One (of the many) glaring issues with America is the lack of palaces and castles. Nothing goes harder than band promos shot in front of some idyllic cityscape that predates the birth of the America. Speaking of things that go hard, it’s time to examine First Sparks of Eternal Decay by VLKN. Yeah, these sickos definitely posed in front of some sick ass buildings in their hometown of Budapest. 

To begin we’re going to travel, not just to Hungary, but also through space and time. First Sparks of Eternal Decay is the second release from VLKN and was released in January of 2024. The record moves, ebbing and flowing track to track, a unified concept woven together by the fabric of riffs and atmosphere, demanding an uninterrupted listen, not of a singular track, but as a piece of art. The self-released record was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Szabolcs Szucs in Templon, their Budapest studio.

“THIS WORLD TURNED OUT FROM ITSELF IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, THERE IS NO HOPE FOR ANY BETTER OR BRIGHTER FUTURE, THAT’S THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE ALBUM.”

- MARTON @VLKNBAND

As the opening track, Inexorable, fades in, guitars filtering with tiny doses of ambience, feeding back into a handful of big chords and a little lick-into-pickslide that you know sets you up for something massive, crusty, and powerful. This isn’t an examination of d-beat crust and the album isn’t simply homage to what existed before it.

While tracks like Dubious and Unbound are laden with searing leads, VLKN doesn’t simply tread the ground of their predecessors. VLKN Drummer Kristof Hornyak implements plenty of d-beat rhythms and blastbeats, hallmark sounds of the genre, and puts them in a juxtaposition which defies blistering crust and hardcore, folding in influences from black metal, screamo, and post-metal. There is no doubt a pressing influence from guitarists Adam Nemeth and Attilla Almasi, the primary songwriters during the writing sessions leading up to First Sparks of Eternal Decay.

The opening track, that opening pickslide into tremolo riffing put me firmly into crust and hardcore, harkening to bands like Tragedy, Momentum, and Martyrdöd — and the lead guitar parts seem to share this kinship, but when Rebirth hits and you’re hit with pads of synthesizer, this eerie, seedy underbelly sitting below tremolo picking and blastbeats puts its gnarled finger toward black metal. 

As you near the end of the record, I’m drawn to the repeating riff in Constraint (you’ll know it when you hear it). There’s something here that takes me into that European blackened screamo. I get similar evocations in Farewell to Our Home (ft. The Devils Trade), particularly as the track blends the clean singing from the Devils Trade alongside singer Martin Pap’s pained howls. These are tracks that immediately call to mind bands like Oathbreaker and Celeste. 

That said, it would be remiss to gloss over the influence of post-metal, and in the context of something with such a strong crusty influence, it becomes difficult not to point to a band like Fall of Efrafa or Lightbringer or even Suffocate for Fuck Sake. The guest spot from The Devils Trade is a reprieve from the unrelenting blasting and tremolo assault. The clean vocals soar above the track, a strong, baritone voice in moments that are influence by the open, airy, atmospheric passages of post-metal bands. 

This is a strong release, flying completely under my radar throughout 2024, and is a must listen for fans who are interested in smashing together bands from React with Protest with bands being released by Pelagic records.

VLKN just wrapped a European tour and is set to play several festivals this summer, including: Exit Festival (Serbia), Outside Festival (Poland) and Fekete Zaj (Hungary). Catch them live, spin the record, and wait patiently for the next chapter from VLKN.

VLKN is Marton Pap on vocals, Peter Szabo on bass, Adam Nemeth & Attila Almasi on guitars, and Kristof Hornyak on the drums.