Descending from the gleam of the night’s sky in vested galloping thunder-steed and beyond a vortex of spiraling wings United States-based black metal quartet BRAZEN HORDE arrive as diabolic weaponry for the lords in white capes on this heroically charged debut full-length album. A forty minute epic in nigh seamless craft ‘Behold! The Ashen Cross‘ manages a commanding stride despite its ethereally-loosed melodic qualities and cavernous-yet-clear production values, a transfixed effortlessness veiling their otherwise roaring and trampling step. This first longplayer from the band reflects their core inspiration with honor, avoiding flat sonic imitation without having to escape the pure heavy metal skeleton of the ‘epic’ pagan black metal canon suggested.

Brazen Horde formed with some recency by way of fellowes known for their work in a broad array of troupes be it the epic rallying of Rübezahl, the bestial wrath of Hellfire Deathcult, the ‘old school’ death of Absconder, or associated traditional heavy/speed metal bands such as Lethal Shöck. In this case their combined efforts are directed toward the majesty of the Carpathian, Ural and Tatra-adjacent sublimity of auld Slavic pagan black metal, guitar driven works presented with an epic or triumphally shot envision. This is the only real provenance or general information available to me at this point beyond a precursory 7″ release (‘Brazen Horde‘, 2024) which’ll do well enough to act as a formal introduction to what this debut album promises to elaborate eightfold. Those two songs should be convincing enough to spur on further discovery though the fully fleshed idea here is valorous on a different sky-trodden level.

When I say “Slavic pagan black metal” I’m not necessarily pointing to ideology (be it paganist or national socialist) so much as the Bathory-esque scalding grandeur of Graveland‘s ‘Celtic Winter‘ and the more morose, dramatic edge of certain songs on Sacrilegium‘s ‘Wicher‘ and/or Astrofaes‘ ‘Heritage‘ sans any pronounced use of keys or rapt pacing. The raw spectrum of atmospheric Ukrainian/Russian black metal one’d think of first per such regional influence isn’t the focus here as we can instead begin to point toward something more expansive in atmosphere and generally mid-paced in approach of ‘Behold! The Ashen Cross‘ as a comparatively modern interpretation disinterested in feigning naivete or purposefully obfuscating their work. In this sense a fan of Finnish or Germanic black metal of the triumphal mode will likely find the phrasing and melodic language of Brazen Horde familiar or at least inspired in its slower-dancing, heroic movement. “Purgation, Thy Foul Lash” stands out to me as a decent example in this regard though any one given song here would convey these traits just as well. Their distant, ‘epic’ character holds fast through the majority of the LP lending a truly immersive quality to their work.

Opener “Ritterbruder’s Dissent” cues us not only into the general melodic voice and style of Brazen Horde‘s efforts but likewise suggests the general theme as relevant to some manner of inversion of the Knights of the Teutonic Order and I say that more as a fan of history-based strategic PC games and less as a student of religious/martial history, knowing only the significance of the order to Polish history/identity. Harsher, deeper vocal tracts should appeal to fans of Hate Forest outright as well as some of the member’s work in Rübezahl. The truly strident whip of their action arguably hits with “Purgation, Thy Foul Lash” otherwise but again most of the album uses the same pacing, phrasing and Quorthonian poignance to craft its fixation. With this in mind there isn’t a bad song amongst the lot as ‘Behold! The Ashen Cross‘ presents a fairly uniform statement beyond the action-halting segue of “Pious, Thee Sulphur Prayer” as part of the framing/build for the title track.

Though I’d enjoyed the opener outright as well as the melodic black-adjacent rallying through “Borean Graves” (see also: “Redeeming Wolves”) where I’d felt there was maybe some Grand Belial’s Key, or, just heavy metal inspired wallop to some of the band’s rhythmic shapes the big centerpiece and strong endpoint for the full listen comes by way of the title track (“Behold! The Ashen Cross”). The sequence is a bit off, the album art looks a bit like edited AI, and some of the deeper growled vocals are sort of over the top but (most) all of these concerns are either fitting for black metal or unconfirmed in offense. For a debut this one goes off without a hitch, bringing some inspired consistency of voice and dramatic performance throughout as Brazen Horde make these tightly intertwined rhythms appear effortless in their panoramic stride. These folks aren’t just competent in their referential creation but well above-average in their own ideation of stylistic niche and general formation of glorious melodic statement. I’d found ‘Behold! The Ashen Cross‘ brilliantly repeatable despite its narrow focus, the potency of their rousing dramatism offering teleportation to a surreal chivalric realm on high. A high recommendation.

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