Metal bands have always been among the most enthusiastic international DIY touring outfits coming through this part of the world – the fierce tribalism and commitment to sharing their music is rather inspiring. A notable surge in metal Cambodia this year has been the band After God, something of a local supergroup with members of Reign in Slumber, Doch Chkae and As The Heart Betrays – they are heading over this weekend for shows in Bangkok and Siem Reap, winding up next Wednesday at Cloud in Phnom Penh. Bandleader Alain Ou sat down with LengPleng to talk metal in Cambodia and the excitement of touring.
“This is the first tour for After God – I’ve toured before with Reign in Slumber. Having a tour is a good chance to show off what we have here in Cambodia as far as a metal scene. People always ask: how many heavy bands are there in Cambodia? I tell them: three or four, it’s a small scene. So we have to push as much as we can. It’s small but it’s very strong.”
What’s different about After God? “We’re trying to be experimental in our music, blending the tastes of each member. The guitarist Mourin Terry is more rock’n’roll, bassist Vichey Sok – who plays guitar in Doch Chkae but wanted some bass experience – tends to be a bit heavier, and then I’m on drums and screaming. We are trying to combine our metal sound with Khmer music and culture, an explicitly Cambodian version of metal. On our recent EP, Inside the 6ix, recorded at Cloud Studio, we used traditional Khmer instruments, and in the future we hope to find more traditional musicians who would like to collaborate with us. You can listen at Bandcamp and YouTube, and we have a music video on Facebook.”
Photo: supplied
Do you feel what you are doing will encourage others who might like to do this but think there is no chance to play metal in this country? “We want to inspire the new generation – maybe they want to hear or to play this kind of music but they don’t know how to get started. We are always happy to see more bands, the scene getting larger. But still it’s rare.”
So what is the touring schedule? “Chihiro Amatsu of Atlantis metal bar in Siem Reap helped us put this together through her contacts in Thailand. In Bangkok we play at The Rock Pub on Thursday 1 August and Immortal Bar on Friday 2 August, then Atlantis in Siem Reap on Monday 5 and ending at Cloud on Wednesday 7. All of us are excited to play this tour. We will be happy to do more touring if we can find more venues that want to support us. Even without good budgets, we are happy to spread our music around the world where we can.”
In Phnom Penh, where is your audience coming from – is it young Khmer people, or primarily barang? “The musicians are friends, and the audience is made up of their friends, and then gradually the friends of friends, and so on. For the barang it’s similar – but also people who are travelling who are seeking out metal shows. I met a few people who have come to a show because they’ve seen a poster – never thinking there could possibly be metal in Cambodia. Cloud has become the real home of metal music in Phnom Penh. Most of the metal heads hang out there, and we try to put on more of those kind of shows. There’s only a few venues that will put on this style – Oscar’s on the Corner, Show Box back in the day. Also Hometown Hangout are starting to put on some louder shows.”
Here’s wishing After God good luck and safe and loud travels.
