Scald - Ancient Doom Metal (2024)

4.5★

Remember a few reviews back when I mentioned Vendel being one of two awesome Russian epic doom bands? Well, this is the other one, the reigning champion supreme – SCALD. Heralded as one of the great underground bands, SCALD released the cult classic Will of Gods Is a Great Power in 1997 – with seemingly endless variations of the front cover artwork –, shepherding in a new wave of epic doom bands as they got closer to the turn of the century. After a railroad accident took the life of vocalist and frontman Maxim "Agyl" Andrianov that same year, SCALD disbanded until 2019, when they began work on new music. Now it’s finally here – after 27 years, SCALD has released Ancient Doom Metal: an epic, melodic, heavy, and slow record that’ll make oceans boil and weaklings drop to their knees. Some initial complaints were made about the drums, saying they’re programmed, but they’re not. They sound like drum triggers, but they are definitely being played by Aleksandr "Ottar" Kudryashov. And even if they were, the riff game on this is so heavy and next level that it wouldn’t even matter. New vocalist Felipe Plaza (of Deströyer 666 and Procession fame) does a stellar job, showcasing both a wide range and a certain theatricality that pairs brilliantly with the aesthetic of SCALD’s music. This record is utterly emotional, amazing, and perhaps one of the few new metal albums I can say will be a classic in the modern age. Give this one a million plays and never look back.

FAVORITE TRACKS: “Ancient Doom Metal,” “Far Northern Corner,” “The Liberating Spells of Fire”

FOR FANS OF: DoomSword, Atlantean Kodex, Candlemass

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Originally published in Aug. '24 (Issue No. 4)