Scotland is fucking beautiful. The Highlands are an amazing sight to behold, rolling, green, and absolutely vast. It’s a place that draws music from the people who in turn pull the rhythm from the very dirt itself. I’ve visited there and was stunned by the beauty. The lochs, especially Loch Ness are awe-inspiring.

KILDONAN is the latest work from the prolific Hamish MacKintosh, drummer for such bands as Ageless Summoning, Belliceste, Sluagh, and Úir among others, and within these six tracks is harbored the spirit of Ages. Embers is the debut and it’s a ceremonial banger. Hamish’s vocals are tortured, almost bordering on DSBM territory.

Right away, the first and title track “Embers” comes blasting in on ambient wings. My first reaction is a mixture of Falkenbach and Deathspell Omega tasty with blast beats falling like steel rain. There’s real emotional torment here and that feeling continues on “Ioliar-Bhuidhe” relentless blasting mixed with the fucking insane melodic passages going on in the background.

Six songs in 40:25 minutes, most running in the seven-minute range. This album rages with real Celtic fury, this is evident on “A Desperate Leap for Salvation” which also has some killer clean vocals within the miasma of crashing instruments.

“Tobar Mheasain” slows things to a paralysis-inducing crawl. It’s a place to rest because “Garden of Forking Pathways” cranks the Deathspell Omega to eleven with some killing blow riffing that reminds me of Wodensthrone and when it picks up speed around 4:23 it’s like a revelation of Celtic Black Metal with this bad as fuck passage near the end.

“To Gaze Upon the Infinite” closes out Embers in the best possible way as the clean vocals soar upwards. Hamish MacKintosh caused Kildonan to rise from the ashes of Vostok and Embers is a magnificent result.

I’m blown away yet again by 2024 and the mighty Metal that it has produced. If you love Deathspell Omega, Winterfylleth, Fen, and Wodensthrone then Kildonan is what you need in your life.

[Visit the band's website]

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