Angkara — Dogma LP

Angkara
Dogma — Full-Length Album, 12" LP

 [Bollocks Records]

Northern Malaysia aggressive D-beat hardcore punk ANGKARA. Taken from 2016 full length album, Dogma. Proudly team up released by Bollocks Records (BOLL13/23LP) & Resolve Records (RSLVLP006), presenting Kedah owned D-beat heroes that put along their path with Apparatus, Skullcrusher, Braincell, Bombrad, Warfear, Distaste, Svatantrata and more. 11 tracks of ferocious distortion, d-beat, and overpowering metal punk. Pressed in 200 pcs of solid yellow vinyl. Tracks were remastered by Hazlan (Sangkar Studio) and Tom Bollocks (Jongro Studio), 2023. Dedicated to Pahrol (1985 - 2019, bassist on this recording session) — the music that will forever carry the heartbeat.

[Review from Maximum Rock N Roll. Issue MRR#502, March 2025. Reviewed by Romain Basset.]

The chance that you have heard of ANGKARA is slim indeed, unless you live in Malaysia and own a studded jacket and as well as a couple of WOLFPACK shirts. I generally dig the Southeast Asian take on Swedish hardcore and D-beat for its energy and sincerity, and I was therefore easily lured by Bollock Records’ presentation of Dogma mentioning APPARATUS, BRAINCELL, or SKULLCRUSHER. This LP is a reissue of the band’s demo originally released in 2016, in memory of the bass player Pahrol, who sadly passed in 2019. ANGKARA is not reinventing the wheel here, and would not have been out of place in the ’90s Swedish hardcore crust scene of Distortion Records. The aforementioned WOLFPACK, late CIMEX, SKITSYSTEM, or even BOMBRAID are the usual culprits, although ANGKARA’s sound is rawer and does not enjoy the same production (DIY or die, right?), but they still hit hard and the heavy käng riffs are there. It took me a couple of songs to get into the vocals though, and I would have wished for a more gruff approach, but I am being picky. A solid effort for completists, I suppose, and an all-around lovely time.

Band: Angkara
Title: Dogma
Label: Bollocks Records, Resolve Records
Format: Full-length album, LP, 12" Vinyl, Reissue, Remastered, Yellow Color
Release Date: December 2023 (Broken Noise, v/a 2016)
Genre / Style: D-Beat, Crust Punk, Hardcore Punk
Streaming Link: Bandcamp

* Price excludes postage and handling fee.