TOK YATHRAA "Chapter: Pocong (A5 Cd)" [CD, A5 Size, Digibook]
2020 - Death/Doom from Philippines
Detailed Description
Obscure and very exotic, Far East ghost story inspired black/heavy metal from Singapore! Each release by the band is about a specific ghost or a local horror story. This one is about a pocong, also known as shroud ghost or hantu guling, an Indonesian and Malaysian ghost that is said to be the soul of a dead person trapped in its shroud. Musically inspired all the way from Mercyful Fate, King Diamond and Judas Priest to 90's Norwegian metal to traditional South-East Asian folk music. At times, the vocals and sound also resemble classic mid 80's era of Italian horror metal masters Death SS. Anyway, to compare Tok Yathraa's output to any other band in existence doesn't make much sense in the end: the atmosphere here is haunting and super catchy, rather an unearthly ride into the world of the supernatural. Riffs and song writing are top notch all the way. Something you have to hear to believe. Earlier ep "Chapter: Kuntilanak" is added as bonus tracks, making this release a 16 song, 77 minute cd, all presented in a stunning big "dvd sized" digipak with additional 12 page lyric booklet with matching artwork and lyrics.
