The Russian epic doom veterans are back with their 2nd LP. It is now available for pre-order on High Roller's website.
Personally, I'm looking forward to this. Maybe expecting to top "Will of the gods" is too much but, I expect some quality from these fellers. Maybe I am biased because the actual singer is Chilean.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6y6bvxiTOV/?img_index=1

biggest comeback in doom since blood farmers, hope they can deliver

Wait what? Wow that's some great news and I can't wait to hear what they have to offer this time.

I still need to get around to listening to Will of the Gods but I'm quite optimistic about this. More epic doom records are always welcome, especially from a band like Scald!

Thought the 7" was real good, cautiously optimistic about this!



You definitely do!

Cautiously optimistic about this return. The demo and "Will of Gods..." are both fantastic.

Making my first post in quite some time to heavily, heavily encourage you to do so! It really has all the best parts of epic doom: ethereal, majestic vocals; incredible guitar work; magnificent atmosphere. The production isn't as full or well rounded as some of its contemporaries of the time, but IMO it only adds to the wonderful atmosphere - it really makes you feel like you're listening to a storyteller regale you with tales of old while sitting around a fire in the tundra somewhere. It's just a perfect album and I really hope you love it!

I'm glad this thread reminded me to go back and play Will of the Gods again - this is a really stunning work, and all the guitarwork is packed with such feeling. They're definitively crushing, badass riffs, but there's such a mournful twist to them and the melodic stuff they do is just so engrossing. Not a wasted second. This should be cool to see what they do with a new album.

Yeah, I don't think there are any cuts you could make to Will of the Gods that wouldn't detract from it. It's incredible to me as well, that no matter what version/track listing you get, it's always just as good as any other version. That really shows how well all of the songs flow no matter what order they're in - most albums don't work like that.

The band were obviously very open with who their influences were around the time when the album came out, but even with that they managed to create something so incredibly unique and ahead of its time, while retaining the ancient, mystical atmosphere. If there is one record that I'd classify as 'magic', it's this one. I really hope that the new album lives up to the legacy. The 7" they put out a few years ago is really good, and the fact that the original band (minus Agyl, obviously) are all still together and have been playing music on and off this whole time makes me confident that this will be a fantastic experience. Absolutely can't wait for July!

Will of the Gods... rules the wasteland. Utterly fantastic album, one of those "why doesn't everyone on MA know about this" records. A mighty cult pillar of doom. Come worship.

Will of the Gods is the best epic doom metal album ever, I’m gonna explode from the hype while waiting for this.
Pre-orders seem to be available already at https://www.hrrecords.de/

Whoa there cowboy. Only if you're from an alternate universe where Solstice, Solitude Aeturnus and Doomsword don't exist.

Agreed with coupdebleus... never heard anything from any other epic doom band that rivals it, tbh. None of the bands you mentioned ever gained much traction with me for whatever reason. Solitude Aeturnus sounded pretty dull on last listen, actually, like worse than I remembered. Weird.

Wholeheartedly agree! There are some astoundingly great epic doom records but this one is greater than them all.

Nothing beats Candlemass, of course, but Scald is definitely up there.

La raja!

I need to give this another listen, based on all of these glowing comments.

I recall being sorely underwhelmed by their debut when I first heard it years ago.

I think it's a great debut that showed a lot of promise.
At the end of the day tho it's a good album but not THAT good.

There’s a point of artistic excellence in which I don’t think any objective decision can be made regarding what’s best, and that’s the case with the bands you’ve listed. They’ve all made excellent albums and I value them as such but, to me, Will of the Gods is perfect.

I’m aware this point of view is setting up myself for disappointment, but I’m open to whatever that comes, this has been a weird year. I expected nothing, and Sonata’s latest blew me away and is sitting right next to their classics, while the new Abigor was so bad it shunned me off from listening to new music for a month, that’s how butthurt I was about it sucking.

This releases just in time for my 30th birthday, woo! After listening to their EP from 2021 I have high hopes for this one

Scald is good but Solstice or Solitude Aeturnus is better.

Ancient Doom Metal is a lazy album title but somehow fits this band. It makes sense.

Curious to hear it.

I don't think this has anything to envy from any of the other bands mentioned in here. There's a different quality this has compared to Solstice or what little SA I've heard. Different guitar styles and the atmospheres are just different enough - they're all worth hearing.

Oh yeah they're all definitely worth hearing and they're all great. The things that stop Will Of The Gods... from being the best of the best however are the vocals and the monotony.
Vocally because without the lyric sheet I wouldn't have a fuckin clue what he's singing, I can make out more lyrics on Slowly We Rot than Will Of The Gods. Agil sounds like he's got the chops, so maybe it's the mix?
Musically it plods along at the same sorta pace the whole way which can get monotonous as the album progresses especially if you can't connect to the lyrics.
Having said all this, I'll say it again that it's a great debut and the negatives don't stop my enjoyment of it.
Anybody into epic trad/doom or curious about the genre should absolutely check it out.

That's interesting, on last listen I found SA to be way more monotonous, song by song, than Scald. The songs on Will of the Gods... might be pretty similar pace-wise, but I'd say they're very distinct from one another in terms of melodies, choruses and the different unique peaks that they reach. And they reach some fucking peaks, jeez.

Hell yeah there's some great melodies, riffs and ideas! Can't really make out the choruses unfortunately.
There's a lot of positives for Will Of The Gods but I was just focusing on the negatives as to why it's not the best of the best for me.
Ya never know Fish-Man maybe with Felipe on vocals and a decent production the new album will claim the crown.

Eh the pacing is about the same as any of these epic doom albums. What sets it apart for me are the crazy emotional vocals and the little folk touches they add into the guitars. The vocals are hard to distinguish but it just makes it all sound like a great ancient ritual to me. He's got a wonderful voice. The tempo of it all works well just by how those songs flow for me.

Well I am sure the guy wasn't that fluent at English as the SA vocalist.

Yeah that's a good way too look at it and that's kinda how I've approached the album too. Personally when it comes to epic trad/doom I like to be able to fully immerse myself into not just the music but the lyrics too. After all to me that's a huge part of what makes it epic, the epic tale/story being sung with the music swaying, surging, rolling with all the ups and downs of the good ol tale being told.


Yes he indeed does and when you actually hear him his pronunciation and enunciation are good and those crazy emotional vocals as you put it are something that I love when it comes to my favorite epic stuff like Manilla Road, Solitude Aeturnus, Bathory, Cirith Ungol, Gods Tower, Candlemass, Slauter Xstroyes, TLWSF, Doomsword, Solstice etc.
I think the mix is mostly to blame for not being able to hear Agyl properly. Vocals lowered to lift the instrumentation up.

Former vocalist was fantastic. Despite singing as if he had a potato stuck in his mouth, few vocalists sounded as epic.

That said, it should be obvious that Solitude Aeternus and Candlemass have written better epic doom. I look forward to what Scald have in store though!