Truth Be Known

Truth Be Known


Truth be known formed in 2005 in the midst of Religious conflicts and Political Domination. In it are members of great reknown acts of Singapore's metal scene. John and Arul from Narasimha, Subash from Kaliyuga, Gene and Damien from Bhelliom. With such a mix we should be aware on what kind of a disaster we'd be expecting. Heavily influenced by bands such as, Morbid Angel, Sodom, Napalm Death and many more. The name Truth Be Known was derived from a song title of the band Napalm Death. Having played shows locally, Truth Be Known has also earned respect overseas from countries for example,Thailand. With a huge fan base it is no doubt that Truth Be Known is one Singapore's best when it comes to spreading the TRUTH!

Musically, this band is a maniacal killer. John and Damien has always succeeded in creating skull crushing riffs that would echo in your head continuously. Gene's well known pedal work is at its peak in Truth Be Known. Arul is always keeping at the groovy bass lines. What more can we say about Subash's vocals? Truth Be Known's songs are based on Socio-politics and Religion.

Debut Album- Just Another Lamb
Now,Truth Be Known has released their 1st debut album under local label MourningSounds Records. Just Another Lamb is not your Just-Another-Death metal band. Personally I feel that this album has covered most of what death metal needs. Even without the lyrics, the riffs alone makes you feel what Truth Be Known wants you to feel. The opening riff of the song Build The Hate is just sufficient enough to go on a murder rampage. Each song speaks very much for itself. I cant give everything away. You've gotta listen to it. I know how long it took them to produce this album. Everything was recorded way back. What took this masterpiece so long was the mixing. Joshua from Blackisle Studios, is the main man responsible for the birth of such a wonderful production. Although it took a long wait (3 years) the wait was all worth it.

Truth Be Known is recommended for fans of Slayer, Napalm Death, Nirvana, Kreator, Deicide, Lamb Of God, Kataklysm, Carcass and Cryptopsy(old).

We managed to clinch an interview with Truth Be Known's vocalist,Subash!
1) So, How does TBK feel about releasing their Debut album, JUST ANOTHER LAMB?
Well, we feel great! We finally managed to release our album despite the problems we faced and all. Actually we were getting drunk all the time, It came to a point in time where too many people kept asking us when the fuck is the album gonna be released. hahaha. But all in all, its been good since we released JUST ANOTHER LAMB. We have been getting good reviews so far.

2) I have been a fan of every individual act of TBK, (eg, Narasimha, Bhelliom, Kaliyuga). How did you guys meet?
We always enjoyed each other’s company when we were out drinking almost every weekend. And we always used to drink at my old pub (Pub 228). So one fine day one of us (I cant remember who) mentioned why don’t we try jamming after a few bouts of beer and so we did and to our surprise, we actually sounded pretty cool. But back then it was just me, John, Damien and Gene. So we needed a bassist, and John got Arul from his old band Narasimha. So what started out to be a fun thing became slightly more serious when we started writing our own materials and we realized, that it does sound pretty good. So one thing let to another, we decided to record the songs while getting high at the same time. We also got the name TRUTH BE KNOWN from a Napalm Death song which was one of our favourite bands.

3) Tell us, what does "just another lamb" mean, why this title and not some other song from your album?
Well initially we wanted to name the album, Deny Defy which is also one of our songs. We chose that title because most of my lyrics are against all forms of religion and we wanted a statement telling everyone to Deny and Defy all forms of religion. But Gene (drummer) came up with the idea that majority of human beings are blind followers of religion hence sheep. So the 2nd idea was Just Another Sheep. And that really sounded like shit. So we decided using the quote “Like lambs to the slaughter.” We got JUST ANOTHER LAMB instead. Mind you, all this was done under the influence of alcohol.

4) Personally this was a long awaited album for me, (hehe around 3 yrs). What took you guys so long?
3 years??? Has it been that long? Hahaha. Well, we had some technical problems with the sound and also the cover art and all that. We tried working with a few designers regarding our album covers, but most of them were either too expensive or didn’t really suited the band. Also, with everyone busy with work and all. We didn’t want to rush out a cd with shitty design and a shitty sound. We told ourselves that if we were to release an album we should do it in a professional manner. Thankfully everything turned out ok.

5) Have you guys ever considered doing other forms of music? (example, heavy metal, power metal, black metal etc)
Initially we all wanted to do in Melodic Death and that’s when we realized that all our other bands are in that genre, so we decided to do something which we loved listening to which was Punk, Thrash and a little Grindcore.

6) How do you feel being interview by a fan of yours?
We feel honoured to have even 1 fan! Hahaha. The difference between TBK and other bands is, we have never treated a fan just like an ordinary fan, we treat them as friends. So you can say TBK has friends not just fans. Hahaha

7) You guys have played overseas shows? Tell us your experience, whats the craziest thing that has happened in those shows?
We have so far played in Bangkok Thailand and Semarang Indonesia. Both gigs were crazy in their own ways. Like in Bangkok, the venue we played was called Immortal Bar. The bands playing were all given like buckets of water instead of bottles. And by the time we went up onstage, the whole stage was wet! John and Damien were abit afraid that they might get electrocuted and all. Good thing was we were pretty smashed from drinking so we fucked the fear and played the gig.

For Semarang, it was a big gig and the crowd was about 1000 plus. I could see from the stage that the crowd was having a great time head banging, moshing to our songs. But when we did our standard Napalm Death cover, Suffer the Children, that was when the crowd went apeshit! They started breaking down the barricades, a few of them even managed to get onstage. It was fucking amazing! And after that, when we played the rest of our originals, the whole crowd was still going apeshit! Hahaha.

8)Are there anymore overseas shows for TBK?
02/11/08 we will be performing in Bangkok, Thailand and on 08/11/08 we will be performing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Also currently we are working on something with Indonesia as well.

9) Have you guys faced heavy criticisms and insults? How has TBK dealt with it?
So far it has been nothing but good reviews from our cd to our performance onstage. But we are all old and mature enough to face and bad criticism. Insults wise, no one has said they are better drinkers than us. Hehehe. The worst critics are usually ourselves as we always believe we can do better than what we just did.

10) So what has TBK have to say to the fans and fellow musicians of the Singapore scene?
Believe in yourselves! Drink Beer! Play music! And Support the fucking local scene!

Cheers and Beers,
TRUTH BE KNOWN

MezaVirs

MEZA VIRS


Genre: Black Metal/Death Metal/Gothic Metal
Band Members:-
Cedric-Vocals
Jasmine-Female Vocals
Samuel-Guitars
Johnny-Guitars
Jon-Bass
Ying-Keyboards
Tjinn-Drums

They definitely won the spot for the first featured band here.

Rising from the darkest depths of Singapore, Meza Virs has definitely proved themselves as one of Singapore's best. They are not your usual macabre black metal band.Meza Virs has also acheived respect from not only Singapore but various countries overseas. In fact they have recently arrived from a gig in Bangkok.

Meza virs was formed around the year 2002. Since their birth, Meza Virs has sort of sculpted the scene of metal and also raised the standard of what Singapore metal should sound like.
Meza virs is not your typical "I-AM-SATAN" kind of dark metal. Their lyrics are dark sounding based on life and death.

I have been waiting for ages for their debut album, Vida Sacrificium Meum Est. It was worth the long wait for this album. Fans would know that it took 3 - 4 years. From Brutal songs like The Apocrypha and Tragic Vendetta to alluring songs like Crestfallen and Dwell Beneath. Every song has a message. In addition, they follow a very different & unique lyrical theme compared to anti-Christian & satanic themes used by comparative bands. They have killer riffs and their guitarists Jonny and Samuel are just amazing. Jasmine's haunting voice and Ying's keyboards just brings you into another dimension. A Band which every metal head all over the world should check out. If you like dark music or if you just like progressive aspects in Metal, remember this, Meza Virs is for sure a good kick in the head.

Tragic Vendetta would blow you away from your seat. To compliment the album The Apocrypha enters with a blast. Crestfallen was an amazing song, with Jasmine's voice mesmerising you. Well the rest of the album is up to you check it out.

In my opinion, Meza Virs really speaks to me. Every song and every word just speaks to you like you're reading your own diary. You can feel what the song means.

They were the first local black metal band to have a music video "Tragic Vendetta" which was taken in the apparently haunted "Hillview Mansion"!Check it out!



We had an interview with the frontman of Meza Virs,Cedric:-

1) How long has Meza Virs been together as a band? How did Meza Virs come about?
Cedric: Samuel (Guitars) and I formed the band in mid/late 2002 after we were introduced by a mutual friend,we were practically the only two guys in school who were into metal. Wrote and recorded some stuff by ourselves,put a full lineup together after that and the rest is history i suppose.

2) So what made Meza Virs do this genre of music despite it being a challenge?
Cedric: I guess it came naturally, we both liked metal with some element of melody and texture to it and we were heavily into bands like Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir, though I was and still am into much heavier and brutal stuff. Right off the bat we wanted to have a lineup incoporating keyboards and female vocals, especially since there weren't similiar bands around locally, and once we found excellent musicians in Ying and Jasmine everything just fell into place. Our stuff is a major pain in the ass to write though, compared to say straight up death metal, but i suppose we enjoy challenging/torturing ourselves.

3) Has Meza Virs ever considered doing a different genre of music?
Cedric: Not in the sense of completely switching genres, we'll always be metal, but we've always tried to incoporate all our different influences into our music. A song like "The Apocrypha", I had the initial idea to write a fast brutal death song as opposed to the mid-paced ones on the album, but with an element of melody to it as well. The electronics on "Crestfallen" are another example. I guess while this current album isn't as diverse as it could be, we'll definately be taking it to a new level on our next release.

4) Having played a show in Bangkok, tell us your experiences.
Cedric: Well it was definately a blast playing a show for the Thai metalheads and getting our music out of Singapore,making new fans and all, but it wasn't all that different than playing a local gig. The show was held in an outdoor amphitheatre with a pretty good turnout, but alot of people decided to sit down instead of coming up to the front and moshing for the bands which i found rather strange, but oh well. The sound and lighting were excellent though, definately something the local scene can learn from. Oh and the dude wearing a mexican wrestling mask,brandishing his gloved hand on fire to the bands playing, how wicked is that?

5) Being the front man of Meza Virs, what is it that you do not like in a live show?
Cedric: Poor sound i suppose, especially when we've got shit monitors and can't hear ourselves clearly or at all. Other than that, I always like some manner of crowd involvement in the form of big fuckin' mosh pits and manic headbanging so when that doesn't happen it kinda puts a downer on the show. Make yourselves heard and the bands will love you for it!

6) So what are most of your songs based on, What does the song mean lyrically?
Cedric: It varies really, love and life,human emotions,the works. "Tragic Vendetta" is about a relationship. "Release in Demise" is sorta like a twisted love song, "The Apocrypha" is about the hypocrisy of organized religion. We write about experiences in life, stuff we feel strongly about. I think the new album will include a song about lamenting the fact that my pork porridge tonight was fucking tasteless.

7) Here is a weird question, how does it feel to be interviewed by a fan of yours?
Cedric: It feels good, but not as good as your Coheed & Cambria hair. Nah, it's awesome what you guys are doing for the local scene and we're honoured to be your first featured band.

8) Has Meza Virs faced any problems, eg. Insults, Gossips, Being pulled down and talked bad about?How did Meza Virs face these problems?
Cedric: Oh sure, we used to have shit talked about us all the time back in the day, when online forums weren't as *ahem* soft and cuddly as the ones we have nowadays. Everything from "Meza virs suck", "Beng guitarist,faggot singer and pontianak",and my personal favourite "He's only in it for the girls". I'm sure it still happens today. We don't really give a shit, it's just a bunch of spineless pussies talking. It's true what they say about me though, I mean, I'm looking at the massive line of hot chicks queuing up outside of my house from here to KL and wondering if any of them could buy me a decent fuckin' pork porridge.

9) Is there anything you would like to tell the other young metal bands out there?
Cedric: Uhm, keep practising, take those fucking zoom/metalzone pedals and throw them in the rubbish, and put some soya sauce and pepper in the porridge for fuck's sake. And lemurs. Everyone should have a lemur, they're pretty metal.
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Recommended songs: Tragic Vendetta, Crest Fallen, Shadows Of Obvillion

Upcoming Meza Virs Gigs!:-
Deafcon 10,23rd Dec 2-6.30PM,DXO

Check out their Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/mezavirs
For more updates for Meza Virs in this blog,please save this post's link: http://localscenealive.blogspot.com/2008/02/mezavirs.html

Do leave comments here for Meza Virs(:

KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED FOR NEXT WEEK'S FEATURED BAND!