Review: AJAL - Odd Oracle. no comments

1. I guess each and every time I post a new entry for this wretched blog, I need to start with "wow, it has been a while since I update this blog". And a while it has been indeed. But I need to keep this blog going since I still owe a friend of mine a blog post for his band. I contemplated switching the contents of this blog from english to Malay but looking at the number of visits I got, I guess I will stick with english for the time being. Lets get down to business. I am going to review Ajal's Odd Circle.

AJAL - Odd Oracle Demo 2010

2. I think I have written something about Ajal in a previous post somewhere before but that was merely to introduce the band to you. Here it is the 2010 demo called Odd Oracle.

4. Judging from the sound from the CD, Ajal plays decent thrash metal with whispery black metal vocals. Most of the songs, well all of the songs started with excerpts from movies or news. The crashing thunderous first chord for the first song and the fourth song came complete with out-of-tune introductory solos. A few seconds later, your typical thrash chops and riffs came galloping down. 

5- The sound of the guitar is way too murky for my taste. The bass is non existent thus making the whole damn CD felt too percussive. The solo. Man, where should I start with the solos. I was having an extremely difficult time swallowing the solos. Way out of tune and the notes were all over the place. The soloist obviously was not prepared to do the record. Dude, word of advice, plan your solos properly before you record. 

6- All in all. The stuff is pretty much decent with a couple of highlights on the riff department here and there but the solos really killed everything for me. Kudos to the drummer for trying his hard to hold the songs in place. As much as I tried to appreciate the vocals, but feline shrieks does not sit well with my ears. Sorry.

Download: MegaKematian - T1gab3las. no comments

1- Wah, betapa lama tidak mengemas kini blog ini. Walau apa pun, saya ingin maklumkan kepada semua bahawa Megadeth telah pun menerbitkan album studio ke tiga belas mereka yang bertajuk Th1rt3en. Sekiranya anda meminati bunyi yang terdapat pada album sebelum ini, Endgame, maka saya pasti anda akan meminati bunyi didalam album terbaru Dave Mustaine dan rakan-rakan ini. Bukan sekadar bunyi, malah kandungan lagu-lagunya seolah olah sama. Seolah-olah setiap lagu didalam album ini merupakan second part untuk setiap lagu lagu yang ada didalam End Game.

2- Album ini dibuka dengan intro untuk lagu Sudden Death . Seperti End Game album ini dibuka dengan duel diantara Mustaine dan Broderick. Lagu yang direka khusus untuk Guitar Hero ini boleh saya simpulkan sebagai violent dan seperti mana lagu pertama didalam album End Game, solo-solo kecil diselit dan  dibiarkan bergelimpangan dimerata tempat seperti bayi bayi kecil yang dibuang. Chorus lagu ini cukup bermelodi dan mengingatkan saya kepada Hangar 18 dari album Rust In Peace.

3- Saya kira ramai yang sudah mendengar lagu Public Enemy #1 yang sudah tersebar luas di Youtube. Lagu ini juga sudah pun di mainkan di persembahan-persembahan live mereka. Whose Life (is it anyway?) pula terlalu mendatar dan kedengaran biasa sahaja bagi saya kecuali riff gitar pada bahagian chorus yang agak mencengkam. 

4- Sekiranya ingin mendengar sound Megadeth yang klasik maka lagu We The People adalah lagu yang perlu anda dengar. Riff bergelimpangan. Manakala lagu Guns, Drugs and Money pula mempunyai riff yang menarik yang diulang-ulang  sehingga ke akhir lagu. Lagu Never Dead yang menyusur selepasnya adalah satu lagi lagu yang saya anggap sebagai violent dan sedikit dark.

5- New World Order kedengaran biasa sahaja dengan riff utama adalah riff klasik Mustaine. Fast Lane merupakan sebuah lagu yang laju dipadatkan dengan permainan double paddle Shawn Drover. Black Swan pula cukup bermelodik dan agak poppish. Sebuah lagu yang sedikit radio friendly. Wrecker pula bakal menjadi crowd favorite untuk dimainkan semasa live. Millenium of the Blind pula sebuah lagu perlahan yang agak membosankan tetapi liriknya mengenai politik.

6- Saya menyukai lagu seterusnya iaitu Deadly Nighstshade kerana riff pada verse nya agak uptempo dan sangat sesuai untuk headbang tanpa henti selama 4 minit dan 56 saat. Satu lagi lagu yang sesuai dan boleh dijadikan crowd favorite. Lagu terakhir bertajuk 13. Sekiranya anda meminati feel pada lagu In My Darkest Moment, maka anda akan suka lagu ini.

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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!!!