Interview: In Torment. 4 comments

In Torment

How are you and In Torment these days? 

Im fine here thank you. About IN TORMENT, not so well now. We've been re-formating members and as for now, the only commited members is just me and Bai Grinder.
 

Can you please brief the readers about the formation of In Torment, the current line up and the releases so far? Any new materials that we can expect in the near future?
I think we started around 2001, jamming and so. we start as a death metal band. before, all ov us originally from Kota Bharu, Kelantan. after years ov surviving and line-up changes, the last show consist ov me and Kemma (guitars) from KB, Bai Grinder (drums) from Shah Alam and Devoured (Vox/Bass) from Singapore. Due to commitments and so, now it is only me and Bai Grinder. we release couple ov demo's and promo's. included in some compilations but no albums so far. looking forward to do so in near future.
 

In Torment plays fast, intense brutal death metal. Why this genre? What made In Torment different from other brutal death metal bands? 

Brutal death metal now falls into more variety ov sub-genres. i dont consider it brutal death metal in any way. we just play death metal with more blasting and faster riffs because we like it. the term extreme is far more linear to us. many bands nowadays plays far more intensely brutal than us. they used to label Krisiun, Nile a brutal death metal band but not anymore and now Disgorge and Defeated Sanity are. with a lot ov sub-genres goin on, people cant really define what is brutal death metal nowadays.

You guys have been playing shows all over malaysia. Hows the acceptance of the audience so far?
We dont give a damn about the acceptance ov the audience. we play what we want to play. we dont play just to please others. if its only two people came forward at our shows, hell yeahhh!! we've been thru everything ever since. mineral bottle thrown at us, middle fingers, we dont give a damn! punk show, indie shows, private party, formal gatherings, metal shows, bike week shows, we play it all.

The heavy metal scene back in Kota Bharu Kelantan is developing rapidly. Can you name any good new bands from Kelantan thats worth checking? I know those Horrified dudes plays this awesome metal with a bit of rocknroll riffs here and there.
Yup, its good to hear some potential bands from Kota Bharu mainly and yes, Kelantan formally. lots ov bands everyone needs to check out! DARKREGIME, INCARCERATE, SLAUGHTERSOUL, OMEN, SACRED IMPIRIUM, POLONG, and so on. and yes, HORRYFIED is a good metal band. i think they play metal+some metalcore as well in their veins. junior crowds envy them in every shows. its great.
 

If I got my facts right, you got a metal shop back in kota bharu? Any possibilities for other local bands to send their materials for your shop? If so, how can they do that?
Hahaha. no more metal shop for now. its a long story. u can guess it out I think. People dont buy metal stuff at metal shops nowadays. They prefer buying it online.

Any last shout outs man? How can the readers contact In Torment?
Thanx to u for this short interview. to all who believe in our existence, we salute u. for those who want to contact us, just hit us at http://www.facebook.com/intorment.malaysia or maybe hit me directly at http://www.facebook.com/rimie.tormenized. cheers!!!

Interview: Kazanna. no comments

Kazanna

Assalamualaikum and hello. May I know who is answering the questions?

Waalaikumsalam Hafeez. Salam 1 Malaysia.This is Amar and thank you for having the interest to interview Kazanna.
 

Can you please brief the readers on the history of Kazanna?

Kazanna was formed and conceived in late 2010. All current members of Kazanna were actually former members of another band called Pasca Tragedy, a Shah Alam (Selangor) band playing power/gothic metal. Due to some unfortunate reasons, Pasca Tragedy was dissolved and from its ashes, we formed Kazanna. Kazanna plays Symphonic Metal exclusively, a kind of music where not many Malaysian bands dare to thread. We took this opportunity to introduce this genre to the local metal audience. Kazanna's current line up are Rezal on the drums, Fiza on vocals, Jack on bass guitar and Amar on guitar. 
 

Kindly brief us a bit about Kazanna's awesome debut EP, Will of Heroes.
 

Will of Heroes EP was released on May 1st 2011 during the KL Metal Camp 4 gig which was held at One Cafe recently. This EP contains 5 songs plus 2 arrangement scores as bonus tracks. The title of the EP was chosen based on a song of ours called Will of Heroes. This song was about a sacred will made to his friends, by a hero. The guitars, basses and keys were recorded at my home studio while the rest were recorded in various studios all over Klang Valley. Most of our songs were about war, peace, love and the world in general. 
 

Who orchestrated the awesome orchestral arrangements? To be honest, I was very impressed with the arrangements and honestly felt that it gave a grandiose and epic feel to your songs.

The arrangements were all done by me. My deep fascination with full scale symphonic orchestra and scores in all those epic films led me to learn how to compose those sort of sound through myriad of researches and videos on the internet. But on a personal note, I think there are still so much more to learn and improve. For the next release, hopefully a more mature orchestral sound and arrangement shall be produced.  
 

Did you ever use any pre recorded music for live shows?

Of course we used those pre recorded orchestra as our backing track for live shows, you know, in the likes of bands such as Edenbridge, Unsun and Epica. We have yet to have a capable keyboardist to do all those orchestra sound live. (editor- Its too bad that I only knew how to arrange those sounds via computer softwares, or else you would be holding my resume in your hands right now, mate haha).
 

Ever thought of experimenting with Bahasa Melayu (Malay Language)? I seriously believe that it will definitely help push the band to a more mainstream audience.

We are still in the process of producing some songs in Malay language to penetrate the mainstream market although the process to properly amalgamate the language with this sort of genre is still in its infancy. We are still in the midst of doing a thorough reasearch process in order to produce something more suitable for  the radio airplays. (editor- Well, Malaysian are suckers for good pop melodies and hooks, figure that one out and I can guarantee, you will be able to garner and generate excitement and interest for the band. Although all the limelight will most probably go to your hot front women. Thats Malaysia for you mate, pffftt)

Whats your future plan? How can the buyers buy a copy of Will of Heroes?

As of current we are busy working on our new songs for our full lenght. We hope that there will more people who would want to invite us for shows. You can buy Will of Heroes EP via our facebook, www.facebook.com/kazannaofficial. Just leave a message on our facebook wall and we shall inform you the details. We will be selling the record at our shows.

Bands: Kazanna. 5 comments

1- While I am writing this, I am feeding my ears to Kazanna, a local symphonic metal band and guess what, they're awesome. I have stopped listening to symphonic stuff a long long time ago because lotsa bands of that genre tend to produce lame pop melodies. For me, if you wanna go symphonic, the one word that you should keep in mind is EPIC. Not many bands can capture that epic and grandiose sound. Why settle for fucking pop hooks if you got one whole orchestra backing you up. 

KAZANNA

2- Now, this band, Kazanna, a local band, got me really fucking stoked. Seriousfuckingly. Will Of Heroes is their debut EP containing 7 epic hymns that've managed to shake the core out of my symphonic metal judgmentalism. I almost brush these guys out from my radar due to the typical name. I was like, who the fuck calls themselves this? But I gave my curiosity a try. The intro to the Will of Heroes EP nearly blew me off my fucking chair. The orchestral arrangements were crazy and it sounded awesomely epic. 

Kazanna - Will of Heroes EP

 

3- When a metal band uses clean vocals and melodic singing, the first thing that I will want to appreciate is the vocal melodies. If you are unable to compose good melody lines for the vocals, then in you go into my bottomless dustbin. But the vocal lines for Will Of Heroes were very very good especially the melodies for Love Sophistry. The one line harmony was perfectly done. One kudos point there. The only problem I got with the vocals is that it was a bit low in the mix. I was unable to make out what the hell was the singer was singing. The singer needs to improve on the pronounciation. Although operatic sopranos are not really my cuppa tea, but strong words are.

4- The guitar sound is very solid but the bass was a bit low in the mix. The orchestral arrangements were perfectly mixed and the scores were pretty tight, grand, epic and compelling. The pianos were crazy and being a piano enthusiast my self (although I cant play) I appreciate the effort. The drum was perfectly mixed with the bass drums were a bit high in the mix but I guess it served its purpose of pushing the songs forward with its speed. There is a simple but functional solo in Never Ending Epic which I really like.

5- All in all, Kazanna is a very very promising Malaysian band. And hopefully with all the good words I've put into reviewing their stuff, I will be lucky enough to date the singer. Haha. Check them out if you like Nightwish and Within Temptation. I seriously recommend this. If you wanna try a Malaysian brand of sumphonic metal and I suggest you go out and look for this.

KAZANNA at Facebook.

KAZANNA at ReverbNation