Singapore Black and Death Metal Part 2 - Demos
by u/Ave_Lucifer
Hails all,
I’ve written a sequel on my original primer on Singapore’s Black and Death metal bands. The original was focused on being a relatively accessible guide, with only bands that have released at least one full length. Therefore, for this primer I’ve decided to only cover bands that formed and broke up in 2000 or before and did not release a full-length album. Many of these bands only released one or two demos at best.
Unfortunately, this list of 13 bands is necessarily constrained by what bands I can find on Youtube or download blogs elsewhere. Even mp3 rips of many of these bands are very hard to find and you’ll notice that several of these don’t even have 50 listens on Youtube. I couldn’t offhand find music from many bands I wanted in consideration such as Fractured Skull and Xtreme Obsession. Admittedly, from my memory of having listened to them before, Fractured Skull wouldn’t have made it to the final shortlist of 13 bands anyway.
Nuctemeron
Nuctemeron is by far the greatest metal band from Singapore to have never released a full-length album. Within the local scene and indeed within the region, they were the first band to release a demo. They released their first demo in 1988, predating bands including Rator, Sil Khannaz and Abhorer. As seen elsewhere in the list they’ve been very influential on the local scene, with Silent Sorrow being named after one of their songs. It’s a shame then, that of the members of the band only one went on to record music with other bands.
Nuctemeron play a primitive mix of evil death/thrash metal, unsurprisingly influenced by early Sodom. The style of riffing is very much reminiscent of Sodom’s Witching Metal demo, with a thin buzzing guitar tone. The vocals, however, are slightly more raspy and more reminiscent of Necronomicon. Very much influenced by lo-fi 1st wave BM and German Thrash, I strongly consider Nuctemeron’s first demo to be mandatory for all fans of that style.
The band’s two demos, 1988’s The Unexpected and 1990’s Demo II, were recently re-released on CD by Devil Slut records with the addition of an unreleased 2 track studio demo. There’s also a cassette version of that compilation that I own, which is probably a more faithful way of listening to demos originally released on cassette.
Libation/Itnos
I’m grouping these bands together as they’re really related to and evolutions of each other. Starting out as Mumbra and releasing a demo in 1990, the band evolved into Libation and released two more demos in 1991 and 1992, before next evolving into Itnos. The band did also later change name to Doxomedon, but both Mumbra and Doxomedon will not be discussed as I wasn’t able to find sufficient material to really assess. Though, I’ve heard good things about Doxomedon from people with good taste. I also used to have an mp3 rip of Mumbra’s demo, and I seem to recall it was decent.
Libation played a primitive form of bestial BM or black/death metal on their 1991 demo, similar to early Impiety on 1992’s Ceremonial NecroChrist Redesecration. Amusingly, of the four members of Libation that played on their first demo two went on to later play in Impiety at various stages. However their involvement in Libation definitely predated that, and I cannot use this to establish that one band was an influence on the other at that point of time. What I can say however, is that other reference points definitely include earlier primitive bestial BM bands such as early Archgoat and Domini Inferi.
In 1992 Libation changed names to Itnos, short for In The Name Of Satan. They released one demo each in 1993 and 1994, but their most significant release was 1994’s Christ Mary Bitch EP. I haven’t either been able to find a rip of either earlier demo. They released another demo in 1995 as well as an EP in 2010, which I haven’t been able to listen to either. I’ve only listened to Christ Mary Bitch, but what I’ve heard has been glorious. The band seems to have cut back on their BM influence in favour of a stripped down old school death metal sound. There’s moments in there that remind me of Pentacle’s debut or early Sadistic Intent. Definitely a good listen for the old school.
The output of these bands were released as a split compilation by Baphometal records in 2010. This includes on one LP both Libation’s demos as well as Itnos’s Christ Mary Bitch single and Hymenix Promomancy demo. Basically, the LP includes everything significant from these bands. I’ve long thought it to be impossible to get, but it looks like there are copies on sale at discogs that I should get soon.
Sanctimonious Offerings
Christ Mary Bitch
Xasthur
Amazingly I’ve actually recently spoken to the former vocalist of this band, who also did vocals for Profancer. If I had known that I would have also spoken to him about Profancer, but I haven’t listened to them in ages. He’s long retired from playing metal, but I’m not missing the chance to badger him for a re-release of this demo. Apparently, there’s also an unreleased demo which together with their only demo might make for a wonderful LP.
Xasthur played early black/death metal that reminds me of early Beherit, with less intensity. There’s definitely fair ground for comparisons to be made here, but there’s a bit more of a hypnotic bent to the guitar riffing and overall the music is more structured. The vocals however are more in the vein of Abhorer, with a bit of a growled edge.
Xasthur only released one demo, 1994’s Hidden Lore. The members though, were active in other projects both before and after the lifetime of this band. Several of them were involved in Profancer, detailed elsewhere here. More notably, drummer Dagoth later played with Abhorer on their full length album.
Beheaded Nasrani/Profancer/Profanation
I’m glad to say for a change that I own a physical copy of this material instead of relying on shit quality YouTube rips or blogspots. Apparently Beheaded Nasrani’s and Profancer’s demos were also compiled with Rator’s Evil Symphony (1989) and Necrofist’s self-titled (1991) demos. They were released on CD in 2004 limited to 50 copies, and now I want one too. I also managed to miss the reissue of the Necrofist demo, so that’s one I don’t own. However I instead own the Beheaded Nasrani/Profancer/Profanation demo compilation released on CD in 2010. It compiles all the material recorded by these bands, which is only actually one demo each, and adds as bonus an unreleased 20 minute three track rehearsal demo recorded by Profancer in 1989.
Profancer’s demo Rest Without Peace (1990) is firmly in hand in glove with early South American death-thrashing madness such as early Sepultura and Mutilator. There’s even a hint of a more maniacal side akin to bands such as Parabellum and Blasfemia. Though it’s always safe to stay local and compare this band to regional heroes Nuctemeron and Rator. Some of the vocals here are done by the same vocalist from Xasthur. I cannot say if he recorded lead vocals or backing vocals, or even which vocals are his. The lead vocals here are certainly raspier and more primitive here than on Xasthur, which reflects the music very well. Unsurprising, considering this demo predates Xasthur by a good three years. Come to think of it this demo really is a pre Xasthur project, with three of four members shared.
Beheaded Nasrani’s demo Nasrani (1991) was originally meant to be Profancer’s second demo. However it was shelved as the band had broken up, to eventually be released under a different band name. There seems to have been a substantial lineup change between Beheaded Nasrani and Profancer. Of the members of Profancer, only the vocalist Sham remained. The lineup thus also included the bassist who would later go on to play with Belial, a new drummer who would remain with the band’s third incarnation Profanation, and a replacement guitar/vocalist who would later record with underground grind legends Demisor for a short while.
This demo’s sound represents a departure from Profancer’s South American death thrashing style, and is substantially slower in many places. Obviously the three songs are 7:40, 5:25, and 4:09 in length respectively. Definitely noticeably longer than the 3:43, 5:36 and 2:39 of Profancer’s demo. The demo even begins with an ambient keyboard styled type intro of crows cawing and owls hooting in the woods. There again is the mid paced black metal sound that reminds me more of Sarcofago. Very much the same vein they’re mining as Belial later would. The problem here is one of repetition, and the repeated riffs often seem to be going nowhere. It’s certainly a problem though, that would be fixed on the next demo.
The band would again changed names in 1992, this time to Profanation. They would remain dormant for a year or so before releasing their final demo In Gloom in 1994. By this stage only vocalist Azman would remain of the original lineup that had started as Profancer, and all members who had recorded as Beheaded Nasrani only two years ago had also left. A very drastic change in lineup, which really speaks for the constant manpower problems that lamentably characterise most extreme metal scenes. I haven’t had the chance to ask anyone about this band, but I really would like to find out about whatever happened during these years.
This demo feels like it belongs in between Profancer and Beheaded Nasrani, instead of being recorded after beheaded Nasrani’s demise. It definitely remains in the field of black to black/death metal, but it’s noticeably more mature songwriting. It’s an intro, an outro, and two seven minute-ish tracks. Though the songs are both the same length as Beheaded Nasrani’s longest song, it definitely feels like there’s a very specific purpose in where the song is going instead of having riffs repeated for its own sake.
The CD ends with Profancer’s unreleased rehearsal demo. I’ve already described Profancer, so I’m not going to repeat that. However I’m surprised that it isn’t significantly rawer than the Profancer demo. There’s certainly some sloppy drumming here and there. But if anything, it’s closer to Poison and Hellhammer worship than I expected. I can even smell a faint whiff of Pentagram worship, and that I like. It certainly is much more lead guitar driven than the riff-driven Profancer demo.
Of the three bands, I definitely like Profancer the most. However I’m especially a fan of that deranged South American style, and don’t quite understand the slower parts in the Beheaded Nasrani demo. I suppose it has its own charm, but I would still place Profanation above it for its better songwriting.
Rest Without Peace
Beheaded Nasrani- Millenium
Behemoth
It’s a refreshing change from seeing bands record three song demos with the same songs on both sides, to see a band record an eight-song demo with a proper A side and B side. I don’t want to sound cheap or anything like that but when you’re a band whose sole musical legacy is one demo, as with many of the bands on this list, your one demo better be good or nobody will remember about your band at all. And I certainly will remember Behemoth, if not at least for being a better band on one demo than Polish Behemoth has been on many of their bloated studio albums. Plus, check out the amazing logo festooned with cobwebs and dripping with blood that is so reminiscent of Death’s old logo. I would absolutely sacrifice a kambing on the steps of Masjid Sultan for someone to rerelease this demo and include a logo patch.
Behemoth play a primitive mix of black/death metal similar to Libation and Abhorer, which is quite common for the scene at the time. I think though, in this case, a good comparison can be made with Grotesque. Every once in a while, especially at the beginning of the songs, the band start with a bit of a more melodic lead passage that reminds me again of Treblinka or Poison. The vocals though, aren’t very well recorded and sound more burped than growled. It’s really a shame, and adding a bit of variety to the vocals could add some depth. I’d like to hear some tortured shrieks to complement the buzzing guitar. Also the riffs can get very same-ish between songs. It’s a shame then that the band went nowhere, because all of these problems could be fixed with some experience writing.
None of the members ever recorded with any other band, though their drummer apparently played with Cardiac Necropsy at the very beginning of their careers.
Remembrance of the Crucification
Belial
The problem with talking about Belial, even among people with good knowledge of underground metal, is that there’s definitely way too many bands called Belial. I’ve listened to the Finnish one, as most people should have, and I’ve heard of the Columbian one. But there’s a long tail of also-rans going under the same name. And I don’t fault them for picking such an intuitive name for an extreme metal band, particularly when there weren’t resources where one could find out exactly how many bands had already used the name.
Singapore’s Belial played black/death as could probably be inferred from their name, active dates, and location. They released two demos in 1992 and 1993, respectively titled “Demo 1992” and “Demo 1993”. I wasn’t able to find anything from their earlier demo, though thankfully I managed to find all four tracks of their second demo.
The band balance fast intense double bass sections with more moderately paced rhythm sections. In that regard, this band definitely sounds like they worship at the altar of INRI. The music is somber and slow paced, and the pace alone is reminiscent of Asphyx. The solos though, are more technical and reminiscent of Morbid Angel’s snake-ish riffing. As is common to demos of this era, vocals are unfortunately muffled and really could be better done.
Before this band recorded their demo, bassist Hisham recorded one demo with Beheaded Nasrani that is discussed elsewhere in this article. Their drummer also later played for a band called Hatevol, and may or may not have recorded with them. I have not heard Hatevol’s material, and I have not been able to find it. Their hilarious band photo does not make me want to work hard to find it, either.
Mutation
Mutation was a relatively short lived band that only lasted between 1990-1992. During its lifetime, the band released two rehearsal demos and one proper demo. Intuitively then, their 1991 demo Malignant Existence should really be the most well known of their releases. However I only really got to know of them through their 2006 EP Void of Disharmony, which was released by NWN records. The EP though, was an unreleased studio demo recorded in 1992.
I’ve listened to both Malignant Existence and Void of Disharmony, and it’s certainly very good underground death metal. Unlike most bands on this list or even in this part of the world during the era, this band has some slower passages that brings some balance to the music. There’s a fair few bits here that reek of Autopsy or earlier Obituary. My one gripe is that the vocals sound very muffled, though that isn’t even unusual for death metal demos on cassette. Another interesting bit about their 1991 demo was that instead of the typical synth passages, the band used Buddhist chanting as intro and outro tracks. They sound to me like they’re in the Thai tradition of Buddhism instead of the more syncretized Singaporean/Malaysian tradition, but I really don’t know enough about Buddhist chanting to say for sure.
Members of Mutation only ever recorded with this band, though drummer Ayong also apparently drummed with Graycode. A passable band in their own right, and another also-ran that was in initial consideration for this article. More interestingly Ayong, Roy and Leng Hiang would go on to co-found Pulverized Records in 1996.
Mutation- Intro/Nocturnal Reincarnation
Cemetery/Debauchery
The earliest ever incarnation of this band went by the name of Extremist, then Morbid Death, before changing name to Cemetery in 1987. They released two demos under this name, playing death metal, before again changing names to Debauchery in 1991 and releasing one more demo. Though I can’t say for sure how many members of each incarnation played in the other, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were the same people with different stage names. And what interesting stage names they would be. You can’t fault them for choosing such genre-appropriate names.
As Cemetery the band played primitive death metal and released two demos, Immortal Bestiality (1989) and Death of the Living Corpses (1990). With such a name comparisons are inevitably going to be made with bands such as Carcass and Impetigo, and I don’t think such comparisons are completely wrong. I wasn’t able to listen to the 1990 demo, but I was able to find tracks from Immortal Bestiality (1989). And listening to that certainly makes me feel like I got molested by Uncle Creepy. Unfortunately, Uncle Creepy wasn’t very professional about it. The band’s music can definitely be described as very raw and sloppy, missing the mark in many places.
The band really changed in sound as Debauchery, and under this name they released Spirit of Barbuelis (1992). I was only able to find two tracks of this demo online, but I’m certain I’ve heard it before in full through some blogspot. The guitar tone is painfully thin to the extent of sounding artificial, but I actually think there’s a certain charm to that. The bass is weirdly twangy, and the drums are as sloppy as they used to be in Cemetery. There’s a keyboard intro to one song which seems really pointless and really doesn’t belong. It’s actually a relief halfway through the song when the cassette fuzz kicks in, and helps bury the guitar tone in the mix. But once I get used to that it feels a bit more interesting. It’s definitely black/thrash, but not really one I would like to listen to very often on account of the annoying guitar.
Apparently, the band later evolved into a differently styled black metal band called Eibon that released a full-length album, and EP and a split. I have not heard of them locally or listened to their music, but that is quite beyond the purview of this article.
Cemetery- Grave Desecration
Debauchery - Bestial Desecration Through Holy Prayers
Blood Angel
Blood Angel recorded two black metal demos, In Evil We Trust in 1992 and Nocturnal Sacrament in 1993. I wasn’t able to find a rip of the former, though I’ve heard that it was a really “funny” immature demo. Well it’s a good thing then, seeing as I don’t have a sense of humour about music.
The second demo Nocturnal Sacrament is definitely black/death metal. The first thing I noticed about the demo when I pulled it up the Youtube video was how long the songs were. There are four songs in total that last for over 45 minutes. It’s definitely a stark contrast to their first demo that I didn’t listen to, with six songs packed into 18 minutes. Many riffs do admittedly go on for longer than they should, but there’s some overall direction there. It’s mid-paced and feels weirdly chuggy for a black metal band. I guess some people do like that repetitive hypnotic effect, but I simply don’t have the patience for that.
Of the five band members, only bassist Dinn would be involved in another metal project. He currently plays for war metal band Balberith, though he has not yet released any material with them.
Euronymous
Yet another project whose members recorded one demo together, and apparently never recorded anything else ever again. I literally can’t say anything else about the members to give this article some colour, because all I know about this band is in the music. I must admit that I found this band not through exhuming a lost demo tape from Bidadari during the seventh lunar month when the hellgates open, but through scrolling through metal archives years ago and laughing at the coincidence in name between this band and a certain Norwegian guitarist. I must also admit I laughed again when I saw the cover art for the demo, which looks like something I could have drawn when I was 14. But I’m certainly glad I did not dismiss it entirely on that basis, because this is definitely a listenable demo.
This demo definitely is reminiscent of early BM, though coming very much from a death metal perspective. There’s some melodic passages here and there where the dissonant lead guitar reminds me of Poison or Treblinka. However I would say that a better overall comparison, especially riff-wise, would be with bands such as Mystifier and Impurity.
Euronymous - Bring the heavens down
Silent Sorrow
Here is testament to Nuctemeron’s infamy and influence within the local scene, even only 3 years after they released their first demo. I can’t say for certain, but I’m quite sure this band is named after the Nuctemeron song. Aptly so, seeing how it’s one of their best songs. They only ever recorded one demo, 1991’s Promo Tape. I much prefer the alternate title, Mental Obliteration, under which I found it listed on YouTube.
The band’s one demo is a two song demo. It starts off with an intro that lasts nearly two minutes, which feels stupidly long considering they only have nine minutes of music in total. Which also feels slightly stupid when they could have recorded up to 30 minutes of music on a C30 cassette. One surprising thing about this demo is how polished the sound quality is, to the extent that it felt like it might have been another band’s mislabeled demo instead. Nope the track lengths tally up, and the vocals are clear enough to pick out the song titles when they were screamed. The linked video is definitely this demo. It’s really overproduced that it’s actually making me feel weird but once I let go of it this is a really decent demo. It’s mainly death metal with some thrashy and some melodic bits in here and there. There were even dueling solos that felt very Hanneman/King. I would say what really holds this demo back is lack of an interesting bass presence. There’s certainly some interesting guitar work here which is worth listening to for. The drums aren’t fantastic either, with the cymbals being particularly annoying. I might say that the balance between melody and aggression here reminds me of Grave or perhaps Dismember, though if this demo were released even five years later it would probably be quite outclassed.
Members of Silent Sorrow never recorded with any other metal band after the demise of this project, whenever it was. However, guitarist Pann later went on to co-found 90s alternative rock band Concave Scream. I hear they’re good at what they do, especially considering how dated that genre can sound nowadays. But it’s far enough from the type of music I enjoy for me to be curious and want to listen to them.
Kibosh Sybil Kismet
I have absolutely no idea what this band name means, and it’s certainly quite a mouthful. The band would later shorten it to KSK after two demos, and go on to play a more industrial-inspired sound. Under the shortened name they are still active, and have released two demos two EPs and a full-length album. They technically shouldn’t be here as they’re still active, but I consider their shift in sound to be drastic enough to qualify it as a different band altogether. I’m definitely not going to type their full name here every single time either, so they’re KSK to me.
KSK play blackened doom metal on their first two demos, an unusual choice in a scene rooted in first wave and South American worship. Perhaps that is partly attributable to their release date, with Shadows and Silence released in 1997 and Sulphurous Domain released in 2000. Some “modern” ideas must have crept in during the intervening years. I’m struggling for a point of comparison for their sound, because I hardly am a fan of anything remotely near that style. There’s a real focus on the guitar riffs, and minimal use of keyboards. I might draw reference to Barathrum or Samael, though this really isn’t my area.
Death Squad
I wasn’t even able to find the whole of this band’s demo to listen to. I was only able to listen to two tracks, but I’ve got a rough idea of this band’s sound. And besides, I feel like I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel here.
Death Squad play metal right smack in that area and time between death metal and thrash metal. It reminds me of a very sloppy Necrovore, with some influence from bands such as Possessed. There’s some melodic interludes here and there, and I think they’re supposed to sound creepy and dissonant from the reverb on the vocals. I don’t think the riffs are interesting enough to be worth the effort. Here and there there’s a Morbid Angel styled guitar lead that’s interesting enough, but even that quickly fades back into the uninspired and sloppy riffing.
None of the members went on to record anything else with any other band. Just like so many other bands, they just disappeared off the face of the earth.