Black metal is one of the most interesting and difficult genres to write about. It is a type music that sings to the soul much more than it does to the brain, and therefore is elusive to definition and analysis. Things get even scarier with ambient and atmospheric black metal. Luckily, the British blackers CRIMSON THRONE give us an interesting mix of pure old-school black metal, ambient music, and even heavy and thrash, with the black metal being the dominant form of expression, so that we have something to say about it besides "wow". "Crimson Throne" is the eponymous debut EP of the band, who have embraced the anonymity in corpse paint aspect of the black metal scene so dearly, that we don't even have a lineup. In just under half an hour, however, they provide much more than that - a glimpse into a soul. "Crimson Throne" is a work of art before it is a metal album. The fact that the band is giving it away for free on their Bandcamp address is all the proof you need, but is not all the proof you'll get - the music itself is approached seemingly with the idea of creating something that would carry its own meaning and value, even if nobody ever listens to it.

The album, which consist of four tracks, neither of which is shorter than six minutes, opens on "Forgotten Nobility", a song that starts soft and mellow, yet paints a dark, distorted image. The calm intro suddenly gives way to the drumming barrage we've come to expect from a black metal band, with the melody being carried by distorted guitars in the background. From then on it gets difficult to describe technically, as while the vocals take the spotlight, the guitars keep delivering an astonishing variation of riffs, harmonics, slides and shredding to build the atmosphere around it. "Praetorian March" keeps up with the style of the first song, while also leaning more towards thrash riffs. The lyrics of the whole album are inspired by historic events, or so I'm told, as I'm yet to find a reliable source of lyrics for this band. But this particular song seemingly talks about ancient Rome. Or shrieks about it, would be more precise. The tempo varies across the song, but is overall much slower than the first track on the record, and ends on a long ambient section transitioning into "Fog of War", which is almost 9 minutes of a fully ambient instrumental with gothic choirs in the background.

"Shadows of Ruin" is the final track on the album, which starts like a traditional heavy metal song and it takes its time to establish itself that way before transitioning back to a black metal vibe. Guitar work across the track is however still reminiscent more of heavy metal than black. The song has a long atmospheric midsection and just a short shriek and shred mark the end of this black metal offering before it all fades back into ambience. The sound is clean, however black metal purists can relax as it is still rough and not overproduced. The music itself however shows little interest in what black metal purists may think. "Crimson Throne" is a short release, but each track takes its time to establish the proper atmosphere and deliver its meaning across. Now what that meaning is, typical to atmospheric black metal, is better left answered by the listener. Lyrics may be about rubber duckies for all I care, with music of such exquisite dark ambience and shredding.