Metal maniacs

Naming one's debut album New Wave of Singaporean Heavy Metal might come across as a tad arrogant and pompous to some.

But to hard-hitting homegrown outfit Skullmania, the bold title is simply an indication of their unstoppable ambition.

"There are so many American and European bands who've done great music and flown their countries' flags high in the process. We want to do the same," said 21-year-old drummer Amin Amran, in a phone interview with LOUD.

"Metal hasn't really been prominent in Singapore over the last few years... Hopefully, with our new original material, we can bring metal back into Singapore.

"It'd be great if we can create an army of fans - our Skullmanians!"

Skullmania, which also includes frontman-rhythm guitarist Nathan Ngeow, lead guitarist Jayme Lim and bassist Zamir Rosli, all 21, are throwing a gig and party this Saturday to celebrate the launch of their EP of five self-composed tracks.

Other local acts such as death metallers Zaganoth and classic rock band Suicide Solution will also perform then.

To Amin, a full-time national serviceman, "New Wave of Singaporean Heavy Metal" also represents the young energetic quartet's reluctance to be pigeonholed into a specific metal sub-genre.

"If you listen to our stuff, you'll realise that we are pretty unclassifiable," he said. "Our influences are extremely diverse, from thrash legends Metallica to modern metalcore acts such as Trivium."

And do not misconstrue the inclusion of "Singaporean" in the album's title as overt patriotism.

"Not that we don't love Singapore, but I think it's only natural that we don't necessarily like everything we see," explained Amin.

Skullmania was formed in 2008 byAmin and Ngeow, who have beenfirm friends and schoolmates since 13.

"We met Zahir at a gig and Jayme was our CCA sports group mate at Republic Polytechnic," said Amin.

The four boys started jamming actively and soon, a common desire to make powerful, headbanging music grew.

Ngeow and Zahir are also serving their national service, while Lim will enlist in June.

They poured nearly $5,000 of their savings into the album production and managed to secure the sponsorship of merchandise company T-JUNKtion for their band T-shirts.

When asked about the group's biggest strength, Amin said: "We are not afraid of change and we aren't the stubborn types who refuse to change our sound.

"In the future, our songs might sound totally different from our songs today."

Additional reporting by Tay Shijie

FYI

What: Skullmania 'New Wave of Singaporean Heavy Metal' EP Launch Party

Where: Hood Bar and Cafe

When: Saturday, 3pm

Tickets: $10 at the door

This article was first published in The New Paper.