HELLGHAST is a quite obscure but absolute deadly old school Death Metal force. Dwelling in the deepest abyss of Singaporean Hell this outfit fits perfectly into our zine. "Acrimony" is the band’s second full length, following its predecessor "The Epoch Of Subjugation" from 2007. The first steps of the band dating back to 1998 and soon after its initiation a one song rehearsal demo was released ("Cannibal Expressions"). A three track demo entitled "Suicide Revelation" and an EP ("Ad Infinitum") were quickly added to the squad’s discography in the year 2000. The album I am reviewing here may not be the freshest anymore (released in December 2010) but due to the fact that most people here aren’t familiar with this excellent effort it might feel like it is a brand new assault of metallic mayhem. As I mentioned above these five lads from Singapore revel in the territory of ancient Metal of Death but adding to their merciless and energetic sound a slight but lethal dose of Thrash riffing as well. Refined with some melodic parts and leads the music of this squad feels like a lethal slap straight in your face. HELLGHAST deliver nine tracks (incl. one instrumental) of very well executed Metal with a haunting and sinister atmosphere. You can feel with every note that the horde is total dedicated and passionate in the stuff they do. Excellent musicians with very solid technical skills and the right sense for the feeling of the music which totally hit the mark with their alloy of diabolical steel. The pace of the album is mostly fast with breaks at the right place to keep it full of suspense and varied. I also enjoy the gruff style of growling in the vocal department which fits perfectly to the music. The production is excellent and compliments each song very well. Sounds very natural and organic and is far away from being overproduced or clinical. Tracks like ‘…Of Blood And Fire’, ‘The Trepidation Within’, ‘Venibbeth Untold (The Malediction)’ or ‘Kun Fayakun’ should actually please every Deathbanger with a sense of quality underground Death Metal. It’s really a shame why this horde isn’t more well known here. Hope there won’t be such a long hiatus until HELLGHAST unleashes their next album upon the Metal community. In the meanwhile you can check out the band’s site at www.facebook.com/hellghast.sg and order their album which features two bonus tracks as well (‘Cannibal Expressions’ from the rehearsal with the same title and ‘Kiss From A Suicide’ taken from the "Ad Infinitum" EP).