SENTENCED Amok

KLASSSIK!!! Ini album re-defined Death Metal in terms of approach. Siapa terpikir yang Death Metal boleh dimasukkan elemen Hard Rock? Well, Sentenced was the one yang terpikir. Kalau tak salah aku, album ini bagi impak yang kuat kepada Sil Khannaz untuk album Gerbang Kayangan. Instead of the usual Metal chord, Sentenced menggunakan minor chords yang famous dengan band-band hard rock. Tetapi the twist ialah, feel memang Death Metal especially dengan vokal meneran Taneli Jarva. Eventually Sentenced mengarahkan konsep mereka sebagai Suicide Metal yang mana hampir keseluruhan album seterusnya berkisarkan tentang putusnya harapan untuk hidup. Agak-agaknya band emo terkesan dengan Sentenced tak?

SENTENCED Amok
Amok is the third album by the Finnish metal band Sentenced.

Track listing

1. "The War Ain't Over!" – 4:18
2. "Phenix" – 5:33
3. "New Age Messiah" – 4:29
4. "Forever Lost" – 7:16
5. "Funeral Spring" – 3:55
6. "Nepenthe" – 3:53
7. "Dance on the Graves (Lil Siztah)" – 4:27
8. "Moonmagick" – 4:46
9. "The Golden Stream of Lapland" – 4:58

It was in 1995 that the band made their real breakthrough with Amok, considered the best of their albums by most fans and critics. Compared with their earlier work, the music had slowed down somewhat, acquiring a more melodic structure. The track "Nepenthe" was complemented with a music video and the band took to tour Europe in two full-length tours supporting Samael and Tiamat right as Amok was released.

English texts taken from wikipedia.

DRAGONLORD Rapture digipak

Curious nak tau apa jadinya bila gitaris Testament cuba nak main band Black Metal, sekali vokal lak tu. Nampaknya, curiosity killed the cat. Pada aku, takde apa contribution yang boleh Eric Peterson bagi untuk genre Black Metal ni. Takde innovation, sebaliknya plain je. Aku tak paham apsal la kat wikipedia ni puji melambung-lambung kat band ni.

DRAGONLORD Rapture digipak
Rapture is the first album by the Black metal band Dragonlord.

Though essentially a black metal album, much of Eric Peterson's thrash roots can still be heard, likening the sound that to the faster thrash style on Testament's "The Gathering" album mixed with symphonic black metal. This is also the first time Peterson attempted vocals on any recordings.

Dragonlord, sometimes written DragonLord, (not to be confused with Spanish power metal band Dragon Lord), is a North American metal band. Dragonlord was formed in 2001 as a side project by Eric Peterson and Steve DiGiorgio of Testament and Steve Smyth of Nevermore. It is a result of Eric Peterson's interest in darker music, and not being able to do that with Testament he formed Dragonlord. The band combines elements of black metal (screeching vocals, keyboards) with some thrash guitar influences. Also the band is among the rare examples of a somewhat successful symphonic metal band in United States.

All songs written by Erik Peterson and Del James
EXCEPT: "Vals De La Muerta" by Lyle Livingston

1. "Vals de la Muerte [Instrumental]" – 1:52
2. "UnholyVoid" – 4:39
3. "Tradition and Fire" – 5:00
4. "Born to Darkness" – 5:22
5. "Judgement Failed" – 4:20
6. "Wolf Hunt" – 3:25
7. "Spirits in the Mist" – 5:03
8. "Rapture" – 5:24

LACUNA COIL Unleashed Memories

Hahaha... konon nak berkenalan dengan band ni sempena kedatangan mereka bulan depan bersama MEGADETH dalam siri Gigantour Australian tour. Al-maklumlah, ada kemungkinan Mustaine duet dengan penyanyi Lacuna Coil ni disebabkan beliau jadi guest duet vocalist untuk lagu A Tout Le Monde. Penyudahnya, tak sampai habis dengar, sebab tak boleh masuk. Macam aku katakan dahulu, gothic Metal ni probably yang boleh aku masuk cuma Paradise Lost je. Ada sape-sape nak album ni? Trade ke sale ke... jalan! Packaging eksklusif ni!

LACUNA COIL Unleashed Memories digipak
Unleashed Memories, released March 20, 2001 (see 2001 in music), is the second album by Italian gothic metal band Lacuna Coil. The album was released through Century Media. American releases append the Halflife EP to this album.

1. "Heir Of A Dying Day" – 4:59
2. "To Live Is To Hide" – 4:34
3. "Purify" – 4:36
4. "Senzafine" – 3:53
5. "When A Dead Man Walks" – 5:54
6. "1:19" – 4:58
7. "Cold Heritage" – 5:23
8. "Distant Sun" – 5:29
9. "A Current Obsession" – 5:20
10. "Wave Of Anguish" – 4:40

DARKTHRONE Hate Them + Panzerfaust

DARKTHRONE.. tak perlu introduksi lagi. Yang penting, apa je yang depa rilis, pasti die-hard akan membelinya. Aku bukan diehard tapi antara banyak-banyak band Black Metal, aku prefer Darkthrone. Ada elemen cheekiness sikit sejak kebelakangan ni mengenai Darkthrone. Aku peminat Fenriz dalam temuramah. Fenriz ni pelawak sebenarnya. Cuba la try cari interview dia dan baca...

DARKTHRONE Hate Them
Hate Them is the tenth album by Norwegian black metal band, Darkthrone.

The album features an electronic intro and outro, made by Red Harvest, and the artwork was done by Eric from Thesyre.

Track listing

1. "Rust" – 6:45
2. "Det svartner nå" (It Darkens Now) – 5:37
3. "Fucked Up and Ready to Die" – 3:44
4. "Ytterst i livet" (On the Edge of Life) – 5:25
5. "Divided We Stand" – 5:18
6. "Striving for a Piece of Lucifer" – 5:31
7. "In Honour of Thy Name" – 6:27


DARKTHRONE Panzerfaust
Panzerfaust is the fifth album by Norwegian black metal band, Darkthrone. It is their first album after departing from Peacevile Records, now under the flag of Moonfog Productions.

The production on this album has encountered some criticisms, as despite all Darkthrone's black metal albums having production that sound akin to "an angry wasp in a beer bottle", the vocals are mixed extremely loud, so the rest of the music seems to get quieter when vocal parts come in. The album showed extremely clear influences from old-school bands like Celtic Frost.

Track listing

1. "En vind av sorg" (A Wind of Sorrow) - 6:21
2. "Triumphant Gleam" - 4:25
3. "The Hordes of Nebulah" - 5:33
4. "Hans siste vinter" (His Last Winter) - 4:50
5. "Beholding the Throne of Might" - 6:07
6. "Quintessence" - 7:38
7. "Snø og granskog (Utferd)" (Snow and Spruce Forest (Outro)) - 4:09

English texts taken from wikipedia.

DEW SCENTED Impact + Inwards

Another curious purchase... lagipun harga murah. Prior to purchase, aku tak tau anything about the band. So gamble la. Well both albums not so bad. Depa ni main thrash Metal dengan sedikit Death Metal influence. Suara ada sikit macam Metalcore cuma growl dia lebih so eventually aku letakkan mereka sebagai DeathThrash Metal punya band. Nama Dew Scented ni sekali dengar macam band gothic tapi sebenarnya tak begitu. Jangan tertipu dengan nama ye!

Dew-Scented is a German thrash metal band. They have released 7 studio albums so far and are currently signed to Nuclear Blast Records. Their name is inspired by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. An interesting thing to note is that all of their studio albums all begin with the letter "I".

INWARDS - CD 2002
release dates:
January 14th, 2002 in Europe (Nuclear Blast Rec.)

January 23rd, 2002 in Japan (Soundholic Rec.)

February 19th, 2002 in America (Nuclear Blast Rec.)

cover artwork by "Mike Bohatch"

1. Bitter Conflict (3:41)
2. Unconditional (3:49)
3. Life Ending Path (3:38)
4. Inwards (3:03)
5. Blueprints Of Hate (3:16)
6. Locked In Motion (4:19)
7. Degeneration (3:16)
8. Terminal Mindstrip (5:07)
9. Feeling Not (3:09)
10. Reprisal (4:30)


IMPACT - CD 2003

release date:
August 25th, 2003 by Nuclear Blast Records

1. Acts Of Rage (4:03)
2. New Found Pain (3:05)
3. Destination Hell (2:55)
4. Soul Poison (4:02)
5. Cities Of The Dead (4:48)
6. Down My Neck (5:50)
7. One By One (3:36)
8. Agony Designed (3:49)
9. Slaughtervain (4:27)
10. Flesh Reborn (4:06)
11. 18 Hours (3:25)

G3: Live in Concert

Aku sebenarnya enjoy setlist Steve Vai dan G3 jam je. Yang lain tak berapa nak dengar, sorry. Lagu In The Name of God was beautifully executed dalam album ni, even better than the original song in Passion & Warfare. Steve Vai is simply a genius. Aku tak berapa nak masuk dengan Joe Satriani so I can even say that Steve Vai telah melompat melebihi tok gurunya, iaitu Joe Satriani himself.

G3: Live in Concert
Is a live album and DVD by the G3 project, led by Joe Satriani. It was released in 1997 by Epic Records. This lineup of G3 includes Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai. In 2005, a DVD of this concert was also released.

Joe Satriani
All songs written by Joe Satriani.
1. "Cool #9" – 6:47
2. "Flying in a Blue Dream" – 5:59
3. "Summer Song" – 6:28

Eric Johnson
All songs written by Eric Johnson, except where noted.
4. "Zap" – 6:07
5. "Manhattan" – 5:16
6. "Camel's Night Out" (Kyle Brock, Mark Younger-Smith) – 5:57

Steve Vai
All songs written by Steve Vai.
7. "Answers" – 6:58
8. "For the Love of God" – 7:47
9. "The Attitude Song" – 5:14

The G3 Jam
10. "Going Down" (Don Nix) – 5:47 * Freddie King cover
11. "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" (Frank Zappa) – 5:21 * Frank Zappa cover * Features Mike Keneally on lead vocals
12. "Red House" (Jimi Hendrix) – 9:12 * The Jimi Hendrix Experience cover

English text taken from wikipedia

DREAM THEATER Awake

Album ketiga Dream Theater ini merupakan album mereka yang paling gloomy dan less accessible bagi aku. Adakah ini album menyebabkan keyboardist, Kevin Moore keluar? Kevin Moore ni ada special place kat die-hard Dream Theater fan yang aku sendiri tak faham. Nak bandingkan dengan current, Jordan Rudess, better lagi Jordan.

Anyway, macam yang aku cakap, less accessible. Kalau nak lagu pening-pening boleh dengarkan lagu Erotomania. Lagu-lagu ballad dalam album ni, kureng pada pendapat jiwa aku.

Kalau korang beli versi kaset Malaysia, macam aku beli dulu, lagu Scarred tak dimasukkan most probably sebab length album ni dah exceed limit pada kaset. Tu yang terkejut bila dengar CD, eh, mana pulak datang track ni.

DREAM THEATER Awake
Awake is the third studio album from progressive metal band Dream Theater.

Released in 1994, this album is much darker and heavier than the band's previous full-lengths, and is the last album to feature keyboardist Kevin Moore. Often criticized for its heavier sound by fans who were drawn to the band by Images and Words, it nonetheless is a fan favorite with several of the songs remaining concert staples to this day. In addition, many consider it to be the band's finest hour, citing more concise and mature songwriting mixed with the increasingly proficient technical abilities of the instrumentalists. When the band was finishing the recording of the album, Kevin Moore announced his leaving of Dream Theater, which, according to John Petrucci, was unexpected. Moore was thus excluded from the rest of the album-making process (such as mixing), and doesn't appear in the two music videos produced from the album.

The band has never performed the final song "Space-Dye Vest" live; Mike Portnoy has said on the matter that the band is not willing to do it without Kevin Moore, insisting that "it's his song", and furthermore that they would not have included the song on the album had they known that Moore had wanted to leave the band.

# "6:00" – 5:31 (lyrics by Moore)
# "Caught in a Web" – 5:28 (Petrucci / LaBrie)
# "Innocence Faded" – 5:43 (Petrucci)
# A Mind Beside Itself: I. "Erotomania" – 6:45 (Dream Theater, instrumental)
# A Mind Beside Itself: II. "Voices" – 9:53 (Petrucci)
# A Mind Beside Itself: III. "The Silent Man" – 3:48 (music and lyrics by Petrucci)
# "The Mirror" – 6:45 (Portnoy)
# "Lie" – 6:34 (Moore)
# "Lifting Shadows off a Dream" – 6:05 (Myung)
# "Scarred" – 11:00 (Petrucci)
# "Space-Dye Vest" – 7:29 (music and lyrics by Moore)

English text taken from wikipedia

TIAMAT Skeleton Skeletron

A regretable purchase. I was hoping more like Deeper Slumber punya album tapi mungkin expectation aku salah. Terlampau elektronik dan atmospheric pada aku, eh bukan Deeper Kind of Slumber tu sama ke? If so, mungkin tak touching sangat kat jiwa aku kot. Anyway, this CD is for trade kalau sape-sape berminat. Tradelist full aku nanti aku masukkan dalam blog kalau ada masa. Kalau tak korang boleh lawati kat sini http://forum.metalterus.com.my/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3013

TIAMAT Skeleton Skeletron
Skeleton Skeletron is the 1999 album release by Swedish band Tiamat. Following A Deeper Kind of Slumber, the band took a less ambiguous direction to their style, utilizing a Doom/Symphonic black metal reminiscent attitude but with various atmospheric soundscapes/effects and female background vocals added in.

Church of Tiamat (Track #1) is also the name of the band's official website.

1. Church of Tiamat
2. Brighter Than the Sun (Video for single ? released as well)
3. Dust is Our Fare
4. To Have and Have Not
5. For Her Pleasure
6. Diyala
7. Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones cover)
8. Best Friend Money Can Buy
9. As Long as You Are Mine
10. Lucy

PARADISE LOST Draconian Times

Orang kata Paradise Lost antara band yang start off Gothic Metal. Mungkin ada benarnya atas dasar album kedua mereka pada tahun 1991, bertajuk Gothic. Well, kita lompat pada album ke-5 ini sebab intro album ni antara intro paling cantik dalam dunia! Serius!

Eventually, suara growl vokalis dia dah hilang pada album ni dan kalau kita langkau kepada album yang terbaru, makin experimental dan hampir menjadi pop Metal terus yang menyebabkan kontroversi kepada die-hard mereka. Anyway, itu tak menjadi masalah bagi aku as long as it is good album. Pada aku, Paradise Lost is an innovative band and it shows in this album. Probably the few gothic Metal bands that I can tolerate.

PARADISE LOST Draconian Times
Draconian Times (1995) is the fifth album released by British metal act Paradise Lost. This saw them stray further from their doom/death roots, but it was their most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, reaching #16 in the album charts, and is viewed as their finest album by many of their fans. It saw them progress from their previous album Icon, which already showed the band creating more accessible albums, yet not losing their patented anger and force.

This album is also cited as the pioneer for the gothic metal genre, and current bands such as Nightwish, Katatonia and Lacuna Coil claim to be avid fans of Paradise Lost.

The track "Forever Failure", includes a sample of the voice of Charles Manson several times during the song. "The Last Time" and "Forever Failure" were released as singles.

1. "Enchantment" – 6:04
2. "Hallowed Land" – 5:02
3. "The Last Time" – 3:47
4. "Forever Failure" – 4:18
5. "Once Solemn" – 3:03
6. "Shadowkings" – 4:41
7. "Elusive Cure" – 3:21
8. "Yearn for Change" – 4:19
9. "Shades of God" – 3:54
10. "Hands of Reason" – 3:58
11. "I See Your Face" – 3:17
12. "Jaded" – 3:26

English text taken from wikipedia

BLAZE Silicon Messiah dan BLAZE Tenth Dimension

Huhuhu.... banyak nak update ni... takpe kita buat slow and easy. Jangan tak terkejar sudah.

BLAZE ni adalah band kepada Blaze Bayley. Kalau korang tak tau, dia ni la vokalis Iron Maiden yang ganti Bruce Dickinson masa album X Factor dan Virtual XI. Personally masa awal-awal tu memang tak berapa nak masuk vokal dia ni tapi lama-lama jatuh cinta pulak, hence this belated purchase. Bila lama tak dengar, rasa rindu la pulak.

Anyway, this solo album released selepas Blaze meninggalkan Iron Maiden (kicked out!) dan fortunately these albums are well executed. Feel Iron Maiden tu ada la sikit-sikit, nak buat camana, dia memang dikenali lebih dengan Iron Maiden lebih dari solo album ni (or probably a real band). Wolfsbane, band asal dia memang rockish jika nak dibandingkan dengan Blaze yang lebih Metal.

Recommended kepada mereka yang follow Iron Maiden (even kepada yang minat kepada melodic Heavy Metal). Aku, completist, memang tengah dok cari semua album official yang related to Iron Maiden.


BLAZE Silicon Messiah
Silicon Messiah was heavy metal band B L A Z E's first album, and along with their last one generally considered to be their finest. The album was released on 22 May 2000, a little over a week before Iron Maiden's Brave New World's release, which was probably one of the reasons it did not sell as well as some reviewers said it should have. The South American and Japanese versions of the album included a few bonus songs ("Motherfuckers R Us", "Steel" and "Interactive Track" (SA) and "The Day I Fell to Earth" (SA and Japan). The cover artwork on the album features a number of images of people with their skin coloured blue and covered with what looks like computer circuitry.

1. "Ghost in the Machine"
2. "Evolution"
3. "Silicon Messiah"
4. "Born as a Stranger"
5. "The Hunger"
6. "The Brave"
7. "Identity"
8. "Reach for the Horizon"
9. "The Launch"
10. "Stare at the Sun"



BLAZE Tenth Dimension
Tenth Dimension the second album of the heavy metal band B L A Z E. It is a full concept album.

1. "Forgotten Future"
2. "Kill and Destroy"
3. "End Dream"
4. "The Tenth Dimension"
5. "Nothing Will Stop Me"
6. "Leap of Faith"
7. "The Truth Revealed"
8. "Meant to Be"
9. "Land of the Blind"
10. "Stealing Time"
11. "Speed of Light"
12. "Stranger to the Light

p/s: Ramai orang kritik Blaze dalam Iron Maiden especially bila dia nyanyikan lagu Bruce Dickinson. Mungkin ada benarnya sebab suara dia range berbeza dengan Bruce. So dengan album solo ni, dapatlah dia nyanyikan lagu-lagu yang ikut rentak vokal dia and it shows!

English text taken from wikipedia.

LANTAK Metal Fest, Taiping 28/10/07

Sila klik pada imej untuk paparan yang lebih besar dan jelas!

Featuring:
LANGSUYR
VOCIFERATION ETERNITY
HAYAGRIVA
MODAR
ORION
PREDICATE NOT DEFINED
HATRED (Featuring Ein of BRAIN DEAD)

Date: 28/10/07 from 1pm
Venue: Old Hua Liaw’s Student Association Hall, Jalan Taman Tasik Taiping, Taiping, Perak.
Ticket: RM15

REPULSION Horrified 2-CD (2003)

Horrified is the only full-length album released by the US grindcore band Repulsion. It was originally released on Necrosis, a sub-label of Earache Records. In 2003 it was re-issued by Relapse Records with a bonus CD consisting of various demo and other recordings titled Rarities.

Track listing

Horrified

1. "The Stench of Burning Death" – 1:33
2. "Eaten Alive" – 1:38
3. "Acid Bath" – 1:30
4. "Slaughter of the Innocent" – 1:32
5. "Decomposed" – 1:21
6. "Radiation Sickness" – 2:04
7. "Splattered Cadavers" – 1:24
8. "Festering Boils" – 1:52
9. "Pestilent Decay" – 1:03
10. "Crematorium" – 1:29
11. "Driven to Insanity" – 1:39
12. "Six Feet Under" – 1:11
13. "Bodily Dismemberment" – 1:45
14. "Repulsion" – 1:44
15. "The Lurking Fear" – 1:09
16. "Black Breath" – 2:16
17. "Maggots in Your Coffin" – 1:45
18. "Horrified" – 2:04

Bonus CD: Rarities

1. "Armies of the Dead" – 2:24 (Genocide rehearsal demo, Nov. '84)
2. "Satan's Whores" – 2:36 (Genocide rehearsal demo, Nov. '84)
3. "Crack of Doom" – 2:30 (Genocide rehearsal demo, Nov. '84)
4. "Armies of the Dead" – 1:43 (Genocide 'Violent Death' demo, Autumn '85)
5. "Six Feet Under" – 1:33 (Genocide 'Violent Death' demo, Autumn '85)
6. "Violent Death" – 1:05 (Genocide 'Violent Death' demo, Autumn '85)
7. "The Lurking Fear" – 1:34 (Genocide 'Violent Death' demo, Autumn '85)
8. "Crack of Doom" – 2:00 (Genocide 'Violent Death' demo, Autumn '85)
9. "Horrified" – 2:32 (Genocide 'Violent Death' demo, Autumn '85)
10. "The Stench of Burning Death" – 1:30 (Genocide 'WFBE' demo, 26 Jan. '86)
11. "Decomposed" – 1:34 (Genocide 'WFBE' demo, 26 Jan. '86)
12. "Slaughter of the Innocent" – 1:50 (Genocide 'WFBE' demo, 26 Jan. '86)
13. "Eaten Alive" – 1:50 (Genocide 'WFBE' demo, 26 Jan. '86)
14. "Six Feet Under" – 1:19 (Genocide 'WFBE' demo, 26 Jan. '86)
15. "Crypt of Terror" – 1:48 (Genocide 'WFBE' demo, 26 Jan. '86)
16. "The Lurking Fear" – 1:19 (Genocide 'WFBE' demo, 26 Jan. '86)
17. "Festering Boils" – 1:56 (Genocide 'WFBE' demo, 26 Jan. '86)
18. "Pestilent Decay" – 1:14 (Genocide 'WFBE' demo, 26 Jan. '86)
19. "Black Nightmare" – 2:03 (Genocide 'WFBE' demo, 26 Jan. '86)
20. "Bodily Dismemberment" – 1:55 (Genocide 'WFBE' demo, 26 Jan. '86)
21. "Horrified" – 2:14 (Genocide 'WFBE' demo, 26 Jan. '86)
22. "Radiation Sickness" – 2:06 (Genocide Live, 14 May '86)
23. "Black Breath" – 2:17 (Genocide Live, 14 May '86)
24. "Excruciation" – 3:31 (Repulsion 'Excruciation' EP/demo)
25. "Helga (Lost her Head)" – 3:25 (Repulsion 'Excruciation' EP/demo)
26. "Rebirth" – 3:06 (Repulsion 'Excruciation' EP/demo)
27. "House of Freaks" – 2:42 (Repulsion 'Excruciation' EP/demo)
28. "Depraved" – 2:59 (Repulsion final demos, 1991)
29. "Face of Decay" – 3:15 (Repulsion final demos, 1991)
30. "Something Dead" – 3:31 (Repulsion final demos, 1991)

The impact of the Black Metal in Malaysia

(Originally taken from http://blackmetaltowhite.blogspot.com/)

KOMEN: Pada aku tulisan ini agak bias pada rujukan-rujukan dari media sensasi Harian Metro dan Mastika yang mana kebenarannya diragui, terutama apabila melibatkan "scene" Black Metal tempatan. Mungkin penulis tidak rapat atau langsung tidak mengetahui apa yang berlaku sebenarnya di dalam "scene" Black Metal tempatan. Sesebuah artikel yang ditulis mestilah disahihkan kebenaran dan "source"nya. Apapun, peringatan yang diberikan dari artikel ini supaya peminat "muzik" Black Metal supaya tidak melampau perlu diambil perhatian dan tidak boleh diambil ringan. Jadikan muzik sekadar muzik dan tidak lebih dari itu.

Introduction

Black metal is a musical genre which emerged in the early 1980s and come out with extreme image of heavy metal. Black Metal is divided into two fragmentations. One is a form of music which adhere to particular style in order to be part of the genre while second is a ideology of music to define the genre itself. The pioneers of black metal are bands from Venom, Bathory and Mayhem.

Black Metal music often has these characteristics such as fast strumming and riffing guitar, lyrics about satanic, pessimistic, pagan or occult themes, electronic keyboard, distorted screeching vocals, swift percussion, aggressive drum and gloomy or melancholy atmosphere. The distinct feature of the black metal is the use of corpse paint, a special kind of black and white make-up which was used to make the wearer look like a corpse.

A few years back we were shocked when a local tabloid reveal the Black Metal culture in Sungai Petani where schoolgoing teenagers were involved. We were lucky because our next generation future saved by the National Fatwa Council. With their authority they banned the Black Metal Culture in Malaysia. What a relieve. But why are we so easy to be influenced by a culture which is not ours? Are we being brought up to be a down to earth individual? Why must we accept and adapt whatever comes from the West? In the 60's there was this hippies and woodstock culture where drug abuse came into the picture and the effect remains till now and getting serious day by day. All effort by the government and NGOs to fight the menace is just like throwing away taxpayers money into the drain. Why don’t if we try to stop history from repeating itself?


Impact of the Black Metal culture towards Malaysian youth

First of all, let us take a look and determine why do the young generation or youth prefer and interested in Black Metal culture? Why do they so easy get influenced by the culture? Youth are the generation that often enticed by phenomenon that project a sense of adventure and experimentation. As most of them are generally impulsive at this age, they often act without thinking of the consequences. Most of this group of people, they have their own needs which are not fulfilled. Schools, for example, place too much emphasis on academic excellence, and those who have talents in other areas are deemed as being useless with little possibility for a bright future. Such individuals who have not cultivated a sense of belonging are then drawn into seeking out groups who will accept them.

If they are interested in myths, darkness, cults and at the same time Black Metal culture exist in Malaysia. They will find that this group have a common element with them that there are certain rituals all members have to adhere to act as a signs, codenames and a similar sense of style. This is a basic way of reinforcing to the members that the generation belongs to a group. The Black Metal culture itself appear to be anti social and when the young generation join or involve with this group they tend to be among their members only and did not mix with others. As a result, those who are in the group will become less productive. We are talking about the young generation as a future leader. The future of Malaysia is in their hand and they are the one who will lead the leadership of Malaysia.

When the youth mind is being polluted with the Black Metal ideology it may reflect to the future of Malaysia. In term of decision making that will be made by this group of people of course it would not a relevant decision. It will deny the human rights, where what is right become wrong and vice versa. Involve in Black Metal culture will make the person or an individual become more aggressive and might create uncomfortable surrounding for those around them. They will become a bad tempered person and it is not to be shocked if they start killing people when they feel intimidated being around with those who did not involve in Black Metal culture. When we go for the lyrics of the Black Metal songs, they did mentioned about the worshipping, occult metal ideology which prevails Satanism, mystic and supernatural.

Of course by joining a Black Metal culture youth will also follow the way their favorite Black Metal band dress up. Black t-shirt, jeans, leather jacket, spikes, boot, and other accessories such pentagram. All these stuff that wore by our Malaysian youth will reflect to a bad impression of the outsiders towards our community society. We used to hear the statement of “do not judge a book by its cover”. Its indicate a first impression of others towards you. Which mean, if our youth come out or present themselves with all those dressings, others will underestimate and might create a low level of confident towards them. As a result its also may affect the work performance and achievement of our Malaysian youth. In the real world or situation, when they sit for an interview they will be evaluated not only in terms of dressing but also the way they market themselves. Anti social, aggressiveness, bad tempered and many more are the appearance of the Black Metal followers, so will they get a good marks in the evaluation? Will they succeed in the interview? Will others confidence with our Malaysian youth?

Against our religions and culture

Black Metal culture has been declared as a deviation from Islamic teachings and those found practicing it could be penalized under syariah law. The National Fatwa Council ruled that Black Metal culture was totally against the syariat (Islamic principles) and could lead its followers to being murtad (apostate). Although Black Metal was just a form of music, its culture would lead followers to worship Satan and to rebel, kill and incite hatred. Plus Black Metal culture also influenced its followers to perform rituals such as drinking one's blood mixed with that of a goat’s blood and burning Islam's holy text, the Koran.

It is a drastic action taken by the government to overcome the Black Metal before it become worst. In the Black Metal culture, from the start we did mention about the worshipping or ritual that need to perform by their followers. This is where the rituals involve irrelevant procedure for those who wanted to join the community he or she need to give their blood which will mix up with goat’s blood. This routine is not suitable with our religion and culture.

The youth themselves should not get involve with this culture from the first place. For example, Islam did not stop Muslims from get involve with the community society. And for those wanted to join a society they don’t even have to any irrelevant guidelines because they can simply join or set up community society as long as its not against the Islamic teachings. In their ritual they need to tear up the holy Quran and burn it together when the drink the blood that mix with the goat’s blood. Quran is guidance of Muslims and Muslims recite Quran every time they perform solah. But the Black Metal culture came, it ruin the Muslims mind and as a result it makes the Muslims themselves do not know to distinguish what is bad and what is good including forgetting their routine to perform solah five times a day. The Black Metal culture is not only restricted for Muslims but also to other religions. Every religions in this planet do want the follower to do only a good thing and avoid bad things. It is also the same when it goes to the culture.

Speaking of culture, those who involve with the Black Metal culture tend to follow every single thing that the community does. The follower does have their favorite band and they will try to become just like their idol. The Black Metal bands itself will come out their creepy image with piercing n tattoos. This is not our culture and it becomes worse when the followers follow every single things that done by the artist himself. For example in 1991, Black Metal scene gained some unsought mass media attention when Mayhem's frontman Dead committed suicide by a shotgun blast to his head. His note simply read "Excuse all the blood". His body was discovered by Aarseth who, instead of calling the police, ran to a nearby convenience store and bought a disposable camera which he used to photograph the corpse for a future Mayhem album cover (Dawn of the Black Hearts). Apocryphal reports also claim that he then took some pieces of Dead's splattered brains and made a stew out of them and members of the band took bone fragments from their friend's skull and made necklaces out of them. The consequences of what have been made by the Mayhem band members make several of their fans commit suicide and the same things happen to the corpse of their fans who commit suicide.

Related with other social problem

How many black metal bands do you know who promote a positive message in their music? Although not all its band members or listeners are directly involved in devil worship, it's not a sweeping statement to say that all black metal bands sing about mutilation, death, fornication, and frustration. True, we have the freedom to express ourselves by playing aggressive music to vent our feelings. However, we cannot deny that people will be drastically influenced by the suggestive lyrics of the songs. If you hear someone yelling about torture, free sex, and anti-establishment propaganda into your ears long enough, surely you will soon take those ideas as your own creed. If you have an interest towards such music, one can also conclude that you are tolerant towards violence and commend such behaviour.

Black metal band members explain that the songs that contain anti-God propaganda and descriptions of killings actually represent their point of view about certain issues, such as Hitler's genocidal warfare, abusive parents, etc. They say they are not promoting such destructive attitudes, and they are just "giving a picture". Actually, that is just a cover up. Even if they are telling the truth, it still doesn't justify the fact that it influences its listeners negatively. The listeners don't learn about how destructive war or child abuse can be or learn to avoid it. They merely listen about the process of killings and torture itself. When such negative ideas get into one's head, it causes someone to have a negative outlook towards life or indulge in those activities himself.

Many things have been said about the Black Metal culture. Some defend it, some are against it. But not enough people have risen to the occasion to point out that this entire Black Metal situation is merely scapegoating. In fact, the more we debate over the Black Metal culture, the more we are ignoring the problem at hand. The problem at hand is, there are rising cases of satan worshippers amongst Malaysian youth. There are rising cases of immoral activities. Free sex is on the rise amidst Malaysian teenagers. Generally, the Malaysian youth seem to be more immoral and carefree about these things.

Those who involve in Black Metal culture they cannot escape from alcohol, free sex and drugs. These are the “crucial” components in Black Metal culture. This is because those who member of the Black Metal culture will go for a gigs which not only to watch band performing but also to take all the alcoholic and drugs. At the early age youth already get used with the alcoholic drinks, what would be happen after the individual reach the age of 40-50 or maybe less than that. Of course it will affect their health. Not only that, alcohol also might make the individual commit in criminal. When an individual is under influence of alcohol he or she cannot control themselves. They might do anything without their consideration. And it become worst when because of the alcoholic drinks, it affect others who is near to them. The victim might be their family member, friends and maybe someone that they don’t even know who is unfortunate. Alcohol is similar like drugs where both will make the individual addicted to its. For the beginning it might be fine and everything is under control because the individual can afford to buy the alcoholic drink and as well as drugs. But then after several periods, they become addicted and cannot control themselves, they might lose their job, fail in their study and of course in terms of money it will decrease. As a result they tend to involve in crime activities such as snatch things. In terms of health, there are several health problem that might the individual face such as heart damage, high blood pressure and stroke, liver damage, brain damage with mood and personality changes, and concentration and memory problems. Mentally a regular drinker may develop tolerance and dependence. Tolerance means that they need more alcohol to achieve the same effect or they feel less effect than they used to with the same amount of alcohol. Dependence means that the alcohol becomes central in their life a lot of time is spent thinking about alcohol, obtaining it, consuming it and recovering from it. The person will find it difficult to stop drinking or to control the amount consumed.

As what has been mentioned earlier, other than addiction of alcohol n drugs, there is one major problem that results from the Black Metal culture which is free sex. This is where the followers of the Black Metal culture will simply having sex with whoever they wanted to for the sake to fulfill the requirement to be in the community. It is restricted by the religions and cultures, and the question here is that why do the free sex is restricted and against our religions teaching and cultures. First of all it is not our culture because it will give a bad affect to those involve with the free sex and also to the community society. Free sex exposes the practitioners to the HIV disease and other related diseases such as herpes infections. To the community society, it will give a bad reflect to the community. When we talk about the community and Black Metal culture, its interrelated with Malay youth which are Muslims. Even though there are non Muslim who involve in Black Metal culture, but majority of them are Malay youth and they will underestimated by others who from other religions.

Conclusion

Black metal is too extreme. Its anti everything good, promotes hatred. It's the opposite of everything. The music is one form of mental reprogramming meant to erase all the good teachings from our mind. It pollutes the mind just like cigarette destroy our lungs, liquor damage our liver, and garbage in, garbage out. One may still pray 5 times a day and praise the lord, but the damage is done.

Even though government and National Fatwa Council already play their role by banning the Black Metal culture, but a better way to overcome the problem effectively is still to make sure parents do their job at disciplining their children. Religion may no longer be the answer as people are already playing God either in computer games or cloning humans. Children’s mind is no longer shape only by the parent because in this 21st century everything is possible. They can simply download the mp3s, video clips and even pictures from the internet. So its parent responsibility to monitor what sites does their children log on to. It is not to control the children but it’s for their own good. Just that by monitoring them, the parent can stop and tell their children what is good and what is bad. Then the religion can be a guideline for the children because advice from their parent plus the religion teachings would be a good combination to shape a good individual for the future.

Posted by Mohd Izazul Rahim Saifullah b. Mohd Ikram

Sacred Imperium/Polong split CD

Klik pada gambar untuk imej yang lebih besar dan jelas!

MERCYFUL FATE The Beginning (remastered gold disc 1997)

Taken from wikipedia:

The Beginning is a compilation album by Mercyful Fate released in 1987 consisting of the Nuns Have No Fun EP and 5 other rare tracks.

Track listing

1. "Doomed by the Living Dead" – 5:07
2. "A Corpse without Soul" – 6:52
3. "Nuns Have No Fun" – 4:17
4. "Devil Eyes" – 5:48
5. "Curse of the Pharaohs" – 3:50 |¹
6. "Evil" – 4:01 |¹
7. "Satan's Fall" – 10:28 |¹
8. "Black Masses" – 4:30 |²
9. "Black Funeral" – 2:52 |²

|¹ From "The Friday Rock Show" March 19th, 1983
|² From the "Metallic Storm" sessions

KOMEN: Album ni memang klasik. Sebabnya bukan apa tapi sebelum Mercyful Fate rakam debut album, yang mungkin production sudah agak clean, ini kompilasi menonjolkan sound raw ala garage recorded. Kedengaran suara King Diamond yang kurang efek tu. At least kita tau yang dia punya suara tu memang betul powerful!

DARK TRANQUILLITY Fiction CD (2007)

Taken from wikipedia:
Fiction is the eighth studio album by the Swedish melodic death metal band, Dark Tranquillity. The earliest release date for the album was set for North America on April 17, 2007. A limited edition of the album includes a bonus DVD with live songs, behind the scene footage, Character's "The New Build" promo video, and the "Focus Shift" video clip. In addition, the limited edition disc features an extended booklet layout.

The songs "Misery's Crown" and "The Mundane and the Magic" mark the first time since Haven that vocalist Mikael Stanne utilizes clean vocals in addition to his usual growled vocals. Additionally, "The Mundane and the Magic" is the first song since "Undo Control" from Projector that features a guest female vocalist, Nell Sigland of Theatre of Tragedy.

Track listing

1. "Nothing to No One" – 4:10
2. "The Lesser Faith" – 4:37
3. "Terminus (Where Death is Most Alive)" – 4:24
4. "Blind at Heart" – 4:21
5. "Icipher" – 4:39
6. "Inside the Particle Storm" – 5:29
7. "Empty Me" – 4:59
8. "Misery's Crown" – 4:14
9. "Focus Shift" – 3:36
10. "The Mundane and the Magic" – 5:17

KOMEN: Album ni best! Sebab ianya adalah continuation dari album sebelumnya Character. Lagu Misery's Crown memang komersil habis tapi very catchy terutamanya part korus tu. Memang sing along. Otherwise, DT memang terkenal dengan melodi yang catchy disamping odd time signature diantaranya. Ramai nak ikut, tapi tak menjadi. Memang DT is the master of Gothenborg Death Metal!

CD pirate... terkena!

Aku ingatkan CD pirate ni ada kat Malaysia dan sekitarnya aje. Rupa-rupanya orang Australia pun terkena jugak! Aku beli CD ni dari eBay Australia:

NAGLFAR Pariah
Item description: NORWEGIAN METAL TAKING A PROGGY TWIST - BORKNAGAR SURPRISE AGAIN. 2006 ALBUM. AN OPETH FEEL AT TIMES, ALWAYS INTERESTING

BORKNAGAR Origin
Item description: NAGLFAR KEEPING IT HEAVY ON THIS,ONE OF THEIR KEY ALBUMS.

Takde pun mentioned yang ianya adalah Asian pressed (selalunya nak mengatakan benda ni pirated). So aku beli dengan baik sangka.

Alangkah terkejutnya bila aku buka sampul pakej, terkeluar dua buah CD pirate! Lantas aku email kepada penjual:

"Hi I received the CDs today. However I am not satisfied since the CDs were Chinese pressed which I suspect are the pirated version of the original. There is no mention of this in your selling description. I would like to have a full refund."

Yang mana kemudiannya penjual membalas:
"Hello there, I'm sorry that you are dissatissfied with the Cds - but don't worry, they are originals. They were originally bought from a reputable store in Thailand. But the fact that they were printed there does not mean that the CDs are not official product. Why would Asian retailers import CDs from Europe? Australian retailers don't - they usually print them here. Furthermore I have never seen a pirate CD include full artwork (including slipcases). Pirates work on quantity, not quality. I hope you are happy with this explanation. However, if you are still unhappy, I will refund, less the postage. I am very confident that these CDs are official product, regardless of where they were printed. all the best, Ben"

Nasib baik dia akan buat refund! Itu pun aku jadi rugi sebab bila aku pos balik kat dia kena belanja sendiri. Tapi OK la dari menyimpan benda yang worthless camnih! Kalau aku rajin aku akan balas email dia dengan description bagaimana nak tau CD tu pirate dengan mukaddimah "Hi Ben, I lived in Malaysia for all my life and I know a pirate CD when I see one..." Hahaha...
First indication, tu ada stamping chinese words kat slipcase tu. Lepas tu ikut kata Ben dia kata CD tu printed kat Thailand macam CD yang dok ada kat Australia ni pun banyak local pressed. BEZANYA ialah, yang local sini licensed by company macam SHOCK Records. Sedangkan kat CD pirate ni takde print pun SIAPA yang jadi licensee. Seolah-olah Century Media memang print kat Thailand. Another thing ialah dia punya printing, punya la teruk. Blur seblurnya. Seolah-olah hang scan dari booklet original lepas tu hantar kedai printing. Dengan senget-senget lagi aduh!

CD Naglfar ni lagi satu indication unik ialah kat belakang tu tulis "Manufacture by Toy's Factory, Tokyo, Japan". Konon Japanese pressed la. Siap ada bonus track lagi tu! Malangnya chinese letter kat depan tu bagi hint. Mana logik Japanese release print chinese words! Hahahah... Printing memang out, blur gila, senget-senget...

Moralnya, berhati-hati bila membeli dari eBay. Nasib baik aku beli local nak pulang balik pun takde la kos tinggi sangat. Kalau jauh? Jenuh wooo....

Aku punya final reply sebelum hantar balik CD tu:

"Hi, I am from Malaysia and I living there surrounded by pirated materials, I know a pirate when I see one ;)

How to know if it's pirated?
1. It is printed in China/Thailand/Malaysia whatever but no mentioned of the "licensing company" as in to what SHOCK Rec did. You can't reprint a CD without that.

2. Even if it's printed, like ASIALINK, a notorious pirate company in Malaysia, the office address mentioned in the cover does not exist!

3. Printing is blur as such that it was scanned from the original booklet and straight sent to the printing shop! Very obvious in these two CDs.

4. The Naglfar is said to be printed by Toy Factory, Japan meaning it's a Japanese release. But on the slipcase, there is chinese lettering. Japanese releases never had any chinese lettering but japanese lettering. Very obvious! Again very bad printing.

I will send it back today and I'll be expecting my full refund. I don't have any qualm over you and I treat you as not having enough knowledge."

BLIND GUARDIAN Imaginations from the Other Side (remastered 2007)

Taken from wikipedia "Imaginations from the Other Side is an album by Blind Guardian that was released in 1995. Is thought by many fans to be the most successful album by the band.[citation needed] This album also marks the first since their debut that Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray) had not guested on vocals or guitar. It is also the first album to have extracted singles from, "A Past and Future Secret" and "Bright Eyes". Remastered and re-released on 15th June 2007, with bonus tracks and videos."

1. "Imaginations from the Other Side" – 7:18
2. "I'm Alive" – 5:29
3. "A Past and Future Secret" – 3:47
4. "The Script for my Requiem" – 6:08
5. "Mordred's Song" – 5:27
6. "Born in a Mourning Hall" – 5:12
7. "Bright Eyes" – 5:15
8. "Another Holy War" – 4:31
9. "And the Story Ends" – 5:59
* 2007 Re-release Bonus Tracks
10. "A Past and Future Secret" (Demo Version) – 3.38
11. "Imaginations from the Other Side" (Demo Version) – 7.03
12. "The Script for My Requiem" (Demo Version) – 7.01
13. "Bright Eyes" (Video)
14. "Born in a Mourning Hall" (Video)

KOMEN: Aku bukanlah peminat BLIND GUARDIAN sebenarnya sebab pada aku muzik mereka walaupun melodik cuma susunan kadang-kadang kaotik. Anyway, disebabkan ini adalah remastered version dan antara album BG yang paling aku familiar (ditambah dengan ianya ada dari trade) maka aku tak kisah ia menjadi tambahan kepada koleksi.

MANOWAR Hell on Stage (1999)

Dulu koleksi MANOWAR aku complete. Tapi aku jual kesemuanya. Sekarang mahu mengumpul kembali. Nampak gaya album ini menjadi album pertama koleksiku. Walaupun bukan satu album yang terbaik (aku kurang menyukai "live" album) tapi atas dasar koleksi, terpaksa juga. Nasib baik aku mendapatkannya dari trade suka sama suka.

Disc 1
1. "Metal Daze" (Battle Hymns)
2. "Dark Avenger" (Battle Hymns)
3. "March for Revenge (By the Soldiers of Death)" (Into Glory Ride)
4. "Hatred" (Into Glory Ride)
5. "Gates of Valhalla" (Into Glory Ride)
6. "Bridge of Death" (Hail to England)
7. "William's Tale" (Battle Hymns)
8. "Guyana (Cult of the Damned)" (Sign of the Hammer)

Disc 2
1. "The Warrior's Prayer" (Kings of Metal)
2. "Blood of the Kings" (Kings of Metal)
3. "Sting of the Bumblebee" (Kings of Metal)
4. "Heart of Steel" (Kings of Metal)
5. "Master of the Wind" (The Triumph of Steel)
6. "Outlaw" (Louder Than Hell)
7. "The Power" (Louder Than Hell)
8. "The Crown and the Ring" (Kings of Metal)

SCORPIONS Platinum Collection (BOX SET])

Aku expect yang boxset ni datang dengan liner notes dan gambar-gambar rare tapi malangnya takde. Namun sebab semangat Scorpions masih membara, aku akan simpan CD ini. Lagipun, memudahkan aku nak dengar melalui iPod, lagu-lagu the best of ni. Tak payah lagi nak shuffle. Packagingnya dalam bentuk jewel case jumbo, so memang susah le nak susun kat rak CD.


1 In Trance (4:41)
2 Crying Days (4:37)
3 Pictured Life (3:22)
4 He's a Woman - She's a Man (3:14)
5 Coast to Coast (4:41)
6 Lovedrive (4:50)
7 Is There Anybody out There? (4:19)
8 Holiday (6:30)
9 Another Piece of Meat (3:33)
10 Make It Real (3:50)
11 Zoo (5:29)
12 Hey You (3:46)
13 Blackout (3:49)
14 Can't Live Without You (3:45)
15 Now! (2:33)
16 Dynamite (4:12)
17 (CD 2) No One Like You (3:55)
18 (CD 2) Bad Boys Running Wild (3:55)
19 (CD 2) Still Loving You (6:09)
20 (CD 2) Big City Nights (4:08)
21 (CD 2) Rock You Like a Hurricane (4:12)
22 (CD 2) Coming Home (4:59)
23 (CD 2) Rhythm of Love (3:48)
24 (CD 2) Believe in Love (4:49)
25 (CD 2) Passion Rules the Game (3:59)
26 (CD 2) Can't Explain (3:21)
27 (CD 2) Living for Tomorrow (7:13)
28 (CD 2) Wind of Change (5:12)
29 (CD 2) Send Me an Angel (4:32)
30 (CD 2) Alien Nation (5:43)
31 (CD 2) No Pain No Gain (3:53)
32 (CD 2) Under the Same Sun (4:52)
33 (CD 3) You and I (Album Version) (6:14)
34 (CD 3) Does Anyone Know (Album Version) (5:56)
35 (CD 3) Wild Child (4:15)
36 (CD 3) Where the River Flows (4:10)
37 (CD 3) Edge of Time (4:17)
38 (CD 3) When You Came into My Life (New Version) (4:26)
39 (CD 3) Moment in a Million Years (3:39)
40 (CD 3) 10 Light Years Away (3:53)
41 (CD 3) Eye to Eye (5:05)
42 (CD 3) Mysterious (5:28)
43 (CD 3) Aleyah (4:20)
44 (CD 3) Moment of Glory (5:07)
45 (CD 3) Here in My Heart (4:18)
46 (CD 3) When Love Kills Love (3:40)
47 (CD 3) Deep and Dark (3:39)
48 (CD 3) Remember the Good Times (Rerro Garage Mix)