Damask – Three Times Ten CD

The Polish heavy underground has consistently been one of the most fertile, unforgiving, and fascinating landscapes in European alternative music. Whether we are talking about devastating death metal, atmospheric black metal, or smoke-filled stoner rock doom loops, Poland routinely delivers artists who possess a distinct mastery. Yet, every now and then, a project arises from this circuit that completely defies expectations by refusing to stay confined within a single stylistic boundary. Damask is a phenomenal new collective that levitates between progressive metal complexity, classic progressive rock ambition, fuzzy stoner grooves, and crushing doom-laden weight. Originally launched in 2025 as a highly flexible, open-ended creative vehicle by songwriter and vocalist Weno Winter, well known in underground circles for his exceptional work fronting Sautrus, Damask was established with a deceptively simple yet profoundly challenging artistic mission. Winter’s goal with this project was to step away from predictable genre constraints and craft an open sonic space capable of exploring everything from fragile, stripped-back acoustic arrangements to monolithic, earth-shaking doom metal. At its absolute core, the project seeks to bypass pretension and pierce straight through to the listener’s heart by delivering some of the most raw, honest, and unvarnished love songs imaginable. With their monumental release, Three Times Ten, this creative vision is brought to life in spectacular, heavy-set fashion.

To execute an album that spans such a dizzying array of sonic landscapes without losing its emotional center, you need a frontman capable of absolute versatility. Weno Winter steps up to the microphone on Three Times Ten and delivers what can only be described as a soulful, passionate, and incredibly confident vocal performance. He possesses a rare emotive power that effortlessly guides the listener through the album’s shifting dynamics. Winter avoids the common pitfall of staying locked into a singular, comfortable delivery style. Instead, he showcases a phenomenal vocal register that balances low, mid, and high notes with seamless fluidity. When the tracks drop into quiet, introspective moments, his voice carries a vulnerable, singer-songwriter warmth that underlines the honest, romantic core of the lyrics. Yet, when the composition pivots into crushing metal territory, he commands the soundscapes with tremendous power. Beyond his vocal skills, Winter acts as the rhythm of the band’s dual-guitar attack. His tight, calculated rhythm guitar playing supplies the skeletal structure of the record, laying down a foundation of catchy chord progressions and precise riffs. His playing effortlessly transforms to fit the mood, transitioning smoothly from high-octane progressive metal riffs to swirling, psychedelic, captivating stoner rock movements. While Winter provides the essential rhythmic spine, lead guitarist Jakub Modrzejewski injects the material with an absolute whirlwind of flavor and technical flair. Modrzejewski’s outstanding guitar solos spice things up considerably, imbuing the album with that distinctly challenging, unpredictable atmosphere that defines the absolute best eras of progressive metal and rock music.

Modrzejewski treats the fretboard like a canvas, decorating this magnificent release with an array of beautifully calculated guitar scales that add vast layers of melody, harmony, and structural complexity over the top of the heavy rhythm tracks. He never falls into the trap of self-indulgent, hyper-fast shredding for its own sake. Every single lead theme, soaring melody, and intricate harmony serves the emotional theme of the songwriting. The interaction between Winter’s dense rhythm work and Modrzejewski’s fluid, adventurous lead acrobatics creates a beautiful sonic contrast that prevents even the longest tracks from ever feeling repetitious and predictable. Adrian Jegorow delivers an excellent bass performance that supplies these tracks with an essential layer of warmth, depth, clarity, and pure heaviness. Jegorow operates within a beautiful low-end frequency space, providing heavy notes that vibrate and shine with ultimate power. His basslines act as a distinct melodic entity, providing a necessary counterbalance to the piercing lead work. More importantly, Jegorow acts as the ultimate musical glue, binding the complex guitar structures to the percussive elements with such perfection. Paweł Łach keeps the band’s complex arrangements perfectly in line, dictating the groove and overall pace of the material with such precision and finesse. He displays a phenomenal level of percussive control, treating every beat, break, fill, and accentuation as an opportunity to elevate the composition. His percussive acrobatics make the material significantly more dynamic and detailed, injecting a swaggering groove into the slow stoner-doom passages while navigating the progressive metal sections effortlessly.

With Three Times Ten, Damask has successfully avoided the traps of modern genre categorization and delivered a heavy music masterpiece. Weno Winter has assembled a magnificent project, employing his background in the stoner-doom underground to launch far more expansive, adventurous, and emotionally resonant outlet. By centering these heavy, progressive sonic maneuvers around the concept of simple, honest love songs, the band has created a deeply relatable and extremely powerful record. It is an outstanding new project that will appeal to anyone who adores progressive heavy music performed with real heart and impeccable technical skill. This is a rare, multi-dimensional masterpiece that demands your immediate attention in 2026. Do not miss this remarkable release!