Mixtape 49 - Code Error

Here is the 49th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Arif Rot about his new grindcore supergroup Code Error.

Mixtape 15: South East Asian Metal Attack II

Mixtape 15: South East Asian Metal Attack II by Dreams Of Consciousness on Mixcloud

Here is the 15th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Tom Banks of the Vietnamese death metal band Disgusted. I met Tom in 2012 when Disgusted played Kuala Lumpur; having been in a band and lived in South East Asia for roughly the same period I've been writing about it for this blog, I wanted to get his perspective on the scene, and what it means to be a metal fan here. Especially important to me were his experiences in Vietnam, a scene that's little known and much overlooked, even in this region.

Dead in the Dirt, Kuala Lumpur 11.16.2013

Bing Maps: Actual location may not be anywhere near marker.

Kids in KL were pretty excited about Dead in the Dirt coming to Malaysia - I was asked for months whether I was going to the gig (like I have anything better to do). But first I had to wander around in circles for over an hour. Just finding the venue (actually a rehearsal studio) was an adventure, thanks to their Facebook page using a vague address and a misleading Bing map. It didn't help that there's little in the way of road signs between the train station and the studio. After about 45 minutes of trying to figure out where the fuck I was, it became apparent I had wandered into Nowhere and successfully located the middle. Luckily I ran into some other dudes who were also looking for the venue, otherwise all that walking around in the rain and the dark would have been for nothing (except to cement my growing belief that nothing good ever happens here).

Mixtape 2: Malaysia

The much promised, even much more delayed second DoC Mixtape, this time focusing on bands from Malaysia. My buddy Mike stopped by while I was in Queens and helped me discuss the Malaysian metal scene. 

Tagging Along with Tools of the Trade

It was the beginning of 2013, and I was in a car with Tools of the Trade, on their way to a one-off show in Kuantan, Pahang. It was a three hour drive, and we were all finding ways to kill the time while singer/guitarist Tiong drove. I sat in the back with their new drummer Yuss (who was previously with "emoviolence" bands Kias Fansuri and Building of the Heartbreaker Pyramids). Bassist Emi was riding shotgun and acting as DJ on the car stereo. Eventually we landed on LA grind kings Phobia. Noticing that I was bobbing my head to the the music, Tiong turned from the driver's seat and asked, "Hey Adrian, have you ever seen Phobia?"

"Uh, yeah, twice. Once in 2011 and once in 2002 with Circle of Dead Children, at CBGBs."

"Wow." He paused. "Any proof?"

I laughed. It was the first time someone had asked me for proof that I'd seen an obscure grindcore band; frankly, it's the first time anyone's cared.

Bandcamp Picks: Revulsion Records

Bandcamp is the future of DIY, in my opinion, and I will preach that gospel to anyone who stands in front of me long enough to listen. It's an especially useful platform in South East Asia, where the postal service can be pricey and unreliable, and bands can only afford limited runs of their cassettes/CDs. So when a local label like Revulsion Records makes its releases available for purchase through Bandcamp, it's the best way to ensure that local bands will make their way to new ears overseas.

Revulsion's most recent release is a split 7" featuring Malaysian grind kings Tools of the Trade and Compulsion to Kill. Tools donate four of their most ambitious and hook-driven songs to date (including "Putus/Disconnected," which was featured on the first DoC podcast); Compulsion to Kill's side is four songs of their more straight-forward brand of fast, crusty grind. Though the release isn't currently available as a stand alone download (booooooo), a digital version comes when you order the 7", which costs $8 plus shipping.



Defy, the last full-length by Tools of the Trade, has also been newly uploaded to Bandcamp by Revulsion. As one of the most impressive releases from the South East Asian scene in 2012, it's an essential slice of Malaysian grindcore. The 18 track album is available as a digital download for $5.



Also noteworthy is Compulsion to Kill's Lack of Tolerance cassette. Apparently recorded live, the production is raw to the point of non-existence; but since the entire 10 song EP is available for download at the cost of 50 cents (!!!), I doubt many grind fans would quibble.



Two bands that have been fixtures of local shows since I've been back in KL are Sarjan Hassan and Daighila, and their Re-Defining DIY split cassette is a good representation of the Rumah Api scene. The release is more than 2 years old - Daighila in particular have come a long way since then - but it's almost impossible to find, even here in Malaysia. Plus, the digital download is twenty songs for a dollar, and you can't do better than that, homes.



Dreams of Consciousness isn't paid to say nice things about you; so just be glad when it does.

Demisor @ Beatnik 2.02.2013

Malaysia's busy grindcore scene has both its merits and drawbacks. The last all-night grindfest I went to left me exhausted halfway through - and not in a good way. There's only so many 30 second songs I can take in a four hour period. Luckily, the organizers of this gig at Beatnik were able to keep things varied and interesting.

The top floor of a tower block is the last place one would expect to find a gig, much less a regular performance space. But at the top of a seemingly abandoned office building past a corridor of empty rooms is where Beatnik finds itself. This was my first time to the space; more often than not I've skipped seeing shows there because I had no idea how to find it (or get home). The sound was surprisingly good despite its sparse set up; this may have been the first time I saw a show in KL where there wasn't some kind of equipment failure (give or take one unruly bass strap - more on that later). In a city with few regular venues for heavy music, the fact that this space exists is appreciated.

Compulsion to Kill were one of the highlights of that last grindfest, even if they were playing without their full (dual vocal) line-up. This time, with all four members present, they were firing on all cylinders. Their set started off with Napalm's "Unchallenged Hate" - never a bad thing. In addition to beefing up their line-up, their lead vocalist also functioned as a human bowling ball, leaping from the tiny stage into whoever was standing in front of him. I learned pretty quickly to get out of his way.

This was Tools of the Trade's first gig in KL since September, and their first with their new drummer after a one-off show in Kuantan at the beginning of the year (which I tagged along with them to see - post forthcoming). All that and a new seven inch split with CTK made this a pretty exciting set for them - even more exciting when bassist Emi's strap came undone, and it looked like he might have to do the whole gig sitting down, singer-songwriter style. But thanks to some quick work with a roll of tape (it's my belief everyone should keep a roll of duct tape handy - just in case), the band proceeded through their set unhampered. With songs culled from their the new split as well as the previous one with Busuk (including "Suffocate," the best Tools song ever)  it was a stellar exercise in their brand of barely controlled chaos. A good welcome back party, and one no one had to sit down for. 

Appäratus fit in better with this line-up than they did at the Vaz show when I first saw them. It sometimes feels like there are more bands playing Swedish hardcore in Malaysia than in Sweden; though solidly in the d-beat style, Appäratus distinguish themselves with jangly garage rock overtones - think Joe Strummer jamming with Anti-cimex. They weren't the fastest or the tightest band that night, but they might have been the rockingest.

Kah Roe Shi, led by Tools' Tiong, play in the heavy jagged style of crust titans His Hero is Gone. I've been hearing about them for the last few months, and they definitely lived up to their reputation. In keeping with the theme of their band name (a Japanese phrase meaning "death from overwork"), they decorated the stage with several props, including a button down shirt and tie hanging from the ceiling. [Your guess is as good as mine how the disco ball fits into their theme.]

The release party for WHHIRR's first cassette EP had taken place the night before; apparently I wasn't the only one who missed it, so their last minute addition to the line-up made more than a few people happy. I've seen the band a few times, and am still impressed by how much they're able to get out of just a bass guitar. Kudos to them for attempting something that no one else in the region is doing; even if the mix of their heavy, minimalist power violence and flashing strobe light may end up causing a few seizures. 

If you asked any metal fan to name a Singaporean grindcore band, the answer would probably be Wormrot; but Demisor are local scene OGs, having formed in 1987 and been active since then (or as active as work and family commitments allow). This was their first show in Malaysia in over a year, and the audience's excitement was palpable. Frankly, kids were going crazy, something Demisor's vocalist commented on several times. Maybe it's because of their veteran status, or maybe it's just a function of being ahead of the curve for so long, but Demisor trump almost all the other grind bands in the region by having actual songs rather than just atonal chord progressions over blastbeats [Riffs, FTW] as well as a drummer who the more tired he looked, the faster he played. Adding a Nasum cover to their set was nice, but unnecessary; Demisor's music and stature alone were enough for them to stand on (well, that and the gnarliest feet in grind).

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South East Asian Metal Attack Mixtape #1

Enslave, Godless Symptom, Wicked Suffer 9.16.2012

I thought I got the hang of this "Malaysia Time" thing I really did. Not-A-Fest, featuring three foreign bands (headliners Enslave from Japan; Wicked Suffer and Godless Symptoms from Indonesia) was advertised as starting at 3 pm, so I figured that meant if I showed up the usual 3 hours late, I'd arrive just as soundchecks were finishing. Nope. Not only did the show start more or less on time, but Tools of the Trade actually opened despite being listed in the middle of the bill. Clutch the pearls, what a sneaky thing to do.

It's a little odd that a band that headlined Singapore Deathfest would open a local gig a few weeks later, but when I asked Tools' singer Tiong about it, he shrugged it off. There's not a lot of rock star attitude in the local scene, and Tools of the Trade seem to take these kinds of things in stride. I, on the other hand, was disappointed; I was looking forward to not just Tools, but Dance! On Your Grave and Reason to Resist, who I've never seen. Hopefully I can catch them some other time.

Still, I can't complain about a gig where Atomicdeath is on stage as soon as I arrive. Seeing a band once a month can lead to boredom pretty quickly (unless it's Napalm - I'd see Napalm every week if I could), but AD have wisely been varying their set over the last couple shows, shuffling in songs from their debut cassette as well as a cover of Malaysian underground thrash legends Silent Death. It's amazing how much better they've gotten since I first saw them five months ago at the same venue. Almost as amazing as Rumah Api having a stage monitor for this gig.

There was a great deal of excitement for Wicked Suffer, and they rewarded it with a fearless and aggressive performance. Big doom riffs served as a launchpad for their blistering powerviolence, and the place went apeshit, because short and fast is the rule at Rumah Api. I'm curious about the difference between the Malaysian and Indonesian grind/power violence scenes in terms of sound; Wicked Suffer have a bass player, which a lot of the Malaysian grind/fastcore bands lack, so there's that.

I guess groove heavy 90's thrash is definitely not in style right now; or maybe it's just not popular with the crust/grind kids who frequent Rumah Api, as Godless Symptoms didn't get quite the response that their countrymen Wicked Suffer got. They might be peddling a style past its sell-by date (or, if you're an optimist, a few years before it makes a comeback), but their enthusiasm for their own material went a long way in winning me over. Besides, I don't know how to dislike a band who asks the entire audience to get on stage with them for a celebratory photo.

Running scales in harmony during their soundcheck was a good indication of the level of skill that Enslave possess - that their punky aesthetic comes from a place of actual musical talent makes it that much better. With their melodic (often metallic) overtones and the vocals being shared by their female lead singer and male guitarists, I couldn't help but draw comparisons to Eskatologia, who share the same traits. It has to be said, though, that Enslave are much more frightening. Their tiny singer spent most of the set standing on the monitor, screaming through bipolar shifts between J-pop coquettishness and creepy J-horror bug-eyed glares.

Once the band started playing, they were completely obscured by their fans, who threw themselves with wild abandon through the air, over the stage, unto the floor. The crowd's exuberance actually caused a temporary stoppage in the set, as band and soundman needed the respite to fix technical problems (no doubt caused by fans falling on pedals and disconnecting chords). The heat and humidity of the room was oppressive, and I was impressed that band and crowd alike could maintain that level of commitment through a full set and an encore. I have friends who  bust my balls for the number of shirts I buy at gigs, but this time it was necessary: the shirt I showed up wearing was drenched like I'd been in a water balloon fight, and a new one was badly needed if I wanted to stave off pneumonia on the train ride home. Any show that feels like an hour-long grappling match and still ends in time for me to catch the train has to go in the "win" column. Let's hear it for Rumah Api's newfound punctuality.

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Singapore Deathfest: 9.01.2012

This is part two of a three day live show binge, between Friday, August 31st, and Sunday, September 2nd. Three shows in two countries in three days... how much metal is too much metal? Can this old hesher still bang his head without having a senior moment? We're about to find out...

I got back home from the Disgusted show late, and decided that sleep was for the weak. And pretty pointless, because after showering, eating dinner, and packing my backpack, I'd only be able to shut my eyes for an hour before I needed to get up and catch my bus. And so I made my way to Singapore Deathfest without any real rest, hoping that the bands would be enough to stave off exhaustion.

The event was held at the Singaporean Chinese Chambers of Commerce, close to Fort Canning Park (where both the Opeth and Judas Priest shows were held earlier in the year). The auditorium's huge stage dwarfed everything in it: the amps, the bands, and the audience. It may be the perfect venue for Immortal if the Blashyrkh ever goes to Singapore, but most of the bands that night looked like they were struggling with its enormity. The marble floors, combined with the size, were also not ideal, causing everything ten feet past the stage to echo into an indiscernible cacophony of blastbeats and guitar noise.

Those issues aside, the hall is in the perfect location for a music festival. It's walking distance from Clarke Quay, where there are least a dozen backpacker inns, and just around the corner from the Peninsula Plaza mall, home of Hell's Labyrinth, one of the best extreme metal music stores in the whole region. Singapore's reliable mass transit system means easy travelling to and from the venue, and the preponderance of shopping centres in the area means that there's always some way to kill time between sets.

Killing time was exactly what I needed after I arrived, as the fest was running a few hours late - ironic, since Singaporeans have such a reputation for organization. It would appear Rumah Api Time had followed me south of the causeway; if I'd known that, I would have asked for a few extra body scans at customs. We can never be too safe.

I decided to head to a nearby Indian restaurant and take my time with the Kashmiri pulau; as a result I missed Penang's Butcher Bastard completely, and arrived to see the similarly named Whore House Butchery were already on stage. Their jokey gore/grind wasn't an ideal way to start my Deathfest afternoon, and their masks left me believing that at heart they really just wanted to be Slipknot or Mushroomhead. After a few songs, without much holding my interest on stage, I decided to sit the rest of their set out.

While waiting for the next band, I ran into Mikey Thunder, the singer/bassist of the excellent Singaporean thrash band Bloodstone. I hadn't seen him since Bloodstone played Rumah Api back in April, and he filled me in on the Singaporean scene.

Flesh Disgorged play death/grind with plenty of catchy parts and fake blood, and at least one of those things got the audience's attention. Their drummer (who used to be in Bloodstone, go figure) is clearly the MVP, navigating the band's mix of blast and groove with ease. I tried to predict the mosh parts based on when the singer jumped in the air; I don't know if I was alone in doing that, but I was at least 60% successful. Other than that, FD's style isn't really my thing, but they do it as well as anyone else.

From their set the night before, I knew Disgusted would deliver the goods. But the assembly hall was noticeably sparse while they played. What's up, Singapore? Asian brothers can't get no love? Undaunted, the band tore it up, and the crowd swelled as the set went on, eventually earning them a decent reaction. Not bad, but for the distance they traveled to be there, Disgusted deserved better.

Truth Be Known describe themselves as "rojak," a Malay word meaning "mixed" - which could refer either to the mixed ethnicities of its lineup, or the way their songs mix death metal, hardcore, and stadium rock. They're the first (and only) band that night to really set the crowd off, with girls windmilling their hair and boys taking off their shirts (first time I've seen that particular combination of those things). Things get slightly dodgy mid-set with a Beastie Boys cover that's more well-intentioned than it is sound; but by that point, it didn't really matter. From their between song fistbump trains, to their constant wandering off-stage and into the crowd, to their finishing move of trading places with the audience (who headbanged in unison on stage while the band played in front of it), Truth Be Known stole everyone's hearts, and goddamn if they didn't steal the whole show.

[Truth Be Known postscript: sometime after their set, I approached the band to buy a shirt, deciding that there'd be no way I'd get on a bus back to Malaysia without one... only to be told by their singer Subash that they had tossed all the shirts they brought with them into the crowd. I then asked if he had any CDs for sale, which prompted him to yell gleefully, "It's online! Just download it!" People, I implore you: We need to band together and stop Truth Be Known before they crack the planet in half with the sheer weight of their awesomeness.]

After TBK's set, I walked to the ritzy Raffles City Shopping Centre to try and find a reasonably priced beverage, and returned to find Rust Phantom struggling with the audience's attention. I don't know if it was because their style was too techy, or if it was just the misfortune of having to follow Truth Be Known. Maybe everyone was just burned out. Whatever the issue, it wasn't Rust Phantom's night. Which is a pity, because their music is commendable, especially considering their pared down lineup of guitar/drums/vocals. It just didn't move many people that night (a notable exception being one little girl who ran around the auditorium like a one-person circle pit - that's gotta be worth something).

How does a band get booked at SG Deathfest?  Well if you're Asilent, I'm sure it helps that your bassist is also the show's organizer. And considering Asilent's very capable take on thrashy death metal, I'm sure no one minded. Other questions still linger, however:
1) Who hates silence more, Asilent or Malaysia's Break the Silence? (I guess since Break the Silence have broken up, Asilent wins by default)
2) How did their Swedish singer end up speaking English like a Singaporean?
3) Why was the bassist so high in the mix? Oh right... [ha ha, I kid, I kid...]
4) What is it about guitarists wearing shades on stage these days? Is this another metal fad that slipped by me, like djent or hummus?

Headlining SG Deathfest must have seemed like a cakewalk for Tools of the Trade, since it wasn't that long ago that they were sharing a bill with the likes of Exhumed, Nasum, and Suffocation. For three guys who are constantly smiling and friendly offstage, their transformation into a raging grind monster is somewhat startling (are they secretly always angry?). It's clear to me that their recent European tour pushed them to a new level, as this was the best Tools of the Trade I'd seen (and I've seen them a whole bunch in the last six months). It's a shame that more people weren't there: For a headlining band at an event that has the word "fest" in the title, the turnout sure wasn't what I'd expected.

While Tools of the Trade conducted a post-show interview, I spoke with Disgusted's bassist Hoàng and singer Tom. Tom, with his hand heavily bandaged, explained the roughhousing he does with the audience is to get them engaged and amped up. Considering the tepid reaction that day compared with the boisterous Rumah Api crowd the night before, I had to concede he had a point. Hoàng spoke at length about how in Vietnam, the audience supports every band, regardless of who they came to see; it left me wondering if the amount of big acts that pass through Singapore have the metaheads there spoiled for choice. There were some great bands at SG Deathfest, and kudos to everyone involved for making it happen. But for a scene to succeed, the fans have to do their part too. Hopefully next year, they will.

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Next: Hey kids, tell your mom to sew some patches to your jacket, because we're going to Kuala Lumpur Thrashed 2012!