Around the World: Malaysia

 

  

SWITCH TO POLISH

I kinda neglected this series, which was supposed to be a flagship series of this blog. Let's start correcting my life's mistakes...

History of Malaysia is a history of an island called "Borneo". Malaysia, like majority of countries outside of Europe, has a history of being colonized, when it went from hands to hands, first with Portugal, then to Brutish Empire. The latter came apparently by the request of Malaysian themselves, as they had numerous internal conflicts that needed to be solved (sounds eerily familiar). They went through Japanese occupation, albeit it wasn't as brutal as what was done to Chinese people. But nothing lasts forever, and anti-Japanese sentiment was on the rise to the point, that Brits again had to "help" Malaysians to bring some "order".

Currently, Borneo is divided between 3 countries: Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia indeed. It's incredible, how each of these countries went the different way. Brunei is sultanate, Indonesia democracy, and Malaysia... well, it's complicated... as they went through the communist phase, and as usual, the reds wanted to spill their revolution onto their neighboring countries, but Indonesia, not unlike Poland, stopped the red pest. Malaysia also lost the infamous Singapore, which is interesting, when one considers what it had become since then.

Later, the country became a constitutional monarchy, which allowed them to try capitalism, but only a little bit. Another thing, Malaysia is also a federal state, which means that it's a country which consists of smaller countries tied together. And if someone wonders why the Malaysian flag is so similar to USA, the answer is simple - both flags were inspired by British Empire, and in particular, East India Company.

 

(to make it clear, I write the whole historical aspect in an abridged way only, just to give some context)

Malaysia, as a whole, is not a country with a mandatory state religion, but Islam overall is not tolerant towards competition, and especially towards opposition. One band that learned it the hard way was the legendary Suffercation (initially called Suffocation, but for obvious reasons, they had to modify their name). Their classic debut "Day of Darkness" was confiscated by the police, and the master tapes almost all got destroyed and burned, while the band itself went to prison for alleged satanism. Thankfully, dumb pigs didn't destroy everything, which is why this material still exists. I myself have some silent hopes that some Asian label will re-release this stuff. Maybe Fallen Angels could finally be of some use? I have a lot of readership in Singapore and Hongkong - please pat them on the head, so they can get their shit together.

 

But Suffercation isn't the only jewel from Malaysia. The letter "S" brought what would be called The Big Four of Malaysian Death Metal. Beside the aforementioned Suffercation, worthy of attention are Silent Death, Senseless, and Sil Khannaz. The last one nearly managed to have a worldwide career. Osmose was supposed to release their debut album "Conception of Madness", alas the French (fries) were too limp to lift them up from their homeland, which is a crime, alas... Slum Scum could count as the "fifth" classic DM Made in Malay.

Malaysia has representatives in majority of genres, alas it stands and growls harshly with Extreme Metal. Let's recount the more iconic crews: F.T.G, Classic Death / Thrash, which moved onto Power / Thrash. Brain Dead - Sepultura influence in the best way (I also would like to have it on the shelf). Perpetual, Infectious Maggots & Catarrh - Grindcore in vein of Napalm Death. Modar - Doom + Death. Herriot & Vociferation Eternity - Melo-Death. From Death Metal it's also worth noting Mandator & Necrotic Chaos. An interesting case was with the Thrash band Cromok, who were formed in Australia, but consisted of native Malaysians. They eventually returned back to their country.

With Black Metal, we have to call for Langsuir (Malaysian Pandemonium - Devilri), Rator (Raw BM style), and Profane Creation, ie. the kvlt demotape (and their only release).

There are of course more bands, and as a whole, the country is rich, and the scene is healthy. I do recommend checking out, as there's a lot of goods being hidden there. I didn't focus much on Power / Heavy, as this style is not really popular, and usually is fused with the more extreme face of Metal. Maybe only Logam managed to have some sort of "success" with releasing an album.

Final trivia. The Fallen was a Malaysian project formed by 4 international students. The line-up consisted of Irish guy (albeit I'm not sure about that?), Canada Man, Finn, and a Yank. The last one was named Mick Lauer, who to my surprise, turned out to be no one else but RicePirate, the famous voice actor known from many internet cartoons and animations. At some point he was the top of the pops, as everyone wanted to employ him, even for a minor role. I myself loved the guy, when I was a teenager, so...

Overall, Malaysian could be compared to Brazil - similar anger, fire, and dedication to the craft, as well as attitude, and quality - harsh, but meaty. The quality of their scene is surprisingly good, it's not something one would expect from an "exotic" country. There's a lot to pick up and listen to, and many rarities wait to be rediscovered. As such, Malaysia has a special place in my Metal heart.