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.

Rapid Fire: EP01: Theist - Self Titled // Dance on Your Grave – Paper Guns

What is Rapid Fire? Rapid Fire is a series of reviews for short EPs or Demos that the Audiocancer team does not feel the need to write a three thousand word essay on. It does not automatically mean your EP or Demo was horrible, it’s just that there are limited amount of things to state about your 20 micro-song 7 minute Grindcore EP. So seat back, and enjoy the Rapid Fire.

For this week’s (inaugural!), Rapid Fire we have Theist (Bandung, Indonesia) and Dance! On Your Grave (Kuching, East Malaysia)

Theist - Self Titled

Theist is a Crust Punk band (they call themselves Neo-Crust) from Bandung, Indonesia. While most Crust Punk bands attempt to get a lo-fi aesthetic, akin to their fore fathers, Amebix, Theist decides to discard this for a much more modern production. To be fair, in this day and age, it is easier to get that modern production, judging from the availability and range of production tools at the disposal of the average man.


While Amebix took their harsh production qualities from old school raw Black Metal, Theist seems to be from the camp that tries to modernize that crossover sound. Like the evolution of Black Metal also, Crust Punk has evolved from the raw abrasive melody to more complicated pieces. Theist embodies that concept, thus the tag neo-crust. While in essence, the faster power-chord charged parts are the embodiment of Crust Punk/D-Beat, the slower parts carry an atmospheric feel with riffs that are almost Doom Metal like.

Source: THEIST.NEOCRUST

In fact, if the band were to have riffs that were to be bluesy, the band will be able to pull off as a Sludge band. That however, would take away from the dirge environment they attempt to create. While not the first band to play in this style, the riffs of the band are not second-grade throwaways. It manages to be hard and uncompromising.


The feedback continues to ring in the background while the guitar goes into a melody line in the lower strings, almost Post-Punk like. As you are about to get ready to be adjusted into the doom-laden vibe, the band then pushes the tempo a few notches up but not turning the knob until its fullest extent.


The result being a transition between slow to mid paced rather than an abrupt change in speed like most Hardcore bands would do. The closest there would be to a snare-centric blastbeat would be in the track At the End of The Maze but it quickly dissolves into an old school Hardcore breakdown. All in all, a good listen for a few spins. Neo-Crust isn’t for purist but those who enjoy a good modern interpretation of Post-Punk influenced Crust now and then will love this.


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/THEIST.NEOCRUST

Bandcamp: http://theistsludge.bandcamp.com/

Dance On Your Grave - Paper Guns

Dance! On Your Grave (DYOG) is a band from Kuching, Sarawak. While we had a Crust Punk in the first of this article, Dance! On Your Grave plays a cheery (for a lack of a better term) version of Hardcore Punk. What struck me at first was the band’s name which sounded similar to Motorhead’s song “Dancing On Your Grave”.


Judging from how the scene has gone through so much crossover the years, it won’t be that surprising the band got their name from the song. However, if one were to listen to the music is far from Lemmy’s Jack-Daniels charged brand of Metal.

This two track EP consists of two catchy mid-paced Hardcore Punk. Don’t expect the micro-songs of Minor Threat nor their ferocity but they have more in common to modern day Punk Rock like The Distillers and an almost Garage Rock like vibe in the verses or leads.


The guitar work isn’t your simple power chord centric you might expect from a Hardcore band but they contain amazing melody-lines. The bass comes in and does not blindly follow the guitar by playing root chords but liberally comes in with its own amazing lines.


In fact, I was half-expecting a solo like in Hellacopter’s Paying the Dues. What I really love about these two tracks are the extremely catchy chorus with the double vocal attack. On one layer, you have a female vocalist starting off with a percussive method of sing talk, compressed and filtered like an old microphone, only to be accompanied by another half-screaming male vocal in the chorus.


The chorus of Paper Gun, while the vocals may come off with those rough sing-a-long qualities, the lead guitars joins the trip and becomes the base melody. On the track El-Matador on the other hand had an almost Post-Hardcore vibe when another vocalist comes in with a repressed scream.


If you enjoy some Garage Rock influence in your Hardcore (and I assume the band does listen to those kinds of bands), just get this EP. This is a nice alternative to your library of aggressive Hardcore bands and let those amazing guitar melody take control instead.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danceonyourgrave

Bandcamp: http://danceonyourgrave.bandcamp.com/
(It's free by the way)

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

Weot Skam - Six Pack Tsunami Attack

I had the fortunate opportunity of meeting the guitarist of this band once, not at a gig but at a book signing of his (KL Noir). Again, like explained in my post about Ataraxique, I was too busy with other things to attend gigs like I did in my teens. So when I finally caught a short break, I just went to the small gigs around town and book signings.


Back to the book signing; the Penang-nite of Italian origin, Marco Ferrarese seems to be a representation of what the band means. While he was not born locally, just the Hardcore Punk this band plays, he proudly wears the Malaysian influence on his sleeve. He wrote a book called NAZI Goreng, about Malaysian skin heads, being misguided into the tenets of National Socialism. Unfortunately, that is the sad truth also about quite a number of misled skin heads in this Malaysia.


They want to follow their favorite white power bands and translate it to the utterly ironic brown power, which coincidentally sounds like a super spicy Nasi Kandar ingredient. Marco, never did hold back from his love of Penang and the local flavors it carries. Like Marco, the band uses Malaysian centric social issues. From doing a critique on Mat Rempits (illegal motorcycle racing, without the cool factor of Japanese bike gangs) to the exploitative Malaysian media, trying to use subcultures like Punk or Metal as scapegoats.


It is an unfortunate thing too in Malaysia that many bands try to copy too much their brethren in Western countries that they seem to sing lyrics more suited for teens, frustrated at the failings of a so called Western Liberal Democracy. This band gets more points from me for not being shy of those local issues.

In true Malaysian fashion, and adhering to the diversity of what the incumbent government wants to portray, they're multi-racial!

While at first glance, a person who has been to exposed to Western Punk/Metal bands too much, might find it tacky, but the "laid back" attitude of the band helped a lot. The comedic track "I Rather Watch Kung Fu than Edisi Siasat" is probably the best juxtaposition of how the band managed to mix the angry attitude of American-influenced hardcore to a very Malaysian issue.


Edisi Siasat for the uninitiated is an exploitative investigative show that caused some controversy by partially making up stories about exploitative initiation rites of Punks and the needless shock of taking lyrics of Metal bands seriously. Yes, it does sound as stupid as Bill O'Reilly.

Me with Marco, who probably was the one knew Behemoth in the crowd. He knows both his Punk AND Metal.

According to their bandcamp, the band describes their sound as a cross between Bad Brains and Lynyrd Skynyrd. That couldn't be further from the truth. The aggressive Hardcore Punk sound gets the treatment of guitar leads that sounds so Southern fried that it could be served at a county fair. In fact, the combination does sound sort of Sludgy that the first few seconds of the album, you may be fooled into thinking that you just popped in a Sludge record. That is of course, until the non-compromising, snare driven Hardore Punk comes in. Dzul's vocals come bursting, not like almost spoken word grunt of early Black Flag but more like the tortured screams that could be easily found on a Sludge record too.


In fact, if Dzul has the chance, he shouldn't be afraid to play in a Sludge band in the future. The composition of the tracks while may come in short burst, carrying the signature of short songs of Punks gone by, they are never afraid to add a little technicality.


While cross over bands uses the fury of Thrash Metal to deviate from the regular power chords, this band sprinkles the bluesy feel liberally. To at times, drastically changing the tempo and fall into a blues-ish break down, with the lead guitar carrying the band into Alabama. You can already smell the bourbon from the guitar leads. This isn't your typical simpleton Punk, this is Punk by men who could play their instruments.

The poster for their recent Indonesia Tour. I'm enjoying all the Pop Culture reference they were throwing down there.

All in all, the band just oozes fun. It is the hodge podge of what the band learned from their American brethren, from the surfing imagery, to Sludgy Punk bastardization, this beast could only exist in Malaysia. Just like the album cover that resembles the music, this is a mutation and culmination of all of the genetics of Punk various American scenes, into one and they're not afraid to have fun. This is Hardcore Punk through the eyes of outsiders and turning it into their own.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weotskam
Bandcamp: http://weotskam.bandcamp.com/

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