A few years ago, I blindly grabbed Haimad’s EP 2017 The Return at a random sale at a distro somewhere. I really enjoyed it, and researched the band to find that this Swedish act has actually been around since 1995, with a demo and three EPs in the 90s, before an extended break where then sole member, Azradan (ex-Impious), reformed the band, adding keyboardist Szhethil.

So, despite the 30-year existence, this is the band’s debut album, and it follows the 90s melodic /symphonic black metal hues to a ‘T’, as if the material was stuck in a time capsule since 1995-1998 and is just now being unearthed.

The Scandinavian influence of the early mid-’90s scene is deeply imprinted here; Dissection, early Arturus, Emperor, early Dimmu, Abigor, Limbonic Art, Old Man’s Child, the list goes on.

The keyboards of Szhethil have that starry, cosmic, yet slightly classical and majestic feel, and the overall sound has that cold, slightly tinny, shrill, almost bassless tone that recalls the genre’s early days to a ‘T’- think In The Nightside Eclipse.

That’s all you really need to know, really. Though the album takes a couple of songs to really warm up, as it’s not until ” Where Serpents Wait in Withering Ruins” that my ears really perk up, but then, tracks like the moodier “Naur”, the fiercely frosty “Voice of the Dread Abomination”, or the epic almost 8-minute standout, “Of Smokeless Fire and Smouldering Ash”, just scratch that 90s melodic/symphonic black metal itch perfectly.

I would say these guys are similar to other recent nostalgic bands that pay homage to the style, like Northwind Wolves, Winter Eternal, Warmoon lord, etc, but these guys were actually around for the genre’s birth, and it certainly shows on this long, looooong-awaited debut album.