South African traditional/stoner doom trio Mad God just dropped their third album, An Age Of Ash,March 27, 2026. This one’s a fully-fledged concept record, out via Mongrel Records, and it sounds like their most ambitious work yet.
An Age Of Ash delivers five tracks of slow, heavy doom, all built around a sweeping dark fantasy story. This is a noticeable step up from their earlier stuff.
Mad God started back in 2014 with vocalist/guitarist Tim Harbour and drummer Patrick Stephansen, making a name for themselves by mixing classic doom with some psychedelic vibes. Their first two records, A Tale of A Sightless City (2017) and Grotesque and Inexorable (2018), were all about cosmic horror and true crime. Bassist Danny Helsing joined in 2021, and that’s when a new creative spark really ignited. An Age Of Ash is the direct result of that.
The album tells a grim story: a world falling apart, humanity forgetting ancient evils, and dark forces rising. Think corrupt leaders, demonic backstabbing, and forgotten gods waking up, all while existence starts to unravel. At its core, it’s about a young woman’s search for redemption and a father driven to ruin by desperation. It’s a bleak, violent fantasy where hope is scarce.
This story picks up right where their single, “Left To Rot,” left off – that track introduced Fadden, a farmer tricked into a demonic deal, which kicked off the album’s larger world. An Age Of Ash gives you the full saga: the rise of the Chosen, the awakening of the Ynyes, and a kingdom that never saw any of it coming.
Track Listing:
- Godforsaken (The Pact)
- Left To Rot
- An Age Of Ash
- Chosen
- The Price
Musically, this record pushes the Mad God sound further. They’ve woven in odd time signatures, unconventional melodies, and progressive arrangements, but they never lose that slow, crushing doom at the heart of it all. The songs came together organically over several years, starting with ideas in 2021 and finishing up by mid-2024, often growing from a single riff during extended jam sessions. Drummer Patrick Stephansen even wrote one track entirely on his own before the band expanded on it.
The recording approach was also deliberate. They cut it live at Helsing Studios, without a click track. All core instruments were played together, including solos, many of which were improvised on the spot. The band explains: “We wanted something more natural and unified than our previous releases. 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.” This gives the album a raw, kinetic energy their past work didn’t quite capture.
Bassist Danny Helsing handled mixing and mastering, shaping those dense, atmospheric tones while keeping the natural power of the live performances intact. They had four or five full-band recording sessions, with vocals laid down separately afterward.
An Age Of Ash dropped March 27th, 2026. If you’re into traditional doom with a strong story and a raw, live feel, you should check this out.
You can buy or stream An Age Of Ash now. Listen to An Age Of Ash
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