Bands - Filsufatia: 5 comments

Would it make me a self boasting basket case for writing about my own band? I love writing and I love reading my own writings. I have always been my own blog audience. Although, this blog was created for one straightforward reason; so that I can write something about Zubirun and Qharinth, I still need to consume and utilize these empty spaces, at least for the time being, before I have enough materials to write about the above mentioned bands. Until then, I shall write what ever I deem fit for The Bullet Belt.

Filsufatia is my one man band and it has been in existence for quite a while now. If my memory served me correctly, I formed Filsufatia out of boredom, as a bedroom band project, somewhere later in 2004. It all started when I first managed to get my hands on this one cool home studio software called Fruity Loops Studio. Well, it is not until later that I found out that I could actually utilize this loop program to create heavy metal. I started using Fruity Loops Studio since 2003. Back in those days, it was all about RnB and Hip Hop music (hell, I still do the normal music arrangements once in a while). One fine day, I found out that there were some of the loops available in the program resembled the sound of a distorted electric guitar and if utilized and mixed properly, I can actually emulate the sound of a real band. I kind of freaked out. To cut the story short, the rest was history.

I always wanted to be in a metal band because there were always a plentiful of crazy riffs and melodies flying in and out of my head. I have been in a number of bands before but they were either punk, hardcore or pop and never metal. The satisfaction of playing live instruments was there but not in terms of the need to express my heavy metal creativity and originality. I need an outlet to express this fervor for grunting vocals, orchestral arrangements, haunting chapels, dark riffs and corpse paints, thus the formation of Filsufatia as a foundation to gratify my metallic lust and growling desires was the most perfect venue. It was the best venue for me because using computer programs would mean I can continue doing this on my own without the need to go through the painstaking task to recruit band members and when ever I feel like I want to compose songs, I just turn on the computer.

I have been releasing demos every year since 2006 and it was loads of fun reading comments and feedbacks, be it negative or positive, from those who have been kind enough to spend their precious time listening to my music. You can always sell tons and tons of records and get a huge paycheck for your work, but at the end of the day I personally believe that the best accolade for a musician is when people tend to appreciate and value his works.

Orchestrated under the influences of three legendary home grown bands in the likes of Sil Khannaz, As Sahar and Riusgnal, I do believe that, with the right formula and ingredients, local bands can be as much as fundamental as any metal bands coming from the outskirt of Europe, United States or the isle of Great Britain. Originality is and has always been the key for any local bands to smell the scent of success. For instance, I am still in awe each and every time I put on Pendita Gila. One word that I can use to describe that record is precision. The riffs were very much haunting, mind sticking, awkwardly groovy and the fact that they used a drum machine made the record even more defined and original than any other metal records available during that time, locally or internationally.

As for As Sahar and Riusgnal, it was the idea that made them into icons. The music was a beautiful amalgamation of brutality and straight forward melodies, although not as original but it was the fact that both of these bands introduced the idea of incorporating Malay occultism and mysticism in their lyrics with heavy metal that had made them into pioneering bands. It was really an eye opener and it caught my attention. It was from the brilliant and luminous idea of these bands that made the music eventually evolved into a whole new heavy metal genre, what is now called Eastern metal. That’s originality my friends. I even dare to say that it was the idea to incorporate Ulek Mayang into thrash metal that made Cromok ever so popular with the Australian Metal crowd back in the late 80s. Rather than turning to Lavey’s Satanic Bible for lyrics, you can always turn to your own backyard.

With Filsufatia, originality is still way ahead of me. I am still struggling to capture the grandiose of heavy metal music but who knows maybe after a while, after I have exhausted all these crazy riffs inside my head, I will finally be able to see a point where I can be original with my music.

Filsufatia on MySpace.

East Coast Extreme Metal Assault - Kelantan Metal Army: 2 comments

It is obvious that my first rant would be on Kelantan Metal Scene, my good old home town. I am quite delighted when I first encountered a number of serious Kelantanese bands trying to make it big in the Malaysian metal scene. When I was still living in Kota Bharu, punks and skinheads were all over the place and to find one decent metal head back then was like finding a needle in a haystack.

It is always amusing to have in mind the fact that one of the first few Malaysian metal bands who were responsible for the pioneering of Death Metal music in Malaysia and one of the first to release a death metal album was a bunch of long haired metal loving pretty boys from Kelantan, Suffercation. Suffercation’s first album, Days of Darkness which was released in 1992 was the most brutal, highly technical and most intense, not to mention the top notch quality, death metal record ever to came out from Malaysia back in the old days. Suffercation took the scene by storm.

Positioned north east of peninsular Malaysia, Kelantan was and still regarded as a very socially conservative and Islamic state with open metal shows, among others, were constantly monitored and rushed by the intolerant local authorities. Being under the administration of the theocratic Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party for more than 18 years, Kelantanese metalheads had to put great effort to keep abreast with the contemporary growth of the Malaysian metal in general.

Over the past few years, despite the fact that they were under constant surveillance of the bigoted religious authorities, Kelantan Metal scene managed to survive and evolve within the rampant and extensive obstacles thrown to impede the movement. The Kelantanese metalheads even managed to systematize and organize themselves into one vigorous terror front which goes by the name of Kelantan Metal Army, a small dedicated group of metal enthusiasts committed solely for the elevation and appreciation of extreme music in a land where no music could thrive.

With strings of successful heavy metal gigs and their annual Extreme Terrorism metal shows, Kelantan Metal Army earned their much deserved reputation from their fellow metal compatriots for their never ending efforts and endeavors, trying to bring in renowned Malaysian metal bands to play in Kota Bharu.

Newer local bands under the wings of Kelantan Metal Army, in the likes of In Torment (brutal death metal), Dark Regime (brutal death metal), Incarcerate (death metal), Diman (melodic black metal) and Slaughter Soul (melodic death metal/heavy metal), just to name a few, were proud torchbearers trying to put Kelantan on the map of local extreme music following the path paved by their older sibling, Suffercation.

All hail Kelantan Metal!

Kelantan Metal Army on Myspace.

Book Review: Bang Your Head - The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal: no comments

Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal, David Konow, Three Rivers Press, 2002.

I always have been fascinated with both music and history and a book about the history of a particular music is just like killing two birds with one stone. I have read a few books about the history of heavy metal and Bang Your Head is the least elevating one. Of course it was a fun read, but all Rock n Roll books are fun to read. The only thing that made me bought this book is the fact that I have yet to find a book about the rise and fall of the 80’s Cock Rock (Malaysian equivalent to Rock Kapak) scene, and this book, although not as comprehensive and thorough as I hoped it should, contained some murky information about the craze, the 80’s world wide fad, which helped launch MTV to a gainful and profitable broadcast.

Towering hairs and cans of hair sprays, fishnets and spandexes, groupies and backstage passes and the unforgettable Power Ballads and yes, the bands. Bands in the likes of Motley Crue, Guns N Roses, Quiet Riot and Poison took the world by storm. It made its way to the Malaysian shores and before you know it, Search, Wings, Lefthanded and May, just to name a few, became Sunset strip’s little ambassadors.

The book is 496 page thick and the front cover depicts the dullest book cover I have ever seen. Being a person who normally judges a book by its cover (literally), it would have been better if the publisher opted to coat the front cover black and print the title somewhere in the middle white, I would have bought the book right there and then. The cover was sort of a cut and pastes assemble, with zerox quality coloration that I believe for the purpose of going after the old school fanzine feel.

The story telling was light; it gave a good bird’s eye view of the cock rock scene back in the early 80’s; the book was a fun read nonetheless but it could have been better though. Besides the lack of depth, the book was also in short of photos. You do not write a book about Rock N Roll, describe the glorious vista of the legendary Sunset Strip, illustrate hundreds of crazy ass bands and have just a couple of photos in it!

I bought this one Frinday last week. Got it from Kinokuniya, KLCC and it costs me RM60.

Editors Note: Original article was taken from Metaforakami, my personal blog.