Formed in 2019 in Saigon, Thánh Dực Dũng Nghĩa is a blackened death metal band whose name pays tribute to the elite military unit of Vietnam’s Trần Dynasty—Heavenly Winged Guards. True to the spirit of their name, the band crafts music rooted deeply in historical narrative, but with a twist: instead of glorifying victory or nationalism, they adopt the eerie, crumbling perspective of the defeated, the broken, and the terrified.

Their concept revolves around exploring the raw brutality of ancient warfare—not through sentimentality or grandstanding, but through the overwhelming dread and desolation it left behind. Drawing upon Lovecraftian ideas of the “fear of the unknown,” Thánh Dực Dũng Nghĩa constructs soundscapes that evoke exhaustion, disorientation, and the visceral terror of collapse, both physically and psychologically.

The band was founded by Khôi and Phát, whose original compositions were heavily influenced by early 1990s death metal acts such as Bolt Thrower, Entombed, Asphyx, and Dismember. These early inspirations were raw and aggressive, setting a solid foundation for their sonic assault.

As their thematic direction deepened, so did their musical sophistication. The band became drawn to more atmospheric and storytelling-driven metal, citing influence from Rotting Christ’s “Aealo” and Ukrainian war-themed blackened death metal band 1914, whose albums Where Fear and Weapons Meet and The Blind Leading the Blind helped Thánh Dực Dũng Nghĩa see the power of historical sound effects—war cries, battlefield screams, and orchestral overlays—in immersing the listener in a deeper sonic journey.

Today, their sound has evolved into a more atmospheric blackened death metal style, often offset by slow, doom-influenced passages that further emphasize the crushing weight of war, decay, and dread.

Since their inception, Thánh Dực Dũng Nghĩa has collaborated closely with Quang Nguyễn, the founder of Replay Record, who has supported the band from their earliest demos through to their recent studio productions.

The Flying Fortress EP, in particular, was highly anticipated and well-received within Vietnam’s metal community, further cementing their status as one of the most original and conceptually rich extreme metal acts in the country.

While still relatively new to the regional metal scene, Thánh Dực Dũng Nghĩa stands out for their thematic depth, historical storytelling, and genre-bending musical style. Their name and sound honor a martial past not through celebration, but through unflinching reflection—a haunting elegy of warriors lost, victories forgotten, and horrors endured.

As they continue to build on their vision, Thánh Dực Dũng Nghĩa is poised to carve a unique space within the global extreme metal scene, carrying Vietnam’s ancient legacies into the darkest corners of sound.