Review: Vlad Spirit - Ashes of the Crimson Kingdom (2026)

Band: Vlad Spirit
Album: Ashes of the Crimson Kingdom
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Greece
Label: Independent/Obscurant Visions
Released: January 13, 2026

Introduction:

V.T. and Ungod, veterans of the Hellenic black metal scene team up to introduce their brutal debut album, Ashes of the Crimson Kingdom, on an independent label for digital and Obscurant Visions for if you want a vinyl copy.

Ashes of the Crimson Kingdom

A fan of Ungod's project Sad and V.T.'s project Lunar Spells, I was excited to see the two pair up for this project and release such a raw and brutal album. Ashes of the Crimson King is rife with uncompromising riffs, unapologetic blasts-beats and drum patterns that disperse into pure chaos. Paired with the vocal putridity being spit out, the album is steeped with hate and discontent. The atmosphere alone is done perfectly. It's raw and bites the listener's ear off!

The album opens with Hymn for the Final War, an immediate, in-your-face assault of riffs and beats delivered with the perfect level of rawness. If you expect the intensity to taper off, you’re dead wrong; the record maintains this level of sheer insanity throughout its entirety. From beginning to end, the listener is subjected to a landscape of chaos and brutality, very much in the vein of V.T.’s other projects, Lunar Spells and Tenebrous Nightsky.

While the production is spectacular in its hatred, it’s the blast beats that truly stand out. As a drummer, I found them particularly striking. Though the mix can feel a bit overbearing at times, that’s the nature of the beast: it’s raw black metal, after all.

The onslaught finally concludes with the somber The War is Won, an instrumental laden with tremolo-picked riffs, eerie howling winds, and acoustic passages that provide a haunting, perfect resolution to the carnage.

Conclusion:

I'd like to see this duo release more albums in the future and outdo this one. I like to hear raw black metal at its finest, and I know these guys can pull it off just like the rest of them, and perhaps better. Vlad Spirit is now added to my radar of new raw and hellish releases in the Hellenic scene!

BMZ Rating: 7.5 of 10

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