Today, Caligari Records announces December 13th as the international release date for Kildonan's striking debut album, Embers, on cassette tape format.
Kildonan is the latest work on the prolific Hamish MacKintosh, drummer for such bands as Ageless Summoning, Belliceste, Sluagh, and Úir among others. However, he also maintains the solo-project Vostok, which he began in 2003 and with whom he release an EP and a couple splits during the 2010s. With Kildonan, he both revives the spirit of Vostok and embarks upon a new journey altogether.
Kildonan's first public work, Embers is a six-song / 41-minute monolith of deliriously swirling black metal, mesmerizing and melodic in equal measure. Nods to gods of dissonance like later Deathspell Omega and Blut Aus Nord are prominent, but there's equally a second wave-derived spellcasting not unlike the English Heritage Black Metal movement as ushered forth by the likes of Winterfylleth, Fen, and Wodensthrone. Most unique are MacKintosh's vocals here; from hysteric desperation to an almost-stentorian croon, Embers' atmosphere becomes even wider and wilder with these impassioned-yet-tasteful timbres. Amazingly, some of the music dates back over 15 years, but the Covid lockdown allowed MacKintosh time to finalize ideas and finish the writing process.
Naturally, the content of Kildonan's debut album is not without its own huge sense of import. As he explains, "the inspiration is primarily derived from the culture and history of this area, but also the landscape. I work in forestry and am a keen hill-walker, spending much of my time in the hills, coastline, and woodland of the area. Kildonan doesn’t seek to romanticize the past - rather, to ensure that it is not forgotten and can be learned from. The lyrics delve into several subjects such as land reform, reforestation, ecological restoration, depopulation of the Highlands etc. The music and lyrics draw from the sorrow and horror of those times and seek to find a sense of hope for the future."
Indeed, hope looms large over these Embers, dark as the root content may be - a refreshing change of pace for tried-and-true black metal. Same goes for the clean 'n' effervescent recording, handled by Barshasketh's Guillame Martin at Sonorous Studio, with guitars recorded by MacKintosh's Ageless Summoning bandmate Gregg Cowell. Roam literal landscapes as well as those of the mind with Kildonan.
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track "Ioliar - Bhuidhe"
HERE at Caligari's Bandcamp, where the album can also be preordered. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Kildonan's Embers
1. I - Embers [6:04]
2. II - Ioliar - Bhuidhe [7:05]
3. III - A Desperate Leap for Salvation [7:17]
4. V - Tobar Mheasain [7:33]
5. IV - Garden of Forking Pathways [5:58]
6. VI - To Gaze Upon the Infinite [6:39]
