Review by SzejkElRopa on March 5, 2026.

Continuing my journey through the Polish underground scene, I noticed another project that I hadn't heard of before. The newest output of Ashes consists of two long songs with a total length of 26 minutes. After a quick check, I learned that the drummer in this band is The Fall, a person whose musical skills I became familiar with through his project called Hauntologist, which I have enjoyed listening to since the release of their only album. The mastermind in this project is Nefar, a musician I had not encountered before. This mixture of the known and unknown results in music officially described as "dark, melancholic black metal". Because I enjoy the feeling of melancholy in black metal, I decided to click on that 26-minute-long material.

The very first thing that can be said is that Ashes definitely lies closer to nihilistic tones of Mgła rather than the melodicity and epicness of bands like Imperium Dekadenz. The album opens with eerie, trumpet-like synths that one might liken to those used by, for instance, Caladan Brood. While the sound itself might hold some resemblance, when combined with subtle keyboards reminiscent of the opening of "Life Has Gone On Long Enough" by None, it sets the atmosphere in much darker territories. When, after about three minutes, other instruments kick in, the darkness held by this material becomes obvious. In general, the album is played in an old-school way, with predominant repetitive tremolo riffs. Despite the song's length (fifteen and ten minutes), the guitar riffs are played over and over for quite a long time without losing their power. Moreover, the vocals are another important part of this black metal puzzle. Their contribution to the atmosphere can be especially heard in the second track, 'Dust Of Life, Time And Death', when the vocalist shouts "Let the darkness bury all", behind sounds of wind, which makes the atmosphere even more disturbing. Another thing that appealed to me, when it comes to the second track, was the dramatic, even catastrophic, tremolo riff that made this song less nihilistic than the previous one. It conveys more hopelessness and is more introspective, whereas the opening track sounds more hateful and aggressive, especially taking into account the vocalist's shrieks.

"Into The Woodlands" is kept mid-tempo for the whole time, with exceptions of openings and some more atmosphere-focused breaks, usually located in the middle of the songs. One remarkable moment that I remembered from them was an eerie riff that appeared after the short slowdown in the second track. The guitar work isn't particularly complex in any way; however, it does what is needed in this type of material. The same goes for the drums - The Fall sometimes fills, uses cymbals in the introduction, which adds to the atmosphere, and to put it simply, keeps the good quality of the album. The vocals are very strong in this EP. Especially in the second track, when the hopelessness, resignation, and other emotions are clearly heard.

Due to its relatively short length, the material feels as though it never fully unfolds. The story doesn't feel finished because of only two songs in that material. However, it cannot be said that this album is by any means bad or unfinished. Certain elements definitely appealed to me, so I listened to this from start to finish without losing interest. I give this album 8/10, because it had enough power to encourage me to check more of their stuff out in the future. Recommended for any fan of introspective black metal played in traditional style.

Rating: 8 out of 10