Twelve years after they emerged from the void, Mad God is back with a whole new level of doom-drenched, lysergic sludge. Their music has served as a soundtrack for ancient forgotten forces and has appeased the eldritch entities of old, lifting the veil for their sonic summonings to resonate throughout the realms. Tim Harbour (vocals/guitar), Patrick Stephansen (drums), and Danny Helsing (bass/production) form the triad who shape these slow sounds of delicious and certain dismay.
Their first two albums—Tales of a Sightless City (2017) and Grotesque and Inexorable (2018) focus on themes of cosmic horror and true-crime, which left listeners craving for more. Eight years later, they reemerge with their new proclamation—An Age of Ash. It’s their first true concept album and clocks in at just over forty minutes of slow-motion apocalypse, allowing the listener to experience every gory and grotesque movement at a monumental scale and in minuscule detail.
A story of dark fantasy that somehow makes their previous tales feel tame in comparison—In a collapsing kingdom and war-torn world, it tells of a young woman seeking absolution and a father’s quest of redemption from corruption. As humanity forgets ancient evils, a newer and hungrier darkness rises without contest. The very balance of existence begins to fray as corrupt leadership, demonic trickery, and forgotten gods culminate in a cauldron of calamity and misfortune. Hope is a currency long since devalued and all but forgotten, though there are those who resist the tyrannical regime and have champions of their own. The narrative is bleak, violent, and mercilessly human—some of the most fertile substrate for succulent doomseeds to grow in.
Musically, the band has never sounded more alive—An entity of tooth and claw, tendril and maw. Recorded at Helsing Studios; each track was captured in a single, live take with the whole band. Zero separation, zero click track, and zero hesitation; the performances are profoundly powerful and absolutely drenched in groove, and dripping with attitude. The album sweats and snarls like a creature with blood and bone, whilst it breathes and weaves akin to something from the realm of the unseen. Progressive plots, time signatures like ritual knots, and psychedelia measured in drops—This is a potent potion not intended for the innocent or inexperienced. Listener beware; you will not emerge unchanged!
This is a masterclass of stoner-doom and even though the year is still young, I have a feeling this will be my most listened to local record of 2026; every orbit entices my spirit and maddens my mind in the most magnificent ways!
If you’re in Johannesburg on March the 27th, be sure to attend their official album launch at Sognage. They’re unleashing An Age of Ash, alongside performances by Acid Magus, Double Sun, and Zondo Commission.
An Age of Ash raises the bar for South African doom and the world should pay attention. Turn it up until the walls crack and the foundations crumble. Survival is uncertain, but the riffs are eternal.
Dwell in Darkness. Live in Light.
-Lunis Voidbright
Purchase/Stream → https://orcd.co/left-to-rot
Buy tickets here → https://www.quicket.co.za/events/359148-an-age-of-ash-mad-god-album-launch/#/