Review by Denis on January 21, 2003.

""Storm Before Calm" is primal, it seeks to question the morals, religions and cultures imposed upon us, the questioning of oneself" (Primordial). The Irish band go the extra mile to bring out some of the most inspired lyrics included in this recording. Each song has its reason and explanation.

The first thing that struck me when I listened to this album was its powerful type of rhythmic section involving double bass drum, superb and fast riffs and very strong bass lines. On the other hand, it was also melodic and the black vocals must be the cleanest type available. Nice choice of contrast. To add to the beauty of it all, clean male vocal appearances here and there and one can feel some sort of Doom/Gothic ambiance throughout the whole opus, much to my pleasure. One last compliment before I go into some inside details is that they have a sound that resembles My Dying Bride at times without being a carbon copy, here again, much to my pleasure.

To give you more of an indepth appreciation of this rather intense CD, I shall guide you to some of the songs that I feel show the diversity of "Storm Before Calm". 'Fallen to Ruin' has a nice acoustic and dark intro before the storm of heavy riffs and melodic lines guided by great vocals electrify you with its high voltage. The most extreme number is called 'What Sleeps Within' and what a destructive and savage piece this is! The tortured voice of Mr. Nemtheanga is most likely to please all of you people thirsty of Black flavors. In order to allow some air for breathing purpose, they also enclosed a couple breaks and acoustic guitars. If that was not enough and you're turning purple, well the problem will be solved right after with a cool instrumental interlude by the name of 'Suns First Rays'. This quiet moment is beautifully dressed with pleasant acoustic guitar backed by some traditional sounding percussion giving a nice and relaxing folkloric taste to the overall composition.

If you like high quality and diversity in your Black fantasies, this album has a lot to offer to you and fans of My Dying Bride will feel comfortably in familiar ground with "Storm Before Calm".

Bottom Line: Obviously this is certain to be a record that all of you should take some time to check out.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Originality: 8.5
Production: 10
Overall: 9

Rating: 9.1 out of 10

Review by Felix on June 4, 2023.

No, I am not very trve, when I write about Krvna and not Kruna. The artist from Australia chose this name for his project and for himself, probably due to personal Yugoslavian roots. His full synonym is “Krvna Vatra Smrt” and Quorthon (R.I.P.) smiles in heaven or hell, because this means nothing else then blood fire death. But don’t think too much of this epic work of Bathory which was their last monument in my humble opinion. Krvna rather surf the wave that Dissection once started. In its best moments, For Thine Is The Kingdom Of The Flesh re-vitalizes the dark elegance of “The Somberlain” with all its eloquence, passion and grandeur. 'Veni, Vidi, Vici', the highlight of the full-length, delivers a barrage fire of the drums, but it also presents expressive, sinister melodies – and its calm intermezzo creates an oppressive yet fascinating atmosphere in a matter of seconds. The massive melodies of this piece (and of the other songs as well) flow over and through the listener, supported by an enormous density and so it is pretty difficult to escape from the strength of the material.

The production leaves not much to be desired. I already mentioned the dense appearance of the music, the respective contributions are well-balanced and sharpness and directness go hand in hand. The guitars are truly metal guitars with a constantly aggressive undertone, even when they play rather melodic sequences. Another detail confirms the strength of the mix: the piano ending of 'The Flaming Hordes Of Basarab'. Maybe it’s no new finding for mankind as a whole, but I am surprised how heavy these piano tones sound. Either way, nobody can say that the album’s production lacks coherence. By the way, the voice has also got its righteous place. It is not drowned by the guitars and drums, but it does not stand over everything else as well.

A small problem is the standardized length of the single tracks. All of them clock in between seven and eight minutes. This approach leads to a kind of unwanted conformity and is at the expense of variety, at least to a certain degree. It would have been interesting to see how the artist arranges a compact four or five minutes track. Anyway, his throaty, raw voice, the raging guitars and the mostly fast-paced rhythms, are the elements that make his rather long pieces to an entertaining pleasure. Minor deficiencies like a pretty repetitive part at the end of the opener are included, by they do not hurt the overall impression significantly. Therefore For Thine Is The Kingdom Of The Flesh is an album that emanates fury and fatalism as well as terror and tragic. It does not revolutionize the genre, but it reflects competence and spirituality. I haven’t found a mailorder in Germany to order this disc, but you should not hesitate if you like multi-layered black metal and have a chance to get a copy.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on June 4, 2023.

No, I am not very trve, when I write about Krvna and not Kruna. The artist from Australia chose this name for his project and for himself, probably due to personal Yugoslavian roots. His full synonym is “Krvna Vatra Smrt” and Quorthon (R.I.P.) smiles in heaven or hell, because this means nothing else then blood fire death. But don’t think too much of this epic work of Bathory which was their last monument in my humble opinion. Krvna rather surf the wave that Dissection once started. In its best moments, For Thine Is The Kingdom Of The Flesh re-vitalizes the dark elegance of “The Somberlain” with all its eloquence, passion and grandeur. 'Veni, Vidi, Vici', the highlight of the full-length, delivers a barrage fire of the drums, but it also presents expressive, sinister melodies – and its calm intermezzo creates an oppressive yet fascinating atmosphere in a matter of seconds. The massive melodies of this piece (and of the other songs as well) flow over and through the listener, supported by an enormous density and so it is pretty difficult to escape from the strength of the material.

The production leaves not much to be desired. I already mentioned the dense appearance of the music, the respective contributions are well-balanced and sharpness and directness go hand in hand. The guitars are truly metal guitars with a constantly aggressive undertone, even when they play rather melodic sequences. Another detail confirms the strength of the mix: the piano ending of 'The Flaming Hordes Of Basarab'. Maybe it’s no new finding for mankind as a whole, but I am surprised how heavy these piano tones sound. Either way, nobody can say that the album’s production lacks coherence. By the way, the voice has also got its righteous place. It is not drowned by the guitars and drums, but it does not stand over everything else as well.

A small problem is the standardized length of the single tracks. All of them clock in between seven and eight minutes. This approach leads to a kind of unwanted conformity and is at the expense of variety, at least to a certain degree. It would have been interesting to see how the artist arranges a compact four or five minutes track. Anyway, his throaty, raw voice, the raging guitars and the mostly fast-paced rhythms, are the elements that make his rather long pieces to an entertaining pleasure. Minor deficiencies like a pretty repetitive part at the end of the opener are included, by they do not hurt the overall impression significantly. Therefore For Thine Is The Kingdom Of The Flesh is an album that emanates fury and fatalism as well as terror and tragic. It does not revolutionize the genre, but it reflects competence and spirituality. I haven’t found a mailorder in Germany to order this disc, but you should not hesitate if you like multi-layered black metal and have a chance to get a copy.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on June 4, 2023.

No, I am not very trve, when I write about Krvna and not Kruna. The artist from Australia chose this name for his project and for himself, probably due to personal Yugoslavian roots. His full synonym is “Krvna Vatra Smrt” and Quorthon (R.I.P.) smiles in heaven or hell, because this means nothing else then blood fire death. But don’t think too much of this epic work of Bathory which was their last monument in my humble opinion. Krvna rather surf the wave that Dissection once started. In its best moments, For Thine Is The Kingdom Of The Flesh re-vitalizes the dark elegance of “The Somberlain” with all its eloquence, passion and grandeur. 'Veni, Vidi, Vici', the highlight of the full-length, delivers a barrage fire of the drums, but it also presents expressive, sinister melodies – and its calm intermezzo creates an oppressive yet fascinating atmosphere in a matter of seconds. The massive melodies of this piece (and of the other songs as well) flow over and through the listener, supported by an enormous density and so it is pretty difficult to escape from the strength of the material.

The production leaves not much to be desired. I already mentioned the dense appearance of the music, the respective contributions are well-balanced and sharpness and directness go hand in hand. The guitars are truly metal guitars with a constantly aggressive undertone, even when they play rather melodic sequences. Another detail confirms the strength of the mix: the piano ending of 'The Flaming Hordes Of Basarab'. Maybe it’s no new finding for mankind as a whole, but I am surprised how heavy these piano tones sound. Either way, nobody can say that the album’s production lacks coherence. By the way, the voice has also got its righteous place. It is not drowned by the guitars and drums, but it does not stand over everything else as well.

A small problem is the standardized length of the single tracks. All of them clock in between seven and eight minutes. This approach leads to a kind of unwanted conformity and is at the expense of variety, at least to a certain degree. It would have been interesting to see how the artist arranges a compact four or five minutes track. Anyway, his throaty, raw voice, the raging guitars and the mostly fast-paced rhythms, are the elements that make his rather long pieces to an entertaining pleasure. Minor deficiencies like a pretty repetitive part at the end of the opener are included, by they do not hurt the overall impression significantly. Therefore For Thine Is The Kingdom Of The Flesh is an album that emanates fury and fatalism as well as terror and tragic. It does not revolutionize the genre, but it reflects competence and spirituality. I haven’t found a mailorder in Germany to order this disc, but you should not hesitate if you like multi-layered black metal and have a chance to get a copy.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10