Justice

Less than a minute into "Lautan Cinta Misteri" you'll realize that 'OK, if the opening track is this good, it's already a great score and the rest can't possibly be all garbage' ...and thankfully, this time you'll be right. Unlike their more common (VERY much relatively speaking) and lightweight "Kenangan Abadi" debut from '89, this one would definitely count as a real Heavy Metal album, albeit in the still-not-awfully-heavy Melodic Metal vein. The combination of great vocals (that could be female but probably isn't) and superb guitar harmonies makes the aforementioned opener an exquisite Power/semi-Epic pearl of Steel, reminiscent of quality icons like Tröjan, Elixir, Aria, Siren etc, and even if it's probably the best song on the LP and it's pretty much all downhill from here, there's enough cool shit left to keep you on your toes. One noteworthy +1 is how there's only 3(!) ballads on the album - an amazing score as far as Mal/Sin Metal goes! Tracks like "Tangisan Bayu..", "Filosofi" and the title track are all solid representatives of the Melodic Metal-genre and carries plenty of Asian ooze & mysticism similar to countrymen Rockers. "Tanda Amaran" steps outside these boundaries some and represents the more Hard n' Heavy side of the band's repertoar, but it's still a cool track and far from belonging in the token r'n'r trash bin.

...and as the info-box at the top has already given away, this is unfortunately yet another case of a butchered promo-version (see rant) where some tracks have been left out of the official MC-only album. This time around I'd say it's ever so slightly less problematic, as there's enough cool material left on this release to warrant a want-list inclusion. Still, the absence of the punchy Metalrocker "Pendusta Aran" and the catchy, sorta kinda NWOBHM'y "Wira Terakhir" does merit some grief and gnashing of teeth :(

Once you've completed your Rockers/z and Rusty Blade-discogs, and maybe topped it off with the superior Aces-album to your Singaporian Steel-shelf, The Corroseum will deem you worthy of pursuing this rarity for your collection.