Side A:
Side B:
Ladies and gentlemen, The IRON MAIDEN of Southeast Asia - ROCKERS!
The name... Of this band... I don't know where to start really. Let's just skip the condescending swagger this time around and just all agree that it's a weird Weird WEIRD band name, and then we can get back to ...Iron Maiden! We all love 'em! So does... This Band as well and from love comes flattery, of which imitation is said to be a particularly prominent expression of.
...And since Iron Maiden is one of those iconic bands that you can mimic to just about any degree and people will love you all the more for it, well, you can't loose.
...And before you say "Not if you do it poorly!" - I object! If you sound like shit, Iron Maiden is not the band you are sounding like.
To be clear, the title track, "Kesedaran" and "Rayuan Syaitan" do not mimic Maiden, and while they feature plenty of exquisite twin-lead harmonies and riffing almost reaching Aria-levels of class and Iron adoration, their song structures are a bit more straight forward and do feature elements of exotic Asian uniqueness. In the superb "Perwira Bangsa", they instead incorporate elements of both European as well as US Heavy and Power Metal and do so flawlessly and with plenty of flavour. On the downside there's an awkwardness to the 2 'token rockers' "Pengalaman Hidum" and "Lagenda Rock'n'roll". Despite
their monicker, they clearly lack the proficiency to rock-it-out with style and while not bottom-of-the-Hard-Rock-barrel material they feel a bit filler'y, almost to the level of the 4 mandatory ballads (which we won't waste any bits on here..)
In conclusion: all 4 Rockers albums are worthy additions to any Classic HM collection, but it must be said that "Harakah" is probably their most laid-back release and a bit of an inbetween-album, lacking the one or two 10/10 masterpieces and thus is surpassed to some degree by the raw debut and the more powerful "Andalusia" follow-up.