts: the grim discovery narrated in “Infanticide,” the escalating procedures of “Investigation” and “Torture & Confession,” the witchdoctor’s craft in “The Potion,” the broader networks of sorcery in “Nest of the Witches,” and the judicial reckoning in “Verdicts.” With a cold hard gaze, Windswept transform archival records into unflinching black-metal.
Tracklist
- Infanticide (6:10)
- Investigation (7:18)
- Torture & Confession (8:38)
- The Potion (6:58)
- Nest of the Witches (4:57)
- Verdicts (7:54)
Full runtime: 42:09
WINDSWEPT return with The Devil’s Vertep, a new full-length rooted in historical documentation and stark musical expression. Inspired by The Black Book of Kremenets Castle 1747–1777, the record traces the witch trials of 1753–1754 in Western Ukraine, unfolding as a conceptual narrative across six compositions. Each track immerses listeners in a chilling atmosphere of accusation, confession, and execution, rendered through raw black metal shaped by both immediacy and conviction.
The project was founded in 2016 by Roman Sayenko, best known as the driving force behind Drudkh, alongside two close collaborators. Conceived as a space for spontaneity and instinctive creation, Windswept sought to capture black metal in its most unfiltered form. Sessions were approached with minimal preparation, often recorded in only a matter of days, ensuring the vitality of live performance informed every moment. While echoes of Sayenko’s other work could be felt, Windswept’s essence lay in improvisation and a raw fidelity to the Ukrainian black metal tradition.
Their debut, The Great Cold Steppe (2017), was stark and unforgiving, reflecting the desolate landscape of its title. The record quickly distinguished itself for its icy atmospheres and direct execution, a distillation of black metal at its harshest. This was followed in 2018 by the Visionaire EP on Ván Records, which deepened their exploration of fleeting, improvisatory intensity. A year later, The Onlooker (2019, Season of Mist: Underground Activists reaffirmed the band’s commitment to spontaneity. It offered a fierce, stripped-down sound that echoed early traditions while maintaining Windswept’s hallmark rawness.
With The Devil’s Vertep, Windswept turn toward historical narrative. Drawing on trial records preserved in the Black Book of Kremenets Castle, the album reconstructs testimonies of women accused of witchcraft, their brutal interrogations, and the violent judgments passed upon them. Each piece is tied to a specific chapter: “Infanticide” opens with the grim discovery of a newborn’s corpse, “Investigation” and “Torture & Confession” trace the harrowing interrogations, while “The Potion,” “Nest of the Witches,” and “Verdicts” reveal the network of accusations and the sentences delivered.
While The Devil’s Vertep marks Windswept’s first venture into Ukrainian demonology and witchcraft, these themes trace back much earlier in Roman Sayenko’s creative path. In the autumn of 1996, Sayenko began developing an unfinished project titled KOZLONOGYI (Goat-Footed): a concept rooted in the same folkloric and mythological territory that would later resurface within The Devil’s Vertep. Although KOZLONOGYI never moved beyond a few rehearsals, its sketches and early riffs became the foundation for Windswept’s latest work. By reviving and re-working these ideas nearly three decades later, Sayenko bridges eras of black metal evolution, imbuing The Devil’s Vertep with a distinctly 1990s sensibility and reverence for the early traditions that shaped his artistic identity.
Recorded, mixed, and mastered at Viter Music with production handled internally, The Devil’s Vertep balances immediacy with conceptual cohesion. Its stark presentation reflects the gravity of the source material, while the cover art by Obsidian Bone situates the work in a visual landscape as unsettling as the music itself. By channelling the voices of the past, Windswept expand their raw black metal vision into a work of historical remembrance, turning archival fragments into a haunting artistic statement.
Line-up:
R. — Vocals & Guitars
T. — Bass
V. — Drums
Production Credits:
Recorded at Viter Music. Produced & engineered by R. & V. Mixed & Mastered by V. at Viter Music.
Cover Art: Obsidian Bone
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