Malaysia/Singapore Metal (...and vinyl)

[DaN]

Keepin' up w/ the patchin' up in the Malaysian review-dept:


SAXO - Satu Perjuangan LP 1990 review

Funny how this review turned out more lukewarm than intended. I remember liking it more some years ago..

[bigfootkit]

I gave the first track a listen & whilst the singing & playing were good the horrible 80s synth sounds & reverb-swamped drums detracted greatly from my enjoyment of what the rest of the band were doing. The production style fitted better on the more commercial third song 'Hidup Biar Berjasa'. The singer's got a really interesting voice, lots of range & tonal variation and he shows it all off to good effect on that track.
Interesting certainly, but probably not something i'll go back to, unlike that Autobus album you just posted. Many thanks for sharing that, it grabbed me straight away & i'm looking forward to giving it some proper attention over the weekend.

I totally hear what you mean about the synths and mixing. Thing is, I kinda like that "Rage For Order"-sound on rare occations - at least on more semi-progressive/original stuff...
Cool to hear you enjoyed AUTOBUS too! Def' more universal Classic HM-appeal on that one..

Now that you mention 'Rage For Order' i totally get the comparison, that may well have been the ambition but for me it sort of fell between 2 stools and wound up somewhere else instead. The rest of the record is ultra-schitzophrenic stylistically which i do often enjoy, but in this case the variations in genre made it feel more like various artists compilation than a cohesive whole. Very talented players for sure, but they should probably have picked a specific lane & stayed in it.

[Ernest Thesiger]

Line-up:
[no credits on the LP]

But they're credited on the front cover! Anyway, I liked this one & would listen again.

[DaN]

But they're credited on the front cover!

Mental blockade. I blame the general upsidedownness of the southern hemisphere..

[DaN]

For a while now I've been thinking about doing a Corroseum-special subsite about this subject, a "Complete Vinyl Guide To.."-type page, but the more I dig into this scene, the more I realize there's just too many average-to-plain-boring mainstream HR/HM releases to make it fun (Search, Sofea, May, Bumiputra Rockers etc etc..). I'll just continue w/ digging out the gems and the ol' Review-archive is the perfect framwork for it - if it ain't broken, don't fix it, right?

Here's some short words on the 2nd ROCKERS lp - the very first Singapore review of the site:


ROCKERS - Harakah LP 1988 review

YT playlist:


It might seem a random choice, but this was one of the first Souteast Asian vinyls I ever got to add to my collection, so for me it became a natural place to start. It's not their best release but still a really good HM album so if you enjoy this one you'll luuuuuuw the rest I'm sure..

[DaN]

Continuing with some Singaporian obscüreness:


ACES - Hidup LP 1989 review

For this one I thought most YT clips were somewhat lacking in quality, so I made my own rip of the album. Do check it out - there's only 3(!) ballads this time (!!)

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[DaN]

ROCKERS' "Andalusia" album is an absolute masterpiece and they've been my all-time favourite band for weeks now ...though this review is more Angry Rant than anything else:


ROCKERS - Andalusia MLP 1989 review

YT playlist - all titles not mentioned in the review are schmallads, so just skip ahead:

[DaN]

One more before the weekend does what weekends do:


VIKING - Dalam Pelayaran LP 1989 review

All YT clips I've found sounded like crap, so here's once again my own rip of the LP:

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Now, if you're not at least checking out the opening track on this one you're making a terrible mistake!

[Ernest Thesiger]

Thank you!

[bigfootkit]

Many thanks for that Viking LP DaN, now that's some interesting stuff.
The rhythm guitarist has the grimy Saint Vitus tone absolutely locked down, while the lead player's style & sound is more like that of typical European Metal of that era, (but without the annoying Floyd Rose abuse that was so prevalent then). Very contrasting styles, but they mesh surprisingly well. The playing is really strong throughout, with only the singer letting the side down a little here & there when he wobbles quite a bit at the very top of his register, but fortunately that only really happens on the obligatory balladish material so it doesn't matter.
'Damai Dan Darah' was quite different from the rest of the material and might have fitted in on Voivod's 'Angel Rat' album stylistically which you can't say about too many songs, and the closer, 'Misteri Dunia' somehow manages to be both melancholy & uplifting at the same time, which is a pretty neat trick. Clever & inventive stuff both in composition & execution.
This will needs more than the 2 plays i've given it so far to reveal it's charms completely, but i'm more than up for putting in the time required. Nice digging DaN, you've done it again!

[Ernest Thesiger]

This will needs more than the 2 plays i've given it so far to reveal it's charms completely, but i'm more than up for putting in the time required. Nice digging DaN, you've done it again!

It could be the best Malay HM album I've heard so far. Even the balladic lighterwaving stuff had appeal, except for the blechy "Sisa Cinta".

[DaN]

Glad to hear you liked it, guys. I wouldn't say it's on par with the Singapore Big 2's (Rockers & Rusty Blade), but def' Malaysia top 10 (almost 5)

..both melancholy & uplifting at the same time, which is a pretty neat trick.

This! I'm a sucker for this trick as well and that tune is indeed a perfect example of it. Some of my favourite olde NWOBHM singles as well as 80's EastEuro bands also does this so well...
Agree about the vocals occationally dipping into sour territory, but the voice is really cool still. If it weren't for the line-up pic I'd almost have guessed on a female vocalist.

Btw, if any collector is desperate for this one I might be able to shake loose a promo-sleeve version, but it wouldn't be cheap unfortunately..

[bigfootkit]

..both melancholy & uplifting at the same time, which is a pretty neat trick.

This! I'm a sucker for this trick as well and that tune is indeed a perfect example of it. Some of my favourite olde NWOBHM singles as well as 80's EastEuro bands also does this so well...
Agree about the vocals occationally dipping into sour territory, but the voice is really cool still. If it weren't for the line-up pic I'd almost have guessed on a female vocalist.

We need a name for this phenomenon. Any trained musicians out there care to expand our linguistic lexicon with the correct terminology or are we gonna have to come up with our own short-hand to describe this?
The quest for that epic/sad/triumphant hit is partly what's led me to burrow further into the past to scratch that itch as the 70s Heavy Rock/Proto-Metal netherworld is packed with so many great examples of this musical phenomenon. I still find the odd present day example such as 'To The Light' by VOJD, but that very specific musical mood seems harder to find nowadays.

[DaN]

We need a name for this phenomenon. Any trained musicians out there care to expand our linguistic lexicon with the correct terminology or are we gonna have to come up with our own short-hand to describe this?

Indeed we do - The upcoming thread needs a proper topic-title!

The quest for that epic/sad/triumphant hit is partly what's led me to burrow further into the past to scratch that itch as the 70s Heavy Rock/Proto-Metal netherworld is packed with so many great examples of this musical phenomenon. I still find the odd present day example such as 'To The Light' by VOJD, but that very specific musical mood seems harder to find nowadays.

Nice, that gave me an excuse to check out VOJD. I know Sebbe some but haven't gotten around to them since the name-change from Black Trip... Yes, this is That Sound alright. Sweet one, cheers!



OnT -
Racing through the Malay-section of the record vault, it's time for TERAS:


TERAS - Teras LP 1990 review

This isn't as special as most previous additions, but it definitely needed a review. If you're in the mood for something weird and annoying, check out "Jawapan Misteri" - if you just wanna add a cool Powermetaller to your playlist, grab their theme song.

YT playlist:

[DaN]

Did we already post the title track in the thread? Just in case, coz no one deserves to miss out on this one:


Review:


ROCKERZ - Dukun MLP 1990 review