Review: Imladris - Kings of Forgotten Lore (2026)

Introduction

Imladris is a new musical project created by Abghul, the musician and creative mastermind behind the UK black metal project Ghül. Once again drawing inspiration from Tolkien's legendarium, Imladris sees Abghul step away from the blast-driven rawness of Ghül, into the cinematic, synth-driven world of the likes of Summoning.

"Kings of Forgotten Lore"

Track Listing:

1. As Immortals Sing Their Name
2. Oathbound
3. Tinuviel
4. Lord of Dark Lore
5. Summoned by Wrath

I was recommended Imladris by another member of our Discord server under the pretense that it was inspired by Summoning. To say the least I had pretty high expectations going in, and Imladris didn't disappoint me. In fact I was actually pretty blown away by just how well done this album is.

I'm constantly searching for Tolkien-themed bands; call it a guilty pleasure or an obsession; regardless, most of them aren't great. Summoning has occupied a unique niche within Black Metal almost entirely on their own since their beginnings, and with a few exceptions, most just come across as cheap imitations or miss the point altogether. While Imladris is most certainly “summoning worship,” it doesn't hide what it is. This is a man paying homage to one of the greatest black metal bands of all time.

Spanning 5 tracks and just shy of 40 minutes of run time, Abghul manages to perfectly capture what makes Summoning so unique and so special within black metal as a whole, all the while still building upon that foundation in a unique and captivating way. Flourishing synth arrangements and cinematic strings, accompany layers of distant howls and reverb laden guitars. It's both beautiful, and haunting.

Almost all of the album's 5 tracks are nearly 10 minutes long, but none of them feel overdone, or grow stale. It's a masterclass in composition and a shining example of how “Summoning-Worship” should be done. Honestly I would be incredibly disappointed if this project ended with this.

Conclusion

It's synth-heavy, Tolkien-themed black metal from the United Kingdom. What's not to love? Not to mention the album artwork and overall layout is gorgeous. I sincerely hope to hear more of this project in the future, and while I do enjoy Abghul's other project, Ghül, Imladris really stands apart from that significantly. This is quite possibly his best work to date and one of the best debut albums I've heard this year.

Kings of Forgotten Lore, by Imladris

5 track album

ImladrisAimfri

BMZ Rating: 9.5/10

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