ALBUM REVIEW: Ancient Doom Metal – Scald

From establishing a strong foothold in the underground scene of the early 90s, melodic doom five-piece SCALD built up a cult like following. Their debut Will Of Gods Is A Great Power developed from the initial demo recordings and the subsequent cassette releases saw their fanbase and recognition grow. A tinge of tragedy in 1997 followed the band, with the death of their lead singer, Maxim “Agyl” Andrianov, which put their creative streak on a hiatus and the band essentially ceased to exist. But then High Roller Records picked up the original debut release and re-issued it to scores of old and new fans. Interest once again piqued in SCALD and a resulting one-off performance at the Hammer Of Doom festival saw the creative spark reignited. A tantalising single release in 2021 and now a new album heralds a return of a powerful and engaging melodic doom force.

A title like Ancient Doom Metal invokes thoughts of crashing riffs, melancholic melodies and emotive vocals; SCALD deliver all this and more. The title track alone sets the scene, encompassing elements and techniques that were brought forward by doom legends like CANDLEMASS and TROUBLE. However, while there is undeniable influence running through the music, there is a prevalent DNA that is unique to SCALD. The journey of the opening track offers up some mastery when it comes to doom metal song construction; an emotive ebb and flow courses throughout, with the vocal and guitar interplay leading to some truly majestic high points.

While there is a lot in common with their previous release, Ancient Doom Metal offers a more refined edge to SCALD‘s overall sound. With folk-like incorporations, The Master Of The Lake is a compositional standout on the album, with a slow burning build that layers the instrumentation before taking flight into a fist clenching doom epic. The guitar solo crescendo illustrates all of the emotive power that doom metal is capable of harnessing and releases it in an impassioned delivery.

There is a grandiose nature at the heart of this album, but SCALD successfully pull this off without the music suffering. There is no overblown or stuck-up nature to the tracks, no elements are overly complex or stretched for the sake of it. The elements and techniques they employ in their songwriting are executed to a high standard and they’re clearly musicians who are united with a single vision for their goal. This is clearly evident on The Liberating Spells Of Fire. Predominately a guitar led track, the melodic lead lines do not overpower any of the other aspects on show and serve to heighten the mood and genre identity to a greater level. The vocals, as elsewhere on the album, are both engaging and powerful, delivering a succinctly epic doom performance.  Underpinning all of this is the relentless rhythm section providing a stomping framework that hammers home the darker and moodier aspects of doom, allowing the melodic lines to take an elevated role.

All in all, at seven tracks (including album bonus The Enemy Among Us), SCALD have produced one of the highpoints of doom metal for 2024 thus far. They’ve certainly utilised the many facets available to doom metal. Ancient Doom Metal fulfils its title in a suitable sweeping resplendent fashion. With lots to engage and entice throughout, this album should surely put SCALD back on the doom radar and make many sit up and take notice that the band have returned with a determined and imperious stance.

Rating: 8/10

Ancient Doom Metal is set for release on July 26th via High Roller Records.

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