Singapore’s Extreme Metal underground has a long memory, and Fyraun comes with plenty of it. Formed in 2023, the band features Anubis on drums, Vorg Morgolus on lead guitar, Naxzgul on vocals and bass, and Lord Fyraun on rhythm guitar. For anyone who has followed the local scene since the older days, Lord Fyraun’s name will immediately bring up Impiety, where he played guitar during the late 90s and early 2000s. His history also reaches back to Profancer, Xasthur and Sadiztik Impaler.
That background makes Fyraun an interesting band from the start, but ‘Kings ov Kings’ isn’t simply an excuse to revisit the past. Their first release, ‘The Birth of Vengeance’, appeared in 2024 and gave us the first taste of what this lineup was doing. With ‘Kings ov Kings’, they take things further with an eight track full length built around Death and Thrash Metal, with Black Metal elements running through the songs.
The intro ‘Ancient Rites’ sets the atmosphere before ‘Blood River’ comes in hard. The guitars have that old school bite straight away, with the rhythm work carrying plenty of weight while the lead guitar adds another dimension. The Thrash Metal influence is strong, but there is enough Death Metal heaviness to stop the songs from becoming a straight Thrash Metal workout.
‘Khamaseen’ keeps the momentum going and has a darker character to it, while ‘Ov Locusts & Gnats’ brings another dose of aggressive riffing. What I like about the record is that the band isn’t locked into one pace. The songs move between faster attacks and heavier sections naturally, giving the album some breathing space without killing the momentum.
The guitar pairing of Vorg Morgolus and Lord Fyraun is one of the main strengths here. There is plenty of riffing throughout the record and the leads are used where they fit rather than taking over the songs. Naxzgul’s vocals are harsh and heavy enough to sit comfortably between the Death and Black Metal sides, while Anubis keeps the drums driving without making everything sound like one continuous blast.
The Egyptian theme is also carried consistently across the album. ‘Death ov Every Firstborn’ and ‘Ten Plagues ov Kemet’ make the subject matter clear, while ‘Ancient Rites’ and ‘Al Mawt’ give the record its opening and closing atmosphere. It works because the theme is tied into the songs rather than simply being used as artwork and song titles.
The obvious question with any Fyraun release is going to be the Impiety connection, especially with Lord Fyraun involved. There are moments where that old Singapore Extreme Metal attitude can certainly be felt, particularly in the aggressive guitar work, but ‘Kings ov Kings’ doesn’t sound like an attempt to recreate an old Impiety record. Fyraun has its own lineup, its own direction and its own identity.
At just over half an hour, the album also gets its point across without dragging things out. The songs are aggressive, riff driven and varied enough to make the whole record an easy listen from beginning to end.
‘Kings ov Kings’ is a strong first full length from Fyraun and another reminder that Singapore’s underground still has musicians carrying decades of experience into new projects. The history behind the band certainly adds interest, but the record itself stands up well on its own. For anyone into old school Death, Thrash and Black Metal, this is one worth having in the collection.
