{"id":104920,"date":"2025-04-20T00:00:54","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T23:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=104920"},"modified":"2025-05-27T11:27:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T10:27:41","slug":"album-review-archdruid-archdruid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-archdruid-archdruid\/","title":{"rendered":"ARCHDRUID – Archdruid (2025) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARCHDRUID
Archdruid<\/strong><\/span>
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\nSelf-released (2025)<\/span>
Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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The 2021 debut demo<\/a> from New Hampshire act Archdruid impressed me greatly, and I still often revisit its doomy delights. It\u2019s good to see the band has finally issued a full-length outing and that vocalist Emily Sordid Waltz is up to her old tricks again, weaving tales of magic and folklore between a simplistic yet pleasing doom metal framework.<\/p>\n

As with a lot of bands of this ilk, Archdruid combs the shores of vintage classics for influence. Think Pentagram and Pagan Altar while existing in the same melting pot as another female-fronted clan, Castle Rat. The riffs throughout rumble with thunderous effect, and Emily has a classic tone to her voice.<\/p>\n

\u2018Lurking Fear\u2019 was the track which emerged several months ago to suggest the band was working on something bigger, and in spite of the poor video the track trudged along nicely. Yes, Archdruid offer standard doom metal, but it runs smoothly and features some pleasant lead work (\u2018Archdruid\u2019) alongside some cool, fluid traditional metal structures (\u2018Niseag\u2019) which at times explore the depths of bands such as Cirith Ungol and Manilla Road.<\/p>\n

\u2018Sword Of Light\u2019 is a superb song, although, and dare I say it, musically it nods towards a more commercial late-80s vibe, but it\u2019s infectious all the same. Meanwhile, \u2018Lament Of A Wanderer\u2019 shifts like Trouble, dragging the listener into an ominous shade, as does \u2018Black Riders\u2019 before slipping into a wild rhythm led by Emily\u2019s maniacal cries.<\/p>\n

The band really showcase its talent though on epic closer \u2018The Forging \/ Wayland The Smith\u2019, where Archdruid continue with traditional strides, but they also provide a great mixture of tempos resulting in an disruptive finale where Emily\u2019s commands howl with the winds of mayhem alongside the crescendo of guitar and drums. It\u2019s a fine way to end a very consistent and enjoyable album from an outfit that deserves more attention.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ARCHDRUIDArchdruid Self-released (2025)Rating: 7\/10 The 2021 debut demo from New Hampshire act Archdruid impressed me greatly, and I still often revisit its doomy delights. It\u2019s good to see the band has finally issued a full-length outing and that vocalist Emily Sordid Waltz is up to her old tricks again, weaving tales of magic and folklore […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,4631],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-archdruid"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104920"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104922,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104920\/revisions\/104922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}