Hailing from the land of WTN, Impiety, Demisor and brutal canings come Singapore’s Vrykolakas. I have to admit I’d never heard of this group before receiving the promo for Spawned From Hellfire And Brimstones in the mail, but the band was actually formed in 1992 and have released three demos and several split releases. Judging by the artwork and album titles, I was basically expecting this to be some goofy crap that I’d just make fun of and toss away. I was wrong. Spawned From Hellfire And Brimstones is 11 tracks of demonic dark death metal, filled with solid riffing, catchy hooks, thumping drums and raspy vocals. Some tracks have a very obvious early Swedish death flavor to them, reminiscent mostly of early Grave, while others have a definite Incantation vibe to them, with the occasional hint of Nile strewn throughout. The songs are all extremely short for dark death metal, with the longest track clocking in at a mere 3:15, but as short as the tracks are they feel longer. I find it impossible to listen to this album without various parts of my body shaking to the rhythm of the music, whether it’s my feet, my head or my entire body, it’s just crushingly heavy and catchy. Tracks like "In Filthy Vomits", "Zabaniah Nemesis Of Jahim" and "Dark Eternal Flames" remind me of what death metal should be; heavy, catchy and dark with a vibe that makes you want to stab someone to death. In 2005 they’re planning on releasing a new full length and a demo compilation CD, and I can hardly wait to check them out. Highly recommended!

Written By: Teufel