The gig was held at the under-utilized Black Box space in the swanky upscale Publika mall. It was an odd venue to host anarcho crusties; most of these kinds of gigs take place at Rumah Api, a punk squat/performance space that's run by members of the band Sarjan Hassan and serves as the beating, bleeding heart of Malaysia's DIY scene. But seeing the sheer number of people who descended upon Black Box that night, it was clear the show's organizers made the right call. Security guards watched the congregated punks with bemusement, while the mall's usual posh clientele avoided the area all together.
D-beat upstarts Hellexist whipped the audience up into a frenzy, and were treated like hometown heroes (they actually come from Malaysia's southern-most city Johor Bahru) - due in no small part to their similarity to the night's headliner. Seeing a couple hundred kids throw themselves around for a band that was opening sparsely attended local show only a few weeks ago was both surprising and heartening. Clearly Hellexist just needed a bigger platform to prove themselves.
The audience was strand-offish over KL's own Blood Legion - their workman-like style of death metal seemingly at odds with the majority of the punk kids in attendance. But that reticence was eventually worn away by the band's goofball charm and a cover of Death's "Zombie Ritual". And they said punks and heshers can't get along (though any single member of Doom has more hair than Blood Legion's guitarist, bassist, and singer combined, it has to be said).
The sound was an indistinguishable blur of rumbling guitars and caveman drumming - so, an accurate recreation of Doom's records (seriously, this is the only band that makes Discharge sound sophisticated). Meanwhile, the pillars of KL's metal and hardcore scene - members of Tools of the Trade, Sarjan Hassan, and Atomicdeath among them - watched reverentially from behind the backline, drinking in every distorted note and anti-religious screed. Stage banter was sparing, but Dennis took good natured aim at kids who were too punk to take off their jackets despite the oppressive heat (for anyone unfamiliar with the climate in South East Asia: Run the hot water in your shower til your bathroom mirror fogs, then imagine you're the mirror).
Even a full hour of Doom wasn't enough to satisfy the audience - such is the dearth of touring bands that pass through Malaysia. In their extensive encore, the band threw in a bludgeoning cover of "Symptom of the Universe", to the delight of this aging hesher. Of course, no song was appreciated more than the anti-authoritarian anthem "Police Bastard" (with Denis cribbing NWA for his intro - "fuck the police coming straight for the underground" - points!). When the last song had finished, the band was in danger of being swarmed by kids looking to take photos with them; they wisely left the stage before getting mobbed, and those looking to update their Facebook profiles settled for taking selfies in front of the ostentatious backdrop.
Setlist
Fear the FutureThanatophobia
Diseased
Bury the Debt
Lost the Fight
Life Lock
Reasonable Force
Claustrophobia
Dig Your Grave
Carcinogen
Antisocial
Trash Breeds Trash
A Dream Come True
Suffer in Silence
Pro-life Control
Open Mind Surgery
Stripped, Whipped, & Crucified
Human Meat
Exploitation
War Crimes
Police Bastard
Encore:
Natural Abuse
Nazi Die
Relief
Symptom of the Universe
Means to an End
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