Scald - Will of the Gods is Great Power LP

Originally released in 1996, SCALD's Will of the Gods is a Great Power was a record that was both behind the times and way ahead of them. Undoubtedly, the band's primary influence was Bathory's now-beloved Viking period, but at the time, such an influence was quite unorthodox and not particularly in favor. Nevertheless, despite its overt nature, where SCALD took this influence was something else entirely. Triumphant, tragic, emotive, EPIC: truly, the 53 minutes comprising Will of the Gods is a Great Power evoke a journey of utterly heroic proportions. Along that journey do SCALD skillfully balance awe-inspiring atmosphere with earth-moving heft, soul-stirring melody with lumbering propulsion - a poignant pagan metal sound that's firmly rooted in doom, but not bound to it. Simply, the album is its own world, its own sound, its own experience. And that experience subsequently found a small-yet-devoted following who shared this grand secret to anyone who would listen, thusly fetching expensive prices among the collector market.

Sadly, SCALD's existence ceased in 1997 following the death of vocalist Maxim "Agyl" Andrianov. Nevertheless, what the band accomplished in just one record was a torch that's been picked up in recent years by the likes of DoomSword, Atlantean Codex, Ereb Altor, and Altar of Oblivion among others.