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