Ablaze to release Slow Death on the 6th of February 2026!

In 2020, as the world fell silent and everything familiar was put on hold, Hugo Martins of post-hardcore collective Pledge found time and space to reconnect with something essential: music.

Confined at home during the uncertainty of the pandemic, he began writing guitar riffs, slowly and deliberately shaping songs that reflected the atmosphere we were all living through, introspective, tense, raw.

Once he had a solid foundation, he reached out to Igor Esteves of Larkin to contribute drums and percussion. Igor’s contributions gave the material a physical punch and pulse, anchoring the tension already present in the guitars. With the drums completed, the tracks felt fuller, yet they were ultimately shelved, left untouched for years as life moved on.

The turning point came with an unexpected reconnection, when Hugo crossed paths again with André Cardoso, a familiar voice from the Portuguese hardcore scene of the early 2000s. André hadn’t stepped behind a microphone in over a decade, but when he heard the tracks, something sparked immediately. The sound echoed the urgent intensity of bands like Poison the Well, Norma Jean, Converge, and Botch, alongside the uncompromising ethos of labels such as Trustkill, Victory, and Revelation Records.

André didn’t just add vocals, he gave the music language. Screams, lyrics, and meaning poured into the songs, transforming them from instrumental reflections into something sharper, more confrontational, and deeply personal.

Ablaze was never intended to exist as a band. It emerged organically, out of necessity rather than ambition, a parallel project deeply rooted in the past yet unmistakably shaped by the present moment. It stands as both a statement and a release: heavy, introspective, and unfiltered.

The result is Slow Death, an EP that captures years of writing, reflection, and restraint finally brought to the surface.