Sil Khannaz

Biography

Way back in 1987 while the country was swept away by the rock-wave, three cousins -- Jaie, CD and Din -- found themselves sharing the same interest in a local black metal ancestor, Blackfire. Inspired by the now-defunct Blackfire, the boys roped in a buddy, Che Mat, and formed Sil Khannaz with Jaie on vocals, CD on guitar, Din on bass and Che Mat on drums. Since the music scene in Perlis Indera Khayangan was not conducive to their future as a death metal band, Sil Khannaz moved to Kuala Lumpur,...

Way back in 1987 while the country was swept away by the rock-wave, three cousins -- Jaie, CD and Din -- found themselves sharing the same interest in a local black metal ancestor, Blackfire. Inspired by the now-defunct Blackfire, the boys roped in a buddy, Che Mat, and formed Sil Khannaz with Jaie on vocals, CD on guitar, Din on bass and Che Mat on drums. Since the music scene in Perlis Indera Khayangan was not conducive to their future as a death metal band, Sil Khannaz moved to Kuala Lumpur, hoping to strike it big. They went through a bit of a shake-up when Che Mat did not agree with the move and left. But the remaining members of the band did not lose hope.

Kuala Lumpur indeed gave the group a bit more space to move and more opportunities to expand their musical talent. They managed to secure some small gigs at clubs in the city but the big score still eluded them. In July 1990, Sil Khannaz recorded their demo 'Doctrine To Hell'. The album had shades of black metal influences but unfortunately the demo did not do well on the market. It did however manage to arouse interest in some people. In 1991, the band was offered the chance to do a death metal compilation album with Brain Dead, Silent Death, Picagari and Suffercation but the project never got underway. Sil Khannaz was undaunted in any case and kept honing their musical skill and playing at clubs.

During their club stint, they met Tom, a bassist, and Lan, a drummer (from Infectious Maggots), and persuaded them to join the band. In July 1992, Sil Khannaz recorded their second demo -- 'Assassin Led By Blasphemy'. Their music progressed with better arrangements and production. 'Assassin Led By Blasphemy' marked the birth of the true Sil Khannaz sound and helped the band shrug off the black metal tag. In the demo, they experimented with original compositions that reflected a mixture of western aggression and eastern moods. The demo was well received and record label VSP Malaysia signed Sil Khannaz as their recording artist. But just as the band seemed to be knocking on the right doors, Din had to leave. Joe Slaughter (Infernal Death) was recruited to replace him. The band's mass-market debut album 'Conception Of Madness' was released in February 1993. It drew some positive reviews and the CD sold 20,000 units. This drove the band on and in 1994, Sil Khannaz released a self-financed album 'Pendita Gila EP' with Nebiula Productions.

However, Tom and Joe had to leave the band not long after while Lan struggled with his commitments to Infectious Maggots. Replacements were sought for Tom and Joe while Lan left his former group for good to concentrate on Sil Khannaz's next album. By then, Hashim Pestilence and Dark E had become part of Sil Khannaz. 'Gerbang Kayangan' was recorded in 1997 and sold 22,000 units. The album is unique in that it featured classical Malay and tales and legends from long ago. After series of mini tours, Sil Khannaz recorded the live album, 'Stronger Than Before', on the Malaysian National Day, August 31, 1998.

A year later, their digitally re-mastered album, 'Conception Of Madness' was re-issued with three bonus tracks.

Discography: Conception Of Madness (1992), Pendita Gila (1994), Gerbang Kayangan (1997), Stronger Than Before (Live) (1997), Purnama 13 (1999), Conception Of Madness (re-issue) (1999), Bara Pawaka (2000), Darah Muda (2003) and Berdiri Antara Panji-Panji (2006).

Current Line Up:
Jaie - Vocals
Adjeez - Drums
Dark E - Guitars
Hashim - Bass
Azroy - Guitars Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.