Vrykolakas: The plague of annihilation
The reformation of Vrykolakas is a matter of time. Khairil has been writing songs, and Iman, who joined in 1995, has always supported the idea of a reformation. Finding a willing drummer at that time (between 1995 to 1999) proved much more difficult than looking for a needle in a haystack. Iman mentioned Zainal’s name, the drummer of Necreous, who also plays for Xenophobia and Ethereal, and the three of them met up for a discussion.
Khairil and Iman stated their expectations and plans and Zainal agreed to help. So on the 19th february of 1999, Vrykolakas returned to the rehearsal studio and had their first rehearsal, covering Grave's “Deformed” and Incantation’s “Unholy Massacre”, and trying out an original “Nuthfah”.
The deal with Zainal is for him to help Vrykolakas record four songs. But Vrykolakas stretched him. He also helped out in two gigs and recorded an extra song. Khairil had already begun talking to the other drummers, and Edi of, at that time, Castigate, Sphere, Homicide, Brutal Fear agreed to help. His first appearance for Vrykolakas was at the Panzer Holocaust gig in july 2000. In october 2000, Vrykolakas began work on their next recording.
Interview with big tit lover Khairil on 31-5-2001
Please give us a short introduction to yourself ?
I’m Khairil, guitarist of Vrykolakas and I love big, delicious tits. I don’t think you’d be interested in just me so I’ll talk about the band. Vrykolakas is a brutal death metal band from Singapore, a country where brutal music is not so well-received. It seems that Singapore, and majority of the Asian metal scene, prefers the dark melodies of black metal. Anyway, Vrykolakas started as a BLACK METAL band, desecrating the songs from Impaled Nazarene and Blasphemy.
The change in musical direction came about in 1996 when I decided to continue with Vrykolakas, after a brief split-up. I wrote new songs, and I just can’t come up with any more black metal riffs whereas I could easily and naturally come up with brutal riffs. It was me alone back then and it took three more years before I managed to pull together three other musicians who shared the vision of the band. It’s like we were meant to play brutal death metal. It feels very natural.
What the hell does Vrykolakas mean ?
Vrykolakas has a few meanings if you can do research. When I chose that name, I chose it based on the sound. It sounds different, strange, yet it has a presence. It attracted my attention and I’m sure it has attracted the attention of others. Vrykolakas, according to the book of demonology, is a demon who suffocates to death their victims in their sleep. According to the Greek mythology, Vrykolakas is a vampire, a nocturnal demon of death. Vrykolakas is also a lycanthropy. I’m sure there are other meanings and translations which I’ve yet to discover.
Always played in a metal band ?
My metal music resume is quite modest. I started as a drummer in Bestial Colony in 1990. Then a drummer in Vrykolakas in 1991. A bassist in Profanation in 1993. A bassist in Ground Truth in 1995. And since 1999, the guitarist and vocalist of the reformed and stronger Vrykolakas.
Why did you choose a Dutch production office for the Buried demo ?
I didn’t really chose them. Rogier seems to be very interested and very supportive towards Vrykolakas. So I believe he’s the right man to be tasked to produce our release. The same demo is also released by a Thai production label, Maelstrom666 Productions. It is also supposed to be released by a Malaysian label, but until today, that version did not surface.
Why is death metal so popular in Asia ?
I don’t really know. Why is it even more popular in Europe ? On the contrary, I feel that death metal is only very popular in Indonesia. The other Asian countries are more into black metal or melodic stuff.
Did you ever flew with Singapore Airlines ?
Yes, a few times. The service is better compared to the European and American airlines and the stewardesses are young and delicious. You should also check out the stewardesses in Brunei Airlines.
How do you obtain the CDs of your favorite bands ?
I usually buy them from Tower Records store. But ever since I listened to Nile, I have stopped buying CDs of other bands. Now I intend to collect only Nile CDs. But with all the thousands of interesting bands coming out like mushrooms after rain, I can’t really stop. I’ve begin to trade our CD for CDs of other bands, so you can say nowadays, I get CDs via trading.
And what are your favorite bands ?
Like I just mentioned, my favourite band is Nile. I still listen to Incantation and Suffocation but nothing else.
Do you prefer rice of hamburgers ?
I prefer rice, but I eat hamburgers when I’m not at home. I really like Burger King’s burgers, especially the whopper and the broiler.
If I won the lottery then ...
If you won the lottery then I’d say, ’Congratulations, Twan !!!’ But if I won it, then it’ll be a different story. First, I would book a hundred hours of recording time at The Sound Lab studio, where Nile recorded their album. The rest of the money I’ll use to start my own studio for Vrykolakas’ practice.
How do you train your arms for fast guitar playing ?
I grab and squeeze big tits. It takes great skill to grab and squeeze big tits in a few seconds. The girl won’t even see my hands reaching for her tits. When she realized it, she only felt being grabbed and squeezed, but she has no clue who did it. That’s how I train my arms. And it works !
Any chance that there will come a full length CD ?
I think a full-length is what every band plans for in their musical career. Of course Vrykolakas will also do a full-length. But that will be in the future. We still need to do a few more Eps, MCDs and split releases be fore really working on a full-length. But for sure, a full-length will come.
What do you do to promote the band ?
We have ongoing flyers, a constantly updated webpage, magazine reviews and interviews, trades and mails. Mangled Maggots Stew and Maelstrom666 are also doing their part to promote us. Now, with an interview in the Brutalism Promotional website, it serves as another medium of promotion for the band. We’re thinking of having girls with big tits to have the Vrykolakas logo tattooed on their tits. That will be the ultimate promotion !
If we speak to you in three years what are you doing then ?
I’ll still be playing in Vrykolakas. Still writing songs. Still promoting the band as wide as possible. Still grabbing and squeezing tits. I’d probably have fucked a few more girls than I have now.
Last rites?
Thanks a million, Twan, for this opportunity to be featured in your website. I hope you enjoyed the songs. Thanks also for this interview. I hope you enjoyed the answers as much as I enjoyed the questions. All brutal death metal maniacs buy our CD, write to us, e-mail us or just check out our webpage. Expect to hear more from us. The plague of annihilation has begun and nobody can stop this fucking carnage ! Vrykolakas has been unleashed upon mankind !!! ALL OF YOU WILL DIE !!! AND WE’LL BE THERE TO WITNESS YOUR FUNERAL !!!
