As time goes on, it’s my firm belief that black metal becomes an evermore fascinating sound. For everything that it has brought to the table and all that it still dares to be even if it’s little more than retreading the same ground, there’s still plenty to be found in the genre’s depths if you know where to look. Sometimes, we’re given a resurrection the likes of which few can only ever dream of. Six years since their decades-long absence, Haimad crafts a true spectacle with their first full-length album.

Having their roots in the 90s scene of black metal, Haimad hails from an era that many modern acts are constantly aspiring to emulate and bring to the table with very few able to actually make the cut. It takes a deep understanding of the style at the time to deliver it all in such a way that still feels organic and inspired rather than a lazy knock-off of a performance. Haimad’s return six years ago showed us that this band still has quite a bit of the old magic to throw around, yet it is in virtually every given inch of its latest performance, “When Night Rode Across the North”, that it demands to be made clear just how far this band has already come. Packed to the brim with melody and overflowing with tremendous symphonies that effortlessly elevate this album to something that hardly any in the competition can hope to come close to, there is certifiable magic woven into the very essence of these seven tracks that sees Haimad give a particularly high level of splendor to this corner of black metal. The very night comes to life as Haimad makes its presence known across the board with the whole of this effort something that many strive for years to craft even once after many years in the game.

While the most jaded of black metal listeners would look upon an effort like this and feel as though it is uninspired and doesn’t progress the genre any further, I would argue that it’s in steeping themselves in much of what has been this vein of black metal so great in the first place that enables Haimad to absolutely dominate. From top to bottom, “When Night Rode Across the North” is a gorgeous effort that exemplifies only the finest aspects of what black metal can still become in the right hands.

LISTEN to “When Night Rode Across the North” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Haimad on Facebook here.

FOLLOW Haimad on Instagram here.