Mad God release An Age Of Ash, a crushing concept album of dark fantasy doom
Mad God release An Age Of Ash, a crushing concept album of dark fantasy doom
South African traditional/stoner doom metal trio Mad God have released their third album, An Age Of Ash, a fully realised concept record that marks the most ambitious and immersive chapter in the band’s decade-long career. Released on 27th March 2026 through Mongrel Records, the album arrives as five tracks of slow, crushing doom built around a sweeping dark fantasy narrative, a significant evolution from everything that came before it.
Formed in 2014 by vocalist and guitarist Tim Harbour and drummer Patrick Stephansen, Mad God built their reputation on bridging classic doom with psychedelic textures. Their earlier releases, A Tale of A Sightless City (2017) and Grotesque and Inexorable (2018), explored themes of cosmic horror and true crime. With the addition of bassist Danny Helsing in 2021, the trio rapidly developed a new creative chemistry and An Age Of Ash is the full expression of what that chemistry has produced.
An Age Of Ash tells the story of a world in collapse. In a war-torn kingdom where humanity has forgotten its ancient evils, darker forces rise unchecked from the shadows. Corrupt leadership, demonic betrayal and the awakening of forgotten gods converge as the balance of existence begins to unravel. At the heart of the record is a young woman’s quest for absolution and a father whose desperate actions send him down a twisted path toward ruin. What unfolds across the album’s five tracks is a bleak, violent fantasy narrative where hope is scarce and survival is never guaranteed.
The album’s story builds directly from the events of the band’s previous single, Left To Rot, which introduced Fadden, a farmer tricked into a demonic pact and set the wider world of the album in motion. An Age Of Ash now delivers the full saga: the rise of the Chosen, the awakening of the Ynyes, and the unravelling of a kingdom that never saw it coming.
Track Listing:
1. Godforsaken (The Pact)
2. Left To Rot
3. An Age Of Ash
4. Chosen
5. The PriceMusically, the record represents a bold expansion of the Mad God sound. The album incorporates odd time signatures, unconventional melodies and progressive arrangements, while never losing the slow, crushing groove at the band’s core. Songs were built organically over several years beginning with early ideas in 2021 and arriving at their final form by mid-2024 often growing from a single riff through extended full-band jam sessions. One track was written entirely by drummer Patrick Stephansen before being expanded collaboratively with the rest of the band.The band were equally deliberate about how An Age Of Ash was captured. Recorded live at Helsing Studios without a click track, all core instrumentation was performed together in the room including solos, many of which were improvised on the spot. “We wanted something more natural and unified than our previous releases,” the band explain. “We also wanted a more natural-sounding album and opted for a live recording without click, with each song recorded in full in one take.” The result is a record with a raw, kinetic energy that none of their previous releases have matched.Mixing and mastering were handled by bassist Danny Helsing, who crafted the album’s dense, atmospheric tones while preserving the natural power of the live performances. Recording took place across four to five full-band sessions, with separate vocal sessions to follow.
