15th April, 2026
Vanity's Disciple
'Blind Belief...Ill Intention'
Vanity's Disciple is a heavy metal band with thrash/power elements from Athens, Greece, founded in 2022 by George Rosenberg and Jim Kourouts.
'Blind Belief… Ill Intention' is the debut album of Vanity’s Disciple. The band states that the record is built around a lyrical concept that unfolds across nine chapters, each examining a different aspect of the sins of man.
Themes such as greed, false belief, decay, war, arrogance, manipulation, and the conflict between desire and dignity run through the lyrics, forming a unified narrative.
First out the gates is 'Curse Of Midas', showcasing a solid guitar lick, the production is pristine, guitars are thick and modern with a clean driving bass that's perfectly sitting higher in the mix that more bands need to do.
Jon Soti has a powerful voice with a great range akin to a blend of Hansi Kürsch (Blind Guardian) and Andi Deris (Helloween).
'Omen Of Emptiness' leads us into a dark leaning ballad, full of interweaving clean guitar notes sweeping across the ominous strings in the background.
The atmopshere soaks into every layer on this track until a quarter of the way in, distorted guitars kick in, some great drumming with snare march type hits.
Prisoners In Disguise intro guitar riffs remind me of something Iron Maiden would do back in the day, a well structured song with some nice elegant dual leads towards the end. An acoustic type ballad comes in the form of 'Winter Tales', complimented with a great vocal melody, some delicious guitar lead and it indeed feels like you are walking alone along a Winters trail.
Have a listen to the album below while you read ->
The album gets a much needed BPM boost in 'Desire Over Dignity', some parts of this song is great, the galloping guitars and the hectic drumming that locks in well with the bass but what elevates the song is the excellent solo section and dual lead towards the end.
Treated to another ballad in 'Forlorn' which leads us into another high tempo belter in 'Manifestor' which would make Iced Earth proud. It's one of the strongest songs on the album and showcases everyone in the band well.
'Descend Decay' is the album closer and I can see why they decided to get Stu Block on board for vocals on this one -> Feels very much like a nod to Iced Earth Dystopia era. The song does lack a bit of structure when the guitars are let hang in the middle when the bell chimes kick in, feels like the toms should have also kicked in at that moment as the momentum feels a bit lost there. Luckily the song picks back up around the solo section and ends on a powerful vocal high.
A strong debut that wears its influences proudly, but backs them up with enough musicianship, riffs, atmosphere and conviction to mark Vanity's Disciple as a band worth keeping an eye on.
This demands your attention folks, get on it!
