Dear Anselmo Apologists, Here’s Why Comparing “White Power” and "Black Power" Does Not Make Sense

At this point, almost everyone has heard of Phil Anselmo’s antics at Dimebash this year. At the end of the event, the former vocalist of Pantera and currently of Down, made the NAZI salute while shouting white power.

This was not some dungeon neo-NAZI wannabe band singer. Pantera and Down were some of the biggest bands in Metal in the 90s. Down still produces records until today and don’t seem to be halting anytime soon. His voice is heard by many Metalheads, young and old.

The ruckus was not out of hearsay from the rumour mill but the man was caught on tape. At first, he didn’t want to apologize but after the slew of attacks from the metal community he finally came to his senses and said sorry. However, not many were buying it. Apparently, the back story was that it was joke about drinking white wine backstage. The rest of the musicians who were playing at Dimebash then pointed out no one were drinking white wine and only German beer was being served.

So the comments continued and Phil Anselmo became the figure to hate for the week. Unfortunately, the apologists came rolling in too.

Fucking Hostile

Source: Melanin DVDs

Like said above, Anselmo has legion of fans. They’re rabid and willing to protect their hero. A common question being asked now, almost in every thread is that; why is fine for black people to scream “black power,” or Hispanics shout “brown pride” but it’s not fine when a white person say “white pride” or “white power.”

Now, let’s be clear, no one is saying that white people should not be proud of the culture they wish to associate with. The Irish have St Patrick's Day and they are very white. The Germans can celebrate “German efficiency” or Oktoberfest as part of their culture, without calling back NAZI references. They are proud of being who they are without denigrating other races.

The problem with the terms “white pride” or “white power” is that they have been associated with racist organizations like the Klu Klux Klan. These aren’t organizations that “just say racist things.”  These are groups that have a history of lynching black people, intimidate Hispanics from moving to white areas and actively harassing anyone of colour. The terms have been used by pro-Apartheid organizations in South Africa, a system of segregation that punished black people into socio economic hellholes well into the 1990s. Also, I don’t need to get into the history of the NAZIs don’t I?

Using the term only empowers those who affiliate themselves with these organizations. There many ways to celebrate white culture but going all “Sieg Heil” or “White Pride” isn’t celebrating white culture, it is the glorification of colonization and the oppression of people of colour.

Black power and brown pride on the other hand exist out of different circumstance. We have to remember that people of colour have not had their way in the past. They were often told that the darker their pigmentation, the more shame there is to their existence. Aborigines in Australia were not considered to be human well into the 60s. They were considered to be part of the flora and fauna. That means that you can straight up murder them in the past and still not get charged with murder. So when they say aboriginal pride, they are standing up against the adversities of living in world where they were once literally treated as animals.

Black power came from the civil rights movement, as a way to galvanize young African-Americans to fight for their rights. Segregation has pushed them into a corner to make them thing that they are not worthy to receive better government services, or even to be treated as a human being. It is literally a battle cry to fight against injustice and to not be treated as an outcast. That to me is fucking metal.

When Hispanics say brown pride, they are telling themselves to be proud of their skin colour. They need not conform to a society that associates as white being better by default or to be considered as beautiful. No one is better by default; everyone has to proof themselves in this world. In a world with such prejudices, being proud of the colour of their skin is a revolutionary act.

What about Freedom of Speech?

Source: Bookstacks

This the last line of defence for these apologists. Let’s be realistic here. Phil isn’t going to jail for saying those nasty words.

The beauty about freedom of speech is that you can say anything you want under the sun, and that includes the ability to call out on other people’s bullshit. The right was designed so that everything can be critiqued and should be encouraged to do so.

It is because of this right, we are able to stand up against the oppression of religious structures, the structural racism that exist in today’s government institution or against the sexist structures that once barred your sisters, mothers and grandmothers from voting.

No one is being censored here. The KKK is still alive and well, but all hidden under their sheets. They can say all the stupid shit they want all day. However if you say something dehumanizing and brain numbing dumb, be prepared to face the consequences.

Why Should The Metal Scene Be Bothered With All This?

Hirax's vocalist, Katon W. DePena | Source:  Rockstage Riot

Metal from day one has been a scene for outcasts. It is a scene where all the misfits come in for their love of music. It may have started with white guys with long hair and leather, but it expanded to include every single person imaginable.

Rob Halford, vocalist of one of the biggest metal bands, Judas Priest is gay. Heavy Metal was where he was able to release all his frustration and have a creative outlet. Imagine if he felt that Metal or any other rock music wasn’t the place he was supposed to be.

We as Metalheads who have been outcasts, different from the pack need to keep this space open to anyone who wants to participate. If this space didn’t exist, where would we end up?

We did it before where NSBM became popular. We can definitely weed these people out again, slap some sense into their existence.

Metal is used as an outlet to question the unnecessary oppression that exists in this world. To talk about the darker parts of life that troubles us. It is however, not a place to denigrate groups of people, just because they were born of a certain skin colour.

Terence A. Anthony commutes between Kuala Lumpur and Kuching. Co-Founder of Aural Chaos. He also writes for Greater Malaysia and Opinions Unleashed.

Buried Under Noise 001: Dragged Into Sunlight

What is Buried under Noise? Buried under Noise is a segment where we showcase profile of bands that deserve greater attention. These are bands that have created unique, distinct sounds and pushed extreme music in a subculture stereotyped with stagnation.

This week, we look at Dragged Into Sunlight (UK).

Dragged Into Sunlight

Source: Prosthetic Records

Nocturnal creatures reign at night. They lurk behind the shadows, plotting beneath the moonlight. Drag them out during the day, they screech at high pitch and you get a glimpse of how horrendous they are. The wrinkle on the skin of bats, make you understand why they hide behind the darkness.


Dragged Into Sunlight, like their name suggests, are like those bats, vampires or what other ghouls exist in the night. The subject matter of their lyrics is exposed under the light and they crawl back into the darkness.

Source: Bleeder Magazine

If other extreme Metal bands sing about darkness in the supernatural sense, Dragged Into Sunlight uses sound clips from our actual media. Repeating in the background like in a post apocalyptic movie intertwined with white noise.



Dragged Into Sunlight is an extreme Metal band from the UK that manages to combine Black and Death Metal with the knuckle dragging intensity of Sludge Metal. Their aim seems to be to create the most terrifying sounds you can combine from the most evil subgenres of Metal. This band is the British equivalent of Lord Mantis and one the front runners of this new wave of Blackened Sludge.

Source: Exclaim Canada

Playing with a sense of paranoia, the band also refuses to reveal their identities. All members wear balaclava and the band prefers the word "collective" instead of band. Meaning, the band is rotational and no number is fixed, making it harder for people to pin down who's who. So don't bother try figuring out who they are. They probably don't want you to, and hate the breach of privacy in the process.


With the combination of high shrieks, at times furious double bass gets dragged across sludgy fields at a devastating slow pace. Traditional Black Metal, especially the Norwegian branch employ blast beats and snare abuse. Making them good friends with Thrash, thus cross pollinating to create Blackened Thrash. It wouldn't be a stretch to hear Marduk and years later, someone can easily conjure something closer to Skeletonwitch.

Source: Metal Made Fitness

The "Blackened Sludge" Dragged into Sunlight employs, takes a look at Sludge from New Orleans, one of the more underlook genres in Metal. While bands under that moniker sing about drug abuse, depression and entrenched poverty in rural America, Dragged Into Sunlight injects the grim British weather and amp up the psychological torture.


Their debut album, Hatred for Mankind eschews plays upon nihilistic poetry; something that lives up to the name of the album. Even the first few seconds using torturous samples, that are ubiquitous in Sludge and Industrial manages to create that dreaded atmosphere.

Source: Noisey

Dragged Into Sunlight recently released a collaborative album with Gnaw Their Tongues, their French counterpart. This is not your regular split album. This is them writing songs alongside Maurice, the sole member of the band to create the most menacing concoction of this new wave of Blackened Sludge.


They will be touring extensively in 2016 with dates across Europe and the United States. Be sure to check them out if you have chance.


So for those who think extreme music is stagnant, try checking out Dragged Into Sunlight.

Aural Chaos Interview: Kolbenfaust (Part 1: Piston Fists, Sarawak and Scene Polarization)

Written by Terence Aaron

Note: This interview was done before Carcass played in Kuching. Whatever controversy that happened during the gig, will not be discussed here. Maybe you can leave it in the comments for the band to answer.

Recently, Aural Chaos had the amazing opportunity to interview Kolbenfaust, a Metal/Hardcore/Djent/Grind band or what we Malaysians prefer to call "rojak." In this interview, Greg (Guitars), Matt (Bass) and Wak (Drums), took time off their musical laboratory to answer these questions, giving us an insight how these mad men operate. 

Also, since the boys of Kolbenfaust are a bunch of friendly, chatty lads, this interview will be divided into two! Part one will be about the band's history and how they fit into the scene. Part 2 will be about their recent tour experiences and also the band's future.

1) First of all, congratulations on making it into the line-up of Borneo Extreme Fest. How does it feel like that you are about to perform with Carcass? What do you expect from this experience?

Greg: It feels awesome to be able to open for a legendary band like Carcass, still seems unbelievable! This is the kind of opportunity that very few bands get and we hope to get more recognition from metalheads in the scene, and maybe expand our network meeting new people as well.

Matt: It feels great to be able to perform, that's for sure! Honestly I'm nowhere as big a fan of Carcass as the rest of the band; they grew up listening to Carcass. It was actually quite hilarious watching them fanboy over Carcass.

Dink: Thank you very much! Well, to be honest, we were stunned in the first place as we're sharing the same stage with Carcass! The legend! Carcass is one of our biggest influences in our songwriting. We hope that from this experience, we will be more passionate into our music line and hope will get more shows / gigs in the future.

2) To kick start the interview, could you explain the meaning of Kolbenfaust, a short history of the band and what the band seeks to achieve?

Greg: The birth of the name Kolbenfaust came about as a ‘direct’ translation of an English name we were thinking about back in 2009. We were thinking of ‘Piston Fist’ at first but we thought it sounded too punk/core so we just messed around with Google translate and found the German translation for that to be unique *laughs*

Matt: I joined the band in 2013 while they were undergoing a major lineup reshuffle. I play for another band as well, and both Kolbenfaust and my other band suffered rather similar fates. Both were on the rise around 2010, and then our respective stars fell due to a variety of reasons. Now both bands are back to claim what is rightfully theirs - with a vengeance.

Dink: Kolbenfaust was formed in 2011 with Asri on the vox, Nick on the bass and Latap on drums while Greg & Jay on the axes. By the end of 2012, Dingkle came in replacing Asri, Matt & Wak replacing Nick & Latap respectively. After through all the struggling and efforts to get shows until sharing the same stage with Carcass, Kolbenfaust would like to perform several shows abroad, internationally. We just wanted our music / songs to be heard. By that, our vision & mission can be achieved which we can introduce the next generation of local bands, to bring up more names and successfully not just focusing on one or two genres but multiple kinds. We were friends during and after high school back in Kuching. As you mentioned, coincidence and fate brought us back together as we work in KL. At first, it was not our intention to start a band but it was just for fun instead. So we decided to have a jam or two, for high school's time sake. As we went on and on, Greg Bajien wrote the song "To the Hands That Enslave". We tried the song out and thought “Yes, why not we just proceed”. In regards to playing shows or not, put it aside first. Once completed, we uploaded the songs via FB (Band page) and SoundCloud as well. Then we got our first show / gig. No harm of trying it and at last it was a blast!

Greg: It was pretty much coincidence that Jay and myself relocated here (both for studies, then work), as we were both involved in Kuching’s ‘underground’ scene back in the early 2000. I was in a band called Tribus, Jay was in a band called Red Queen. Wak was also involved with various other bands back in the day in Kuching. Jay and I decided to pursue a creative outlet to release the heavier metal side of us, and we just met up and started writing riffs and then making proper songs with programmed drums. We met Wak later on, around late 2010 and he was supposed to be our manager as the band was taking a more focused and serious path. With both vocalist and drummer leaving the band in 2012, Wak stepped in for drum duties (taking him out of retirement) and has since been in the lineup. Dingkle joined at about the same time and he’s been a friend of ours all along and even attended a few of our gigs prior, Matt is the latest addition taking over bass duties when my cousin left the band and Matt was also our sound engineer during our album recording.

3) I have noticed the band consists of East Malaysians, living in West Malaysia. What coincidence led to this and what is the band’s position in the scene due to this? Was it hard trying to penetrate both scenes at the beginning?

Greg: We didn’t think much about penetrating the scene in Sarawak / Sabah at first. We were more focused on getting solid songs done, and a proper EP/ album with merchandise in order to get a good base to penetrate the scene here in KL.

Matt: The coincidence was Kolbenfaust decided to record their album at the studio I was working at the time. I'm the only West Malaysian in the band because of this. Having this mix of East/West Malaysia in the band led to some minor communication issues when I first joined, because I had absolutely no idea what they were saying to each other when speak in Sarawakian slang! I've started to be able to figure out some of the words like "sik", "nok" and "siney/ciney", so I can kind of make out what they're trying to say. They do speak English most of the time though, it's just that they sometimes default to their usual slang and they don't realize they're doing it. It's all good though.

Dink: Well, with all the effort & for the love of the music, it is not hard to penetrate both scenes. As we all know that, Sarawak is famous with Grindcore, Death-Metal genre etc as well as West Malaysia. Hence, metal is booming nowadays. 

4) How would you describe the band’s music? The band seems to be an eclectic mix of Death Metal, Black Metal here and there, with a touch of Hardcore Punk, Djent or Groove-like riffs one in a while. How did you come into that decision and what were the bands that influenced Kolbenfaust?

Greg: It’s quite simple really, each band member brings his influence into the band, creating a melting pot of metal. Wak’s and Dingkle’s influences can be seen in the newer materials such as “Tomb of The Lost Disciple”, “Cycle of Perpetual Suffering”, as well as “Parasthesia”. Whereas the older stuff like “Feast of the Jackals”, “Xenophobia” were mainly influenced by Jay and myself. To sum it up: I like bands like Meshuggah, Jay likes Gojira, Wak likes Napalm Death, Dink likes Cattle Decapitation, and Matt likes Lamb of God. The common denominator for all of us is Carcass, Sepultura, and Meshuggah, LOG, Black Dahlia Murder, and Animals as Leaders. So, it’s quite a mix!

Dink: Frankly, we just label our music as Metal only. Not more or less. Let people decide it what our song sounds like. Lots of genres were mixed into our songs as we came from different backgrounds, from Hardcore Punk to Death Metal, Grindcore, Djent & also a bit of Jazz riffs. To be more detailed, we just get into the studio & we'll mixe all elements together in order to find our result ourselves. My main influences are Black Dahlia Murder, Meshuggah, Nile, Carcass, Cattle Decapitation, Animal as Leaders Deftones, Tools, A Perfect Circle and Incubus.

5) Since there are various influences in the band, could you explain the song writing process? Is there a chief songwriter or was it a joint process?

Matt: What's funny is that you can actually tell when each song on the upcoming album was written. The faster or more grind elements it has, the older the song. The running joke in the band about why our newer songs have less grind elements and more groove is that age is catching up and we need to slow down. The whole messup of styles and genres comes from the fact that Greg and Jay, the two lead songwriters and surviving members of the original lineup, each have a wide variety of musical influences. I think it's great, though, because we don't end up drawing imaginary boundaries for ourselves and limiting our songs to match the "style of the genre". I joined the band after the entire album was written, so I can't comment much on this. However, we did write a song called "C.O.P.S. (Cycle of Perpetual Suffering)" after I joined, so I can talk a little bit about that. C.O.P.S. is definitely a joint effort. It started out with Greg laying down the basic rhythms and structure, then we'd just jam it out several times and try out different arrangements, structures etc. until we come up with something we like. This process can take several weeks, though! We'll just keep going at it until we're happy with how it sounds.

Greg: Most of the songs start with riffs from me and Jay. I’d probably start with a certain pattern and riff to work around with, then Jay comes up with fillers and the structure, then Wak, Dink and Matt come in with the final touches to make it the final product. Some songs start with my riffs other songs Jay (like Jackal for example, Jay came up with the main riff while made the droning chorus riffs).

*“Feasts of the Jackals” is my favourite with that amazing mix of Black Metal tremolos and Death Metal like verses.*

Dink: Thank you & it's cool that you've mentioned Feast of the Jackals as it was one of Kolbenfaust's earlier songs created circa 2011. Back then, songwriting was primarily created and arranged by Greg, Jay and a computer. As the band evolved, more songs created in the studio with each member providing input and have creative freedom. In short nowadays most of our songs start of as a freestyle jamming session then everything just falls into place in the end and hopefully we remember the next day.

6) Since the band is into mixing all sorts of genres into your conception of Metal, what is your opinion in the polarization of scenes? For example, Hardcore bands arguing with Metal bands (and vice versa) that their music shouldn't mix. What is your stance then?

Greg: That just limits potential in my opinion *pauses* but that’s just me, I respect that others have a more pure interpretation of the genre they love, so to each his own but it’s not necessary to have an argument over genres. Having mutual respect should be the way. No need to politicize and polarize heavy music.

Matt: I'm strongly against the polarization of the scenes, and I'm pretty sure the rest of the band is as well. I think it's really stupid, and I feel that the Malaysian metal and hardcore scenes are already small enough. We don't need infighting and discrimination to make it even smaller and even weaker! That's also why I haven't being going for many shows lately; when I'm paying for a ticket to watch a show, I don't want to hear 10 bands that sound almost or exactly the same as each other. I want some variety!

Dink: For us, scenes need to be bond together in order to preserve our underground's music scene. We believe that the music genres should be mixed but literally it's all about individual themselves. We should be more open & accept everything what's nice to be heard, to be more matured in terms of everything surround us. By that, creativity & innovation were created. That's what songs are all about. True?

This interview will be continued in Kolbenfaust Part 2. Stay tuned for more updates.

Terence A. Anthony commutes between Kuala Lumpur and Kuching. Co-Founder of Aural Chaos. He also writes for Greater Malaysia and Opinions Unleashed.

Gig Review: Hornthrone 2014 (Daarchlea, Sammael Abraham, Artefacts, Nothing Underneath, Massacre Conspiracy)

Editor's Note: It is unfortunate that we made the mistake of not hosting older versions of the photos our site. We also did have any back up photos. So the photos below were cobbled together from various other sources. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Written by Howe Foo

Well now, salutations. Howe here, for my first review of the Hornthrone gig, also Daarchlea's album launch!

Terence has given me the privilege to be a part of Audiocancer (currently known as Aural Chaos). Apart from being able to check out a whole lot of material I probably would've missed out on, he also bribed me by giving me his Hornthrone ticket. Kidding. He had something on so I attended on Audiocancer's behalf. Held at Alt HQ, Fahrenheit, the gig venue was pretty sweet. It's seriously hard to find, as it's not within the main compound of the mall. 


It's actually located in a very narrow path inbetween the mall's outer walls and the inner compound wall. So take note of that, as a bunch of metalheads and I were lost for quite some time looking all over the place, like idiots. I'd say it could comfortably fit 150 people. Posters and massive banners were pasted all around, indicative of quite a bit of finances spent on promotional ephemeral.

           Posters distributed at the venue for RM2. (Editor: No, that is not Howe. It's from their FB page)

Hornthorne in local papers.

The first band to perform was Nothing Underneath. Hailing from Ipoh, they were a good start for the gig. They were easy to headbang to, and very pleasant to the ears. They made use of a lot of Egyptian, Middle Eastern-ish scales in several of their songs, well-interpersed with generous use of strings from the keyboardist. That keyboardist also took vocal duties! He'd do growls when there were no keyboard sections required. Quite a rare and interesting way of sharing duties. The vocalist himself was quite alright with his growls. Heavy breakdowns also pervaded their set. All in all, very energetic and a perfect choice for openers.

Nothing Underneath. | Source: @bobvizard

Nothing Underneath. | Source: The Rock Show

Next up was Sammael Abraham, also from Ipoh. These guys oddly reminded me of Behemoth, but with a few different touches. The vocalist had awesome low growls. Clear, powerful and pleasant to the ears. His high-pitch shrieks, however, honestly had a lot to be desired. They sounded off in every single way, out of tune and out of place. I honestly thought it killed a bit of the amazing atmosphere they were otherwise creating. 

Sammael Abraham. | Source: Asyraf Zulkefli 

He sounded like an unrefined Dani Filth, and as a fan of Cradle of Filth, that's no compliment. However, kudos to the bassist who played fingerstyle, playing as fast as the guitarists who did lots of tremolo picking; yet they didn't sound overly black metal. One guy from the audience did shout that the vocalist was handsome, and well, as a straight guy, I've gotta agree.

Sammael Abraham. | Source: Asyraf Zulkefli 

Sammael Abraham. | Source: Asyraf Zulkefli 

Massacre Conspiracy played next, and almost everyone in the underground scene knows them. As one of Malaysia's biggest post-hardcore bands, they have a huge following and if the crowd was revved up for the first two bands, Massacre Conspiracy took it up to a whole new level. The crowd knew the lyrics to their songs, and the band were pumped up on stage. I hate to generalize, but Massacre Conspiracy sounds like fellow, local metalcore/post-hardcore bands I, Revival and S.O.G. Growls, cleans and hardcore breakdowns were done in their usual fashion, with lots of energy from both crowd and band.

After a half hour break, Artefacts, a progressive metal band, played next. My old friend Iskandar is one of the guitarists, and I was eager to see what he'd founded with the other members, as I remember him being a very talented musician in several instruments. All dressed in smart, buttoned attire, their look of the typical office employee didn't dull their performance at all. 

They were fantastic. The guitarists each did, long, complicated runs and very technical solos that really impressed me. Lots of odd-time mixed with a few heavy "chugging" sections; very tight. They were perhaps my favourite, apart from Daarchlea. Fun fact: The vocalist looks a lot like Adrien Brody (he used an old school microphone too).

Artefacts. | Source: Asyraf Zulkefli 

Artefacts| Source: Asyraf Zulkefli 

And of course, the headliners - Daarchlea. I'd heard of the band before, but never really listened to their stuff until Terence let me hear what they were capable of. As his review of their debut album "Suns" thoroughly described, they've got amazing band members all around. Live, they were no different. And I mean that in an almost literal sense. Having been on a listening spree of their album a week before this gig, their live performance consisted of only tracks from the album and they were so tight and played so well that they may as well have played their album from a CD player and you probably wouldn't know it. 

Daarchlea | Source: @bobvizard

Heavy incense filled the air before their set started, which made the experience all the more better, with their songs. Plus, the pungent scent of sweat from all the headbangers was eliminated due to the incense. A nice bonus. Having heard the vocalist switch between low growls, high shrieks and clean singing on the album, I was curious to see how he'd pull it off live; switching between those three forms of vocals would be a very impressive sight to see (hear?) live. 

Daarchlea | Source: @bobvizard

Daarchlea | Source: @bobvizard

Daarchlea | Source: @bobvizard

Daarchlea | Source: @bobvizard

Crowd at Hornthrone | Source: @bobvizard

Alas, while he effortlessly switched back and forth between low growls and high shrieks, there was no clean singing. As in, none at all. Now, I don't know whether being overly familiar with the songs made me fill in the cleans in my head during their set, but I heard nothing when there was supposed to be clean singing. They made no effort to hide it either; the microphone was nowhere near his mouth for the cleans and none of the other musicians had mics on them. I was honestly a little disappointed, but well, I guess there are certain compromises when playing live, for any band. A funny thing to note, I smiled a little to myself when I heard their song Qhilav played, as there's one small section that sounds exactly like V3 of O2Jam fame. Having only heard it in the game and on their album, it was amusing to see him play that part live.

Daarchlea | Source: https://www.facebook.com/artherockshow

Regardless, Daarchlea played all, or nearly all (I didn't quite keep count) the songs off their album, which began with their chants on "Birth, The Beginning" all the way to their finale "The Great Extinction". When it was time for the last song, the vocalist was pretty adamant about that, possibly implying no encore. All he said was "Last song" and when the crowd jeered he repeated more indignantly "LAST SONG!" before starting the song. 

Crowd at Hornthrone| Source: https://www.facebook.com/artherockshow

The crowd was phenomenal while they played, with crowdsurfers kicking everyone below them and a huge number headbanging. When they finished, you could almost feel the electricity from the whole gig. On a side note, the vocalist dressed up just like he did on the cover of the album; something the rest of the band members didn't follow. They were very engaging and warm with the crowd after the gig, taking several photos when they were done.

Daarchlea | Source: https://www.facebook.com/artherockshow

My phone battery also died, leaving me stranded at Fahrenheit. But well worth it. Truly an enjoyable show.

Howe Foo is based in Kuala Lumpur, from Canada. Plays bass in Prog Metal band Ataraxique. He will have a bone to pick if you think evolution is hocus pocus

The Dead - Deathsteps To Oblivion

Note: Physical CDs will only be released on November 14. This review was done based on a Digital Promo from Transcending Obscurity.

For a genre that is commonly known for challenging rules and convention of music, the fan base for Metal has been very strict in what can be mixed and could not. There are many genre purists who become very vocal of what is not permitted (such as that in Black Metal) and some are implied just out of scene associations (like Death Metal).


In fact, one may joke that the fan base is the most irate rule-obsessed group of fan boys ever. However, all of that is understandable. This whole elitist attitude is a reactive measure towards the encroachment of other influences into the genre that may not be in line of the vision of what its creators seek. It is a culture that a group of young people created and decided to call their own.


To have another person to steal that tag and appropriate it for themselves was blasphemy of the highest order. But what happens when you have a scene that has pre-internet, relatively been isolated to the rest of the world? Their only window to that scene is probably through the tapes they traded across the specific and publications could possibly several months late.


They may have an understanding through reading zines about the respect people have for the purity of genres but they also don’t have the same form of emotional attachment with those who grew up the scene.


Enter, Australia. Implied genre conventions don’t carry the same weight here and Australia’s The Dead pays respect to their American counterparts, but blurs the rules. While Sludge Metal has been an active effort to stay the opposite spectrum of Death Metal, The Dead combines the two while maintaining the characteristics of both subcultures.

This is the happiest band promo photo ever in the history of this blog.

The Dead’s willingness to combine 2 sides of the coin of Metal, is like combining water and dirt; while those two components are easily distinguishable from the other, but the two combine to become mud. That is how The Dead works.


What are two distinct genres becomes into one puddle of filth, with an excess of Sludge, making it the thickest mud pool you have to walk through. From the beginning the guitars are deep down heavy, that reminiscent of the thickest and heaviest doom-laden Sludge riff you can imagine. This is like taking Eyehategod out of New Orleans, and the blues is replaced with an Old School Death Metal layer.


While mentioning Sludge could conjure images of breakdowns into a listener’s mind; this album won’t be filled with the continuous interjection of long dragging depressive breakdown. The riffs resemble a darker Isis with an emphasis of evil sounding melody. While one guitar lays the groundwork and team up with the bass player, the lead guitars create the tinge melody.


It’s like the subtle after taste of flavoured vodka. The thick punch of the alcohol wakes you up but the subtle fuzzy after taste lingers in your throat. They don’t become the dominant flavour but it reminds you it is there. It’s the same with leads here. It never becomes the overpowering narrative that one might expect from say, a thrash album when a solo is about to come in.


Here, the leads follows the main riff on a higher pitch, as the riffs come crawling to you slowly. There are no abrupt changes in speed here, but dirge laden mid-paced riffs. One could say that these guys didn’t read the memo that Death Metal learned to run a long time ago and still stayed at the same pace the slow parts of what Obituary had in 1990.


Despite the Sludge connotations, vocals in no way are like your average Sludge band with Hardcore screams. While they didn’t get the memo on Death Metal’s speed the bad definitely get the memo for deep guttural voices. The vocals could easily work even in a Grindcore context. The drums come pounding in at an appropriate pace, like a riflemen firing at the orders of his official.


Organized and only fired when necessary. While on most parts the drum just plays to keep the flow of the soing going in, it does not mean the band is afraid to play around with percussions. On the track Terminus, watch out for tribal sounding drums and an intro session where one could recall rituals of native Indian tribes, giving off an exotic and trippy vibe.

 I am pretty sure, there is somebody in the crowd that is insisting that they play faster.

However, most of the points this band gets is the creative song writing capabilities. None of the band members get into a spotlight and do their magic but the band worked together to actually create a composition. Every single line has a deliberate method.


At times it is to create a melodic lead or everyone slowing down (after the already slow verse) in the bridge and just mesmerize us into a dark prog-like atmosphere that you could lay back too, then they start to assault your ears again as they step onto the distortion pedal. This has created what should very well be something that is unconventional feels acceptable in this album. (Well, at least in Metal-terms.)


An amazing part of this album and probably the highlight track is during “The God Beyond” where the track starts off with a short (and surprising) Black Metal part, the only “fast” part of the album but the goes into a long droning Atmospheric Sludge Metal guitar melody. Right somewhere in the middle, a weird sound in the background appears to add another layer of hauntingly beautiful melody.


It could be a woman wailing or some weird instrument accompanying the band but that element turned the track into a Sludge Metal, almost Post-Rock equivalent of Pink Floyd’s “The Great Gig in the Sky”. In fact, the whole album does sound like Pink Floyd trying their hand at Sludge/Death and like the Dark Side of The Moon, needs to be listened as a whole to get the whole experience. Every track is weaved into each other but you can still feel where does one start and where does one end.

At the end of the day, what this band embodies is the ability to smash convention and demonstrate to us what happens when you turn around the genre conventions many in the culture grew up with. Not only it breaks down barriers of the genres but it also shatters the image on how Death Metal can be carried. Unlike how most bands go on the mantra, faster is better for Death Metal, this band does the opposite but still sound Death Metal. Like how the isolation of Australia lead to the unique evolution of its animal inhabitants,


Australia has benefited from the mindset of these metalheads from down under. In fact, I would say this is the most exotic sounding album I've heard all year. This is a Isis, Death Metal and Pink Floyd rolled into one.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lordofthelivingdead
Bandcamp: https://transcendingobscurity.bandcamp.com/album/deathsteps-to-oblivion-death-metal-sludge

Terence A. Anthony commutes between Kuala Lumpur and Kuching. Co-Founder of Aural Chaos. He also writes for Greater Malaysia and Opinions Unleashed.