Emerging once more from the shadowed, mist-covered hills of ancient Celtic lands, Auld Ridge delivers yet another offering to the Old Gods. This latest release is an epic blend of rustic black metal, paying homage to the raw and unrelenting spirit of the old school. Channeling the spirit of the second-wave’s golden era, Auld Ridge weaves a sonic tapestry of ferocious guitar riffs, relentless blast beats, and a whimsically medieval atmosphere that resurrects the primal essence of the genre’s past.
Right off the bat the album dives in hard, getting straight to the point with rapid blast beats and a nice chunky tremolo guitar riffs that’s weaves together with a more melodic passages that helps build this triumphant atmosphere that’s accentuated by the added synths and keyboards. The vocals are filled with vitriol and hate, spewing forth harsh curses towards those who oppose such ancient Celtic practices. The album breaks at the half way point, where a rustic acoustic section, with an upbeat acoustic guitar and tribal drums creating vivid imagery of ritualistic partying around the fire. This acts as an intermission from the aural turmoil of the rest of the album, a much needed break from the torrential musical assault. The production is raw and cold, where the black metal tracks having this airy and ethereal feeling to it. There’s not much bass behind these tracks, making the songs not as impactful on the first listen. This is certainly an album you’d want to pay attention to as you listen along, as there are many details hidden beneath raw static layers of the music.
To me, this is what true black metal sounds like. Raw, cold, and unforgiving, Auld Ridge truly understands the pure essence behind the genre and this album clearly shows it. As more and more people flood into the underground black metal scene, creating their own sounds and sometimes brain dead takes on a genre that clearly has a foundation, Auld Ridge is a breath a fresh air, and gives me strong hope for the future of the genre, where the original sounds of second-wave black metal that brought us all into this genre is still alive and knowing that there are still people out there not afraid to present their heritage and be proud of it. As society pushes away European culture more and more, it only goes to show just how much more and more this album can represent to a small subsection of people who feel replaced and shunned for holding onto old traditions that many apparently see as ‘taboo’ now.
With an epic sound and deep folkloric roots, Auld Ridge I believe kills it with this album, and shows the band at their strongest point yet. No fan of black metal should sleep on this album and should give it a listen, as it is a master class of the genre, and something I’m sure many up and coming black metal artists trying to find their way could learn from.