Stone/doom metal is a genre where it is relatively easy to make decent music, but creating something rich and brilliant, with one’s own personality and free from clichés, is not an easy task. Many bands, despite their best efforts in composing and arranging, often produce music that feels similar in atmosphere. That was until I listened to this album, the 2025 release Scatterling Empire by the South African band Acid Magus. It is so unique, yet so smooth and harmonious.
This album does not belong to traditional stone or sludge doom metal. The band uses rather aggressive riffs, with a lot of reverb in the sound processing. The heaviness feeling of doom metal is very evident, combined with a post-metal sense of desolation, and in some parts, it even resembles black metal. Overall, the album is heavy, but there are also some calmer passages, like a brief sunny period between two storms. Vocals are mainly clean. While the music is sometimes chaotic, the vocals are always steady and powerful, with excellent singing skills. There are also some shouted vocals, but they do not dominate. The bass is clear and audible, giving the music a thick feel. The drummer is excellent; the drums are not fast but surprisingly strong.
In previous reviews, I often focused on analyzing arrangements, but this time I want to talk about mixing first. The album features various types of instruments: vocals, drums, guitars, bass, samples, synthesizers, etc. Even within guitars, there are distorted and acoustic guitars; high and low tones; and loud and soft volumes, often occurring simultaneously without conflict and blended harmoniously with other instruments, and they all contribute to the atmosphere. It demonstrates superb mixing skills.
Next, let’s discuss some particularly outstanding tracks. The first track, “War,” sets a chaotic and decadent atmosphere. The vocalist begins with clean vocals, and later, longer sections of deep growls, which are not violent enough but add richness to the music, align with the title “War”. The second track begins with chanting; it keeps corresponding with the title “Incantation.” In this song’s middle is a long rock segment where the main guitar motif remains unchanged, yet subtle details keep evolving. Returning to the heavy part, careful listeners may notice a not-loud guitar melody line, a hallmark of the album: small details hide in unobtrusive corners, hard to notice at first, but they stay in the listener’s subconsciousness, enhancing the atmosphere. The fifth track, “Emperor,” is strong in rhythm, with clean vocals in the chorus singing a very pleasant melody. In the middle, beneath the heavy guitar riffs, there appears a quieter guitar solo, cleverly arranged. The longest track, “Citadel,” starts with a long buildup reminiscent of Isis’s performance in Oceanic. This track has the strongest doom metal flavor, with the most varied riffs. The calm middle section introduces African drums, gradually increasing in speed and intensity, leading to a true finale, a very innovative arrangement. Additionally, the instrumental tracks “Ascendancy” and “Absolution” lighten the album’s heaviness, like refreshing springs briefly flowing between long songs, giving the music more breathing space.
Moved by the music of this album, I glanced at its title and track list and could roughly infer that the entire album’s story is related to an ancient theocratic empire. I am not very familiar with African history, so I don’t know which empire it refers to, but this exotic and mysterious style ensures the band’s name will stay in my mind for a long time. I look forward to the band’s next, more interesting release.
Buy and stream Scatterling Empire on Bandcamp.
