Wormrot's full set at OEF 2012
We’ve been ripped off, abandoned blablabla but we survived and end the tour with a fucking smile. We’ve been touring hard every year for quite awhile and we think it’s time to take a break and concentrate on our personal shit as for now. We’ll be back touring hopefully with another new album? MASSIVE thanks to Nicolas of Bones Brigades Records and the boys from Evisorax for being so cool during the tour. we love you guys endlessly. Last but not least, Luc from Doomstar Bookings/Fubar and of course our lovely Azean for being so patient with us. A very memorable LAST tour with the right people for the fucking win. We couldn’t have done it without your support towards us. Thank you fellow friends across the globe. GRIND OR GET THE FUCK OUT! SEE YOU AGAIN IN A FEW YEARS!
WORMROT Noise EP now with bonus Eisley cover $4.99 on iTunes
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13 Apr 2012
Me, Arif and Fit have already reached the Singapore Budget Terminal at 6.30pm. We were still waiting for Rasyid coz he was from work. Flight to Bangalore scheduled to leave at 9.50pm so we had to check in by 7.50pm. At 7pm, Rasyid called Arif saying that the train that he’s in had some technical problems so he was stuck in another station which is quite far from the airport. Scared to miss the flight, he took a cab to the airport. Of course, a lot of people were also waiting for the cabs due to the train problem. After cutting queue, he finally got a cab. Lucky ass! He reached the airport just in time for check in.
Upon boarding the plane, we were told that everyone had to leave the plane due to some technical issues so the flight was delayed for about 1 hour plus. OMG!! So many obstacles just to go to Bangalore. We were really thinking that maybe it is a bad idea to go to Bangalore. Damn our luck!
Finally we reached Bangalore at around 1am (Bangalore Time) with no problem with the custom or immigration. Charlie and his friend picked us up at the airport. As it was very late, they drove us straight to our accommodation which was in Kartanaka Badminton Club. We were half expecting to be sleeping in a badminton court or something. However, upon arriving, we were greeted by a very nice and comfortable room! It was really nice of Charlie and his crew. We really had a good night sleep.
14 Apr 2012
Went for sound check at around 12pm and had lunch at a very nice Indian restaurant. Chicken Bryani and lots of chicken dishes for lunch yo!! We were damn full and was hoping somehow they would cancel the show so we can go back to sleep.. :P
There were more than 10 bands and we had to play last. So it was a damn long wait. But we do enjoy the bands that played before us. Even the crowd was very supporting of every band who played at the show. The bands were talented and their showmanship were ACE. We had not even expected there will be a lot of people attending. Well… to tell you the truth, we were expecting like 20 people give or take.. :)
When finally it’s our turn, the crowd went wild. It was truly an amazing feeling to be appreciated, to know the hard work that you had put into your songs being paid off and just by playing, you put a smile on everyone’s face and people are enjoying your music. It’s damn satisfying! Even though, they had a small scene, but it’s growing. From a 20 people basement show to a 200 + people festival.. They don’t even have sponsors for goodness sake. It’s purely DIY and funded by Charlie and his crew! Mad respect to them for organizing this wonderful festival and million cheers to all the bands and the people who came down for the show! It truly was one of the shows we will remember for life!
After the show, dinner was served at the venue itself. Another round of Bryani!! SU-WHEEET!!
15 Apr
Charlie and some of his crew brought us to a North Indian restaurant that has good food. Awesome ‘Naan and Keema’ (A kind of Indian bread and a kind of minced mutton with pea curry), ‘Lassi’ (Yoghurt), more curries and rice.. This is life people!
After brunch, we went to walk around town to do some shopping and sight seeing. Some of the stuff were really super cheap but some were not. After getting our stuff, we went back to the room to rest for a bit before catching our flight back to Singapore at night.
When we reached the airport, the first thing I suggested was to check in our luggages and then go for dinner outside the airport. Charlie and his friend were waiting for us outside the departure hall. After checking in our luggages and getting our boarding pass, we walked towards Charlie and his friend. As we tried to walk out of the airport, we were stopped by the airport police. They told us that we are not allowed to go out of the airport once we have our boarding passes. WTF?!!! We tried and tried to talk it out with them explaining that we don’t know the system in Bangalore and our friends were waiting outside to have dinner with us. But our request was rejected due to the law. So we could only wave at Charlie and his friend. No photos no proper farewell no dinner.
We ate sandwiches in the airport and then went for a smoke on the 2nd level. After that, we went to the immigration to clear our passports. At the immigration, I asked the officer if there is any smoking corner in the departure gate, he told me they have it nearby the departure gate. At the security section, man and woman have to separate themselves to be checked by the airport polices. When it is my turn, they actually confiscated our lighters except for Rasyid’s!! Like WTF?!!! The 3 boys were held back coz they do not have a luggage tag for their hand carry bags. Another WTF?!!! I know you wanna implement strict rules but this is a bit too extreme and not relevant! And you know what? There’s no smoking corner nearby the departure gate!! Fuck.
16 Apr 2012
Finally, after 4 hours of flight, we reached Singapore. Although the starting of the journey and ending sucked as hell, we won’t deny that we did have a great time in Bangalore!! :D
If you are a band who wants to tour SEA, these are the people you should contact!
Singapore: Glen/Cher - iheart7x0x7@gmail.com
Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur: Emi - koperasihakasasibabi@gmail.com or Tiong - rienaxfaizal@gmail.com
Pahang: Dean - ttinelen@yahoo.com
Penang: Choi - https://www.facebook.com/brrrrrrssssher
Sabah: Akbar - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001123929657
Sarawak: Mazran - https://www.facebook.com/haematomagrind
Indonesia: Deden - https://www.facebook.com/DendenBalado or Alvin - xalvinxhc@yahoo.com
Thailand: Jockey - jockey010167@hotmail.com
India: Charlie - charlie.goregrinder@gmail.com
Written by:
Azean (Band Manager)
I was already half asleep when the door open and a man asked “Are you married?” A camera guy started snapping photos of us and I noticed there was a group already standing at the doorway, trying to get a glimpse inside the room. The man introduced himself as an officer of JAIS (Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor, or Malaysian Islamic organization) and soon after, another man entered and closed the door behind him. He explained to us the purpose of the raid. He asked us “You guys are Muslims, right?” and we said yes. We decided to obey, follow the instructions given and see how it goes. Mind that we are in a foreign land, it is unwise to take things into our own hands, so we called the promoter of the show, Emi, to help us out. they confiscated our passports and told us to meet them at the lobby while we got ready.
I’ve always dreamt of this; bright flashes from cameras greeted us as we exited the elevator, but instead of fans, we had an army of JAIS officers and what seems to be the military police of JAIS. we were escorted to a detention vehicle, an officer held on to the arm of Fitri’s girlfriend, as though she’s wanting to escape. She looked back worriedly towards Fitri who was just walking behind her, telling her everything’s gonna be alright. We sat amongst other detainees and were told that we were to be brought to a police station to write a statement. You could hear murmurs and feel the evil stares from outside while we sat quietly, still in shock. “Shame on you! You deserve this!”, a lady shouted. I couldn’t help but feel excited, it really felt like a scene in a movie.
At the police station, we were instructed to line up neatly and sit on the floor along with the other detainees. While waiting, i watched a football match that was playing on the television. An Indian family was shouting to a police officer, reporting a vandalism incident done to their car while the baby on the father’s arm was sleeping. Arif had to be escorted by a male police officer just to use the gents. while the JAIS officers were entering names into the computer, we were laughing at ourselves, realizing that we’re always running into authorities in other countries. Emi arrived and he was told by a police officer to wait outside the door. I assumed he managed to speak to the officer that spoke to us in our hotel room. The head of the JAIS officers stood infront of us, informed us that we were to be taken to another police station. He did not say why but from the conversation between him and a police officer I overheard earlier, they needed to speak to a certain high ranking police officer. So we were escorted to the vehicle again and headed to the other police station.
At the second police station, we were made to wait in the lorry for around 20 minutes (was asleep the whole time) for the high ranking officer to come by. The five of us were called out from the lorry to speak privately with the officer who spoke to us in the hotel room. He explained to us of our crime; an unmarried Muslim man/woman staying in the same room with one or more member of the opposite sex is punishable for RM3000 or two years in jail. Although this does not only apply to Malaysian Muslims but to all Muslims, they let us off with a warning. No statement was written. We got back to the hotel close to six in the morning.
You would think that if we replied ‘No’ when the JAIS officer asked whether we’re Muslims, we could avoid the whole thing entirely. You would think that Islam, or any religion, sucks. You would think that its not safe for you guys to visit Malaysia after reading up on this.
I grew up in an Islamic environment; my parents and relatives are religious, had religious classes/meetings every other week in my living room while I sat inside my room and play the PS3 or the guitar. Unlike some families, mine never forced me into religion. I remember my dad telling me while we’re sitting at a coffee shop, “Do not force yourself, you will know when you’re ready.” That was more than ten years ago, and I’ve yet to commit myself. Although I have a Muslim name on paper, I would hardly ever consider myself a Muslim, considering how I’ve lived my life.
I do not share the same views with my friends towards religion, but that does not give me the right to say ‘Fuck Islam/Christianity/etc.’ because as much as I might think so, I still respect my friends and their beliefs. As long as we both are able to tolerate with one another, religions, or none, are OK go. In Singapore, we are blessed with a certain level of equality and the choice of religion and we learn to live side by side. But like in every religion, there will always be a group of sour grapes who have a different perspective. We might think they’re uneducated, but they would say the same thing about us. If we keep throwing stones (haha) at each other, aren’t we just as prejudiced, ignorant, primitive and even racist, as we claim the others to be? Is it fair to judge a religion and their believers by a group of, say, ‘extremists’?
Im writing this not to preach and change your perspective towards religion, not that I can (or should) anyway, but to show another point of view from Azean (our manager) and shed some light to understand why we did what we did, where I’m coming from and if you’re a band wanting to come to Malaysia, you can learn from our mistakes and act accordingly. Learn the rules of the land, abide by them and stay out of unnecessary trouble. Also if I’m not wrong, if you’re a Malay in Malaysia and you declare you’re not Muslim, you’ll be in deeper shit (I’m not sure about this, maybe you can find that out yourself). Earache asked our permission to broadcast this incident and we agreed to share.
When it comes to choosing either your selfish personal identity or your silly grindcore band, which one would you choose?
Cheers guys. :)
- Rasyid
3pm, 31 Dec 2011
After 5 hours of bus ride from Singapore, Asilent and us have finally reached KL! There were 10 of us in total. Emi (Organizer/Tools Of The Trade), his wife and Tiong (Organizer/Tools Of The Trade) picked us up at the Puduraya bus station.
3.30pm, 31 Dec 2011
The Asilent boys, Rasyid and his girlfriend went to the hotel to rest. Me, Arif, Fit and his girlfriend went to Dyn’s house (Friend) for lunch. Simply put, one of the best home cooked meal we’ve ever had!
6.30pm - 11.30pm, 31 Dec 2011
Show was fucking AWESOME, BADASS & BEYOND MARVELOUS. The venue, Rumah Api, was hot as hell, even though it has fans and air conditioners. Everyone was sweating, dancing, moshing, crowd surfing, going crazy and it was really so hard to breathe in the room. It was so packed till some people could not even get in during our set. Really was a great way to have fun on a New Year’s Eve!!
See photos here —-> 31 Dec 2011 (Rumah Api)
12.30am - 2am, 01 Jan 2012
Supper was really delicious! Really really super cheap too!!!
3am, 01 Jan 2012
We had planned to chill at the hotel lobby. 6 people (5 smokers + 1 straight edge) in 1 room and no windows = Claustrophobic + Bad ventilation. Fiaz (Asilent’s bassist) came down to our room coz we had planned to chill with the Asilent boys as well. Suddenly, someone opened our door (Guess they have the hotel’s master card key) and asked “Are you married?!” The minute Fit heard that question, he laughed and said “No”, the bunch of people behind that person, started taking pictures of us!!! Talk about paparazzi… No they weren’t paparazzi.. They are from the JAIS - Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Selangor Islamic Religious Department). We were so shocked and lost for words coz we don’t think that we were doing anything wrong.
After several questions and telling us that it is wrong for unmarried Muslim men and women to be in one room, they took our passports and we were taken to the police station to give our statements and call someone to bail us. Now.. now.. don’t blame the religion. Some people are just extremists and this Islamic rules only applied in Selangor and Kelantan. And of course only to the Muslim people. Please don’t stop visiting Malaysia because of this issue coz seriously it has a very good and dedicated Metal scene. Plus everything is cheap and you can find delicious food everywhere.
Back to the main story… Only 5 of us were taken into custody. Arif, Rasyid, Fit, his girlfriend who is Arif’s little sister and myself. Rasyid’s girlfriend was not taken into custody coz she’s not Muslim and Fiaz was from another room. When we got out of the hotel to be escorted into the police lorry which already has some couples who were caught earlier than us, around 30 - 40 more people from JAIS, passerby and maybe some people from the media took pictures of us as though they had busted the most biggest crime for the night. We were taken to the Taman Muda Police Station and had to sit on the floor to wait for the organizer, Emi, to come and bail us out. Emi arrived at 4am and he had talked to one of the JAIS staff. At around 4.15am, we were taken to another police station as there was no high ranking officer to do up the reports. Again everyone had to be escorted into the lorry to be driven to Pandan Indah Police Station. However, when we arrived there, we were still held in the lorry as the high ranking staff from JAIS have not arrived. At around 5am, when they finally arrived, we thought that we will be taken into the police station for our statements. But… in the end… we were let off with just a warning. We were nearly fined $3000 MYR ($950 USD) per person if Emi did not call his lawyer up and we being Singaporeans. Plus we weren’t doing any sexual intercourse when they entered our room.
By the time Emi sent us back to our hotel, it was already 5.30am. We were beyond exhausted as we had been awake since 5am the day before, performing and then the hotel drama… Damn son! What a way to celebrate 2012!!
Please do not think badly of the religion. Every religion is peaceful. Like I’ve said before, in every religion, there’s always some people who are extremists. Don’t condemn the religion just because of these jokers. Multi racial, multi culture with the same interest - Music. :)
We would like to thank Emi, Tiong, Dyn and all our friends who had given us the best hospitality anyone could ever asked for. And all the grinders who came down for the show to support all the bands. This is the best New Year celebration for us!
- Azean
DEAD EXISTENCE shirt artwork. This band(London based) is probably one of the heaviest in UK. If you are into SLUDGE, DOOM, STONER, HARDCORE, CURST, METAL, then you are on the right page. Grim as fuck.
Site: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dead-Existence/9407254954
Grind Collection 4-CD set: Napalm Death, Wormrot, Insect Warfare and Narcosis for under £20! Available for a limited time only! Full news and info at http://bit.ly/siCBJm
Sabah was incredible!