As with every creation touched by Roman Sayenko –  the main force behind Windswept, “The Devil’s Vertep” embodies a razor-sharp identity, profound depth, and deliberate intent. Nothing is accidental, and every verse carries its weight. Standing  as both a historical and philosophical vessel, the album is drawing inspiration from the Black Book of Kremenets Castle 1747-1777, which chronicles the witch-trial proceedings of 1753-1754 in Western Ukraine.

Conceptual and genuinely arresting, the record unveils six new Windswept compositions that plunge the listener into an uncanny, oppressive atmosphere shaped by accusations, confessions, brutal executions, and the relentless force of fierce Ukrainian raw black metal – unyielding, resolute, and burning with an authentic, unforgiving rage.  You  can feel a lot of the primal energy from the whole discography of Sayenko here, and it gets even darker and fascinating with each song.

While the previous works of Windswept embraced a more escapist, distant soundscape, “The Devil’s Vertep” strikes with far greater immediacy – direct, blood-thirsty, and anchored in a theme of uncommon significance. Though this album marks Windswept’s first dedicated descent into Ukrainian demonology and witchcraft, the roots of these ideas reach much further back in Roman Sayenko’s creative lineage.

In the autumn of 1996, Sayenko began shaping an unfinished project titled KOZLONOGYI (“Goat-Footed”) – a concept steeped in the very same folkloric and mythological currents that would later surface within The Devil’s Vertep. While KOZLONOGYI never progressed beyond a handful of rehearsals, its skeletal sketches and early riffs ultimately became the primordial soil from which Windswept’s newest work would emerge.

“The Devil’s Vertep” stands among the most personal works Windswept have ever released. While the album carries the unmistakable atmospheric flourishes that define the musicians’ signature, it is the raw, primal surge of energy that truly dominates – an untamed force carved from devastation, yet rising through the weight of the melodies with a sense of stark, ascendant grandeur. It was a genuine pleasure to absorb Sayenko’s furious, unfiltered invocations – cries delivered on behalf of lost souls, recounting the horrors of a shadowed past. The guitars, harsh yet hauntingly beautiful, unravel in hypnotic cycles, their repetitive phrasing pushing the listener into a trance-like drift. And in those moments, something transcendent occurs.

Imagine “The Devil’s Vertep” as an intense, ominous sonic novel – one that leads you along the fading footprints of extraordinary figures like Oryshka Lychmanykha, souls who lived in distant, even more unforgiving eras than ours. Witchcraft has long been a theme in black metal, yet rarely has it been explored through this particular lens. And there is something uniquely compelling about surrendering yourself to such a narrative… one that is taken from the mysterious folklore of Ukraine.

Album: “The Devil’s Vertep”
Band: Windswept
Country: Ukraine
Release Date: December 12th, 2025
Label: Season of Mist Underground Activists
Pre-orders: https://orcd.co/windsweptthedevilsvertep