Band:	Scald
Album:	Will Of Gods Is A Great Power
Style:	Epic doom metal
Release date:	1996

01. Night Sky
02. Eternal Stone
03. Ragnaradi Eve
04. Sepulchral Bonfire
05. A Tumulus
06. In The Open Sea

If someone asks you the question "what is epic doom metal?", the obvious thing to do is play Epicus Doomicus Metallicus for them. Or you can achieve similar results by playing Will Of Gods Is A Great Power.

Scald came to life in Russia in the '90s and released only one album that bears more importance and quality than any of the epic doom metal albums you hold in high regard.

The original cassette release of Will Of Gods Is A Great Power features six compositions that are long in duration, with the shortest one still going over the six-minute mark, yet this album does not feel long at all. The power of the riff is as strong as it gets. The melodies are mesmerizing. The solos are breathtaking. You know how today bands place solos in songs just because they feel they have to and so often these come across as half-assed jokes rather than anything worthy of note. Well, here you get exactly the opposite. The vocals are deep, austere and stentorian, but occasionally they hit really high notes that send chills down the spine.

High on the treble, the recording exudes such a "cult" feeling throughout with the bass and the drums being somewhat buried in the mix. The album isn't really using any special tricks to get that very particular effect that it has. There are some samples of blowing winds, raging seas, crackling fire, and tolling bells. The keyboards are staying mainly in the background and provide a dark and ominous undertone, with the exception of "A Tumulus", on which they take a more playful form.

Whatever I say about Will Of Gods Is A Great Power, it is impossible to do it justice. Its Viking-themed, grand and captivating music makes it the ideal combination of Candlemass and Bathory, but the truth is that it has its own unique personality and sounds like nothing else.

Scald disbanded after the untimely death of vocalist Maxim "Agyl" Andrianov at the age of 24. It is so tragic when people die at such a young age. But there are some people who leave such a mark that defies even death. Agyl's presence on this album will forever be remembered as one of the most expressive and emotional vocal performances in the history of the genre.

I mentioned the debut of Candlemass in the introduction because it is undoubtedly the greatest epic doom metal record of all time. Will Of Gods Is A Great Power is one of the very few and elite albums that can claim a spot just below it.

"Eternal beauty
Will of the Gods is great power"

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* Another re-edition of this masterpiece with new artwork by Andrey Andreev will be released on July 16th, 2021 by High Roller Records, both as LP and as double CD.