Venturing over to the far east, we encounter the Singaporean band ABHORER. The Singaporean scene is a fairly prolific one, with other bands like Impiety, Rudra, and As-Sahar emerging in the late 1980s and early 1990s (more on those bands at a later time).
From Abhorer's 1989 demo Rumpus of the Undead, this is "Profane Immolation"
Forming as Tombcrusher in 1987, they changed their name to Abhorer the following year. By 1989, they had put out their first demo, the cult Rumpus of the Undead. Abhorer always claimed old Sarcofago as their main influence, and you can hear it the brutal, raw black-death on that demo! Following the release of Rumpus, the underground began to pay attention to Abhorer (and Singapore) like never before. Their demo was released as a split with Japan's Necrophile, and then they worked on new material, resulting in the 7" Upheaval of Blasphemy.
From Upheaval of Blasphemy, here is "Abandonment of Chastity"
This 7-inch was released in 1993, and Abhorer's underground infamy only grew. They began to perform shows around Asia, but like many bands, had problems with governments' attitudes toward their style of extreme music. Much like the Scandinavian bands (especially the Norwegians) can be seen to be rebelling against the fake Christian facade of their culture, Singaporean extreme bands like Abhorer can be seen to be rebelling against the tightly-controlled, overly-regulated, anti-individualistic society in which they live. Claiming to be individualistic Satanists, members of Abhorer hold to the famous creed: "Do what thou wilt is the whole of the law."
Off of their one full-length album, this is "Hymeneal Altar of Messianic Salacitation"
In 1995, Abhorer re-entered the studio and recorded what would become their one full-length album: Zygotical Sabbatory Anabapt. It was a continuation of the brutal old-school style that clearly paid an homage to bands like Sarcofago and Blasphemy. At the same time, one can hear how this insanely raw sound has influenced bands up to this day, especially southeastern Asian bands like Thailand's Zygoatsis.
Sadly, Abhorer broke up in 1997. It seemed they were unhappy with the state of metal in general and frustrated with the repressive attitudes toward extreme music that Singaporean authorities had. There was a compilation called Unholy Blasphemer released in 2004, but it is a bootleg and fraudulently claims to be an Abhorer release---it is not. Both Shivarage Music and Hell's Headbanger's Records have re-released Abhorer's material.
Select Discography:
Rumpus of the Undead (demo) (1989)
Upheaval of Blasphemy EP (1993)
Zygotical Sabatory Anabapt (full-length) (1996)
Next time: SINOATH
