Review by Jeger on October 6, 2025.

The Golden Age of Melodic Black Metal - a storied era when some of the genre's greatest music was being created: Dissection, Sacramentum and Mörk Gryning - torchbearers for one of the great eras of Scandinavian Black Metal. A lost art it seems, but alas! There has been an elevated number of bands/Artists here recently who've made it their point to remind us of those good ole days. And then there is Haimad… Formed in 1994. One demo, three EPs and one forthcoming debut LP that's been 31 years in the making in "When Night Rode Across The North" make up their very modest discography. How very Black Metal… What you'll discover here in this debut, set for a November 7 release via Northern Silence Productions, is Black Metal of an admirable kind. The talent shines, but it's in the songwriting where you'll begin to understand Haimad's experience. Harkening back to those days of mystification at the speaker and of wild Occult fantasies.

What an acquisition for Northern Silence! This is something special indeed. All the elements of what makes up the classic Melodic / Symphonic experience but revved up a bit in the engineering department; resulting in music that will appease both the experienced enthusiast and the contemporary connoisseur. Just right… Just the right arrangement of symphonic parts with baser phases. Not symphonic enough to be considered straight SBM, but enough to give the album an added element of epic. The titular track is the beginning. Easing you into the experience, all the while as the suspense builds during the intro until erupting! Like a molten fissure of high-intensity, pressurized Black Metal: complex rhythms giving way to blasts, racing tremolo riffs giving way to majestic atmospheric elements. There's a lot to like here…

Medieval vibes during "Naur". A cinematic intro to thrust you into the grime. At a slower tempo now and digging its way in is the music - treacherous and beautiful at the same time. Hypnotic lulls oft break into liberating passages that feel like free-fall, and the intrepid rhythm of it along with the atmosphere bolster the music from front to back - a complete recording. "Voice Of The Dread Abomination" hits like a post-battle dopamine surge: even-tempo'd, heavily melodic and mellow. Opiate for the spirit. Acoustics blend with gentle symphonic parts; creating moment to remember after moment to remember. And like a century's heartache does "Of Smokeless Fire And Smouldering Ash" make its presence felt. Soak in the downpour and prepare to be rocketed once again into Black Metal's astonishing fourth dimension. Shades of Beherit's "Demon Advance" glimmer sinisterly atop dreadful rhythms and gut-wrenching riffs. Heavy doses of melancholy to weigh you down, ensnaring drama to keep you locked in.

An adventure! A journey back into that fabled glory day. So many bands are attempting it, few are getting it right like Haimad and "When Night Rode Across The North". There was a certain kind of medieval majesty to Jon Nödtveidt's (Dissection) style of riffing and that familiar feel is prevalent throughout this record. A glorious homage to "The Somberlain" and "Storm of the Light's Bane" eras of Dissection. And it obviously doesn't stop there. Black Metal worthy of fanfare! Sound the trumps and pound the drums, for this is the quintessential Melodic / Symphonic BM excursion. Welcome to the realm of Emperor, Dissection, Graveland and "Stormblåst" era Dimmu Borgir. It's all right here and sounding as sweet as it did back in '95. A lost art found? One step closer with "When Night Rode Across The North".

RAting: 8.5 out of 10