S.Y.J.

Not the second but actually the third band to have adorned the S.Y.J.-moniker in the Malaysian Metal scene. This due to the fact that manager Syed Yusuf Jamalulail seem to have had a magical skill of convincing his cohorts to use his initials as band-name for whatever inconceivable reason, first for the more well-known SOFEA (see the Battle Of The Bands compilations), then for a short while the band ARIWATAN and finally these guys ...But on to a more important Q: is "Kudrat" as Metal-As-Fukk an album as the cover wants us to believe?? A: As far as the original cassette album goes, almost.

It's once again the terrible dire truth that The Evil Ones (Malay record biz execs) managed to kill off the greatest track of the album from the vinyl version, in this case the Perfect Asian Mystic Metal pearl "Godaan Dunia". If Cloven Hoof had been Malaysian...? Butchered track #2 "Anak Kota" isn't really that big of a loss though. A fumbling, slow HR number whose finest trait would be, well.. not being another ballad I guess.

Now let's celebrate what good and proper spoils are left for us poor vinyl puritans. We can certainly not complain about "Satira Bangsa", a proud Euro-Metal opener in the Gotham City/Ostrogoth/Attack-tradition. Skipping the first shit ballad of the day we get the even stronger semi-title track "Khudrat Kehidupan", another very enticing Magic Metal hit with some superb riffage-filling. Closing the Heavy Metal chapter of this poor cripple of an album way too early is "Realiti", another strike for Goodness (or cool evilness, whatever) by way of Asian Maiden-worship a la spiritual forefathers Rockers.

3 great Metal tunes out of 8 possible does not make it a must-have in any situation, but neither does it make it a useless piece of crap. By Malay vinyl-standards it's a fairly purchase-worthy release should the opportunity arise and the pricing match, especially if we take the rarity of a full-color album sleeve into consideration.