Release Date April 18th, 2026
Format Digital
Genre Doom/Stoner Metal
Origin USA
Haze Mage formed in Baltimore, Maryland, in late 2015, building their name around sword-and-sorcery doom metal, stoner rock fumes, and classic hard rock fire. With roots that point toward Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, the band created a fantasy-soaked sound full of beasts, dark woods, cursed visions, and riffs made for stages covered in smoke. After their 2017 EP "Blood Mist" and years of live action across Maryland festivals and local venues, "High Fantasy" arrives as their full-length album and final chapter before an indefinite hiatus. The lineup here is Kevin Considine on guitar, Nick Jewett on guitar, John De Campos on drums, Scott Brenner on bass, and Matthew Casella on vocals.
"High Fantasy" is a fitting title, because Haze Mage throws themselves into a world of ogres, cursed candles, night creatures, and battle-scarred imagination without sounding embarrassed by any of it. This album has that smoky doom metal heart, with stoner grooves, old heavy metal
flavor, and a fantasy-metal attitude that does not beg for approval. It is not a perfect beast, and at times it could use a sharper bite, although the main character of the album is clear enough, riff-heavy, weird, and proudly underground.
The guitars do most of the damage here, working through heavy/doom patterns, rough hard rock motion, and a few brighter heavy metal touches that stop the album from becoming one long swamp walk. The rhythm section gives the songs muscle, while the vocals bring a wild storyteller edge, more tavern brawl than opera stage. That helps "High Fantasy" stay human and sweaty. The production by Noel Mueller gives the album a natural underground shape, raw enough to suit the band’s character, clear enough to let the riffs and vocals hit their target.
The fantasy angle is also more than decoration. The album title connects with the whole atmosphere, because "High Fantasy" plays like a final ride through the band’s own strange kingdom. There are monsters, smoke, strange magic, and battle energy all over it, and the artwork by John DeCampos, adds to that old-school tabletop horror charm. The album’s best moments come when Haze Mage sounds fully locked into their weird doom quest, dragging the listener through a place where the riffs act like torches in some cursed dungeon.
"High Fantasy" has character, personality, and a strong underground identity, although it does not always bite as deep as it could. Some sections could have been trimmed, and a few ideas circle the same territory longer than needed. Still, as a closing full-length from a band that helped feed Baltimore’s heavy underground, it has enough power, smoke, and fantasy-metal dirt to leave a mark. Haze Mage go out with an album that sounds like a final quest, not flawless, not weak, and definitely not dressed up for polite company.
|7.5
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