Raspatul wants to swim to Holland



RASPATUL was formed in the late 90’s with Calvin on guitars, Hisham ’Black’ on bass, Fadzlly on drums and Ibrahim on vocals. With influences ranging from black to death to thrash, they have come to settle down with a concept of death / thrash in the veins of The Crown, Kreator, Carcass, Terror Squad and many more. Coming from different musical tastes, RASPATUL looked upon a Malaysian band from Ipoh, Sil-Khannaz as their main inspiration in songwriting. And from Malaysia, they have been offered to be featured in ’Storm Of Nebiula 2002’, which was released during early 2002. Together with bands like Vociferation Eternity, Mesmerized, Mantak, Pyron, Damien and also As-sahar. Before their offerings to Nebiula’s compilation, one of their songs has been featured in a local underground compilation called ’Children Of The Damned’ featuring bands of different genres such as Deviant, Bunuh, Meltgsnow, Vrykolakas, Steel Glory, and Dethmute. From reviews that RASPATUL has received, it motivates them to release an EP which will see the light of darkness very soon. It is most likely entitled ’Menghitung Ajal’, which means ’Counting Death’. Hopefully the release of the EP will further enhance their confidence and bring the band to a new level and also to make a mark in the underground scene.

interview with Calvin on 16-02-2003

Please give us a short introduction of yourself?
Hello to all the Metalheads in Holland and everywhere! This is Calvin here to answer all these interesting and weird questions!! First of all, thanxs very much to Twan Sibon of BRUTALISM zine for the review and also very honored to be interview by BRUTALISM zine!!!! My job is to play guitar for RASPATUL and it's the most fucked up job in the world!! Because I don't get paid for it! Hahahaha! But I was sent by Lord Satan to play with RASPATUL so I got no choice!!

What is the mental state of the other 3 guys?
The 3 of them are actually mentally retarded!! Hahaha! All of them are currently residing in a mental hospital now and sometimes they escape from the hospital to jam.. ok seriously, my drummer Fadzlly is currently serving the army and still a fucking long way to go before he comes out from the army. Vocalist Ayim is now studying and working at the same time; he is currently working as a librarian, very 'unmetal' job! My bassist Hisham 'Black' is also serving the country as a policeman and so far he has gunned down 25 people. He is very dangerous so beware of him!

Where did you get the bandname from? Sounds like a person from a fairytale.
We bought the bandname from a supermarket, it only cost us $16.99 after a great discount! Worth it eh? Hahaha! But actually we don't even have an idea what it stands for! But we can tell you roughly in our own words. The moniker was given by a local sound engineer Leonard Soosay who happens to be a long time friend of the band. It has no definite meaning in general, personally it stands for unity amongst disorder, devils in renewed birth! It is also sacred to us as it has brought us to where we are now!

So what brought you in the metal world? Do you remember your first metal song?
To tell you the truth, I was influenced by no one to listen to metal music! I just ventured in Metal music on my own.. there was absolutely no one who listens to Metal music back then. I started listening to Metal back in 1993 and it certainly has been a long ride for me! Back then, I mostly bought cassettes as it was more affordable then, I bought tons of cassettes, mostly Death Metal ones. I was experimenting with many bands, there were so many good and bad bands that I have listened to and it was definitely an experience for me to learn. My first Metal song? Well, it wasn't exactly a metal song though... it was grind gods Napalm Death's 'Utopia Banished' and I was totally freaked out by it!! I did not know music could be played that way! After that I bought Morbid Angel's 'Altars of Madness' and the rest is history. It's Metal music for me until now.

How proud are you when you receive your personal BRUTALISM shirt?
Damn proud to own a BRUTALISM t-shirt!! I buy it because I want to look sexy for RASPATUL's next coming gig! I will be sure to send Twan a picture of me wearing the BRUTALISM t-shirt so that he can masturbate at the same time!! Hahahaha!

How easy was it to get metal music in your country when you start listening? Did it become easier nowadays with the internet?
Oh, it was quite easy because there are always some shops, which brings in rare and hard to find Metal cds and cassettes. But it's not cheap though! Right now, over in my country, a Metal cd will cost about Singapore 30 dollars, which is about US$18 to US$20?? I don't know about the conversion now. Collecting Metal cds is definitely an expensive hobby! It has became so much easier now that downloads are mostly available at band's website if you wanna check their music out. The internet is definitely a powerful tool for underground bands that wanna spread their bandname to all over the world. Without the internet, I wouldn't have been in contact with BRUTALISM zine! Isn't that powerful enough? Ok advertisement time boys and girls : please check out RASPATUL reviews, interviews and there is also a RASPATUL song to download to check us out! It's a local webzine called Metal Vault and the URL address is : www.metaltronic.com thanxs so much for the support!!

Does your government put some censorship on metal music? Do they allow it easily? Do they check your mail? Prohibited some artwork etc?
I don't think so, because so far until now, I have seen so many Metal cds that are very underground and hard to find. I think this censorship thing is just bullshit, or maybe just a term only. I just went to a local Metal shop just now and I found an old Cannibal Corpse album 'Tomb of the Mutilated', and the cover is the original version and not the censored version. Check my mail? You mean mail or email? They do have some sort of a scan of your mail though, if they found out that it's a videotape, they will have to send it to the board of censorship to see if there are any sexual or gory content and after that, you will be required to pay a fee, which is totally fucked up!

Do you involve the political situation in your lyrics? If so, think it will help to get a better situation or understanding from other countries?
No we do not involve any political lyrics in our songs because we are not really interested in political stuff, we feel that we are just musicians who just wanna play music and enjoy what we play! I guess this is really a very simple answer but this is the truth for RASPATUL! I don't think having political lyrics in our music will help shape the world problems in any way, because we are just an underground band that people will not even bother to notice us!

Is your government checking this intie to see if you tell something wrong about them?
Yes! The prime minister is just sitting by my side and he think BRUTALISM zine is an awesome zine!! He has given me the green light to talk some fuck shit about the government! Hahaha! Nah, I don't think they would be checking each and ever one of our computers? They are too fucking lazy to do that!!!

Why are you the only one with no typical aziatic first name? Or are you named after Calvin Klein?
Errmm.. what is 'aziatic' by the way? I don't have no idea! Calvin Klein used to be my grandfather but I disowned him! But I guess what you are trying to ask is why my name is different from them? Well, that's because I am not a human being. Hahaha! well, I am actually a Chinese, and it's very rare to see Chinese people playing or liking Metal music in my country. Majority of the guys who play Metal music, or should I say play music are Malays. I feel that Malays seem to have more 'feel' to play music, they have more groove and definitely more musically incline. The majority of the Chinese here are all commercial fucks and they like to listen to music that is played on radio. Their lifestyles are pretty odd to me also, or I think I am the odd one here? They enjoy going to discos and play billiards a lot, which is something I am not totally into at all! I don't see the point of doing all these useless activities. Well, maybe I am just a weirdo!

Did you ever visit another country? Do you have some places you would like to visit? What does you attract in other countries?
Yeah the most common country is Malaysia, which is so fucking near to Singapore, most of the time we like to go there to eat and do some shopping, that's about it. I have been to Thailand once when I was very young, but it's such a waste because there was so many things that I didn't know and also cannot do over at Thailand, if you know what I mean! I would definitely wanna go to Sweden if there is a chance!! Fuck, I love so many Swedish Death Thrash bands over at Sweden and it would be a fucking dream come true for me! I would like to go to Holland too if Twan sponsors the trip! Hahaha! I definitely like places, which are a big contrast from Singapore. Singapore is such a fucking hot and humid country and I hate to sweat on a hot day! I prefer cold countries, which will surely make my day a lot more happier! So please Twan, can you sponsor me a trip to Holland? Hahaha! (Sure, I will send you a swimming suit tomorrow. Twan) Did you learn something in school about western life? Do you know some things about The Netherlands in particular?
We learnt that western food sucks in my school! Hahaha! our school don't really teach much about western lifestyle to us, because what the schools are teaching us are mostly on how to be academically better rather than learning a lifestyle. I only know 3 things about The Netherlands, the national flower is tulips ( hope I am not wrong! ), drugs are a common sight there and Sinister fucking rules!!!

Is there something you wanna know about my country?
Hell yes!! I wanna know tons about Holland!! Mostly about the scene there, what kind of Metal is taking over now? Does your country have Metalfests very often? Please give me a few awesome band contacts from Holland so that I can check them out and correspond with them? How is the weather over at Holland? Are the girls there beautiful?? You can forget about the rest of the answers, you just have to answer the last question! Hahaha! (As a honest guy I will answer all your questions, even the ones you don't wanna hear, haha. The scene is strong with a lot of good bands and lot of places to play. The most well known fest is the Dynamo one. Too many bands to tell in this intie about writing to. The weather is hot, rainy, snowy, foggy, cloudy etc. A lot of different ones. And now the last answer you are waiting for the most. The girls are like the rest of the world. Half of them you can give an one way ticket to the moon and the other half just wanna **** all day long. Twan)

What do you eat when watching your favorite sport? What is your favorite sport? Practice anything yourself?
I would like to eat my brother up because he is always trying to change channel whenever I wanna watch wrestling. Fuck! I don't really enjoying watching any real sports now, although I used to be a soccer freak when I was in school. I have given up all kinds of sports, I just play and listen to Metal as my full time hobby now. What a no-life bastard I am!! If wrestling is considered as a sport, then you can call me a wrestler! Hahaha! I used to play soccer about 2 to 3 times a week when I was in school and a bunch of my friends in school are soccer fanatics! Now I only practice music.

Do you think sport can bring friendship or angriness? Will the Olympics change something on global brotherhood?
What a 'sporty' question! Damn, this is a hard question! Well, it definitely will bring friendship but also will have some enemies along the way. Not only that, it will help you develop a sense of sportsmanship also. I don't think I can answer this question very well because I am no longer involve in any sports now!

Metal is a lifestyle because......?
Metal is a lifestyle because we are the ones who have survive all kinds of crap music happening around the world and despite of all the trendy music around, Metal music has been strong and trendless but yet at the same time, it is a movement that has stood the test of time. It is certainly a lifestyle for RASPATUL because what we do basically and most of the time is just Metal music, we cannot live without Metal music and for me, I talk and relate myself to Metal music everyday. For me, Metal is not only a life style, it has become my life.

What is the meaning of your artwork on your EP? What kind of symbol or drawing is it?
The symbols represents that we are the sex symbols of the underground metal scene! Hahaha! Well, actually, as you can see in our cover artwork, there are like thorns inside the sphere? The thorns represents us, the sphere represents the earth and it's cracked due to the fact that evil is overpowering the good in man, the chains you see inside the sphere are Death itself!! My vocalist Ayim designed this artwork and I just edited some stuff using Photoshop. We did everything ourselves as this cover is just used for promotional purposes only. Maybe if you take a look carefully, it kind of has some similarities between Morbid Angel 'Altars of Madness' cover and Carcass 'Heartwork' cover, we just realized that recently!

What are your favorite album covers? Do you collect images or photos from your favorite bands? Do you visit Rotten.com a lot?
A few of my favorite album covers are : Morbid Angel 'Altars of Madness', Arch Enemy 'Wages of Sin', Dream Theater 'Images and Words', Cannibal Corpse 'Butchered at Birth' and 'Tomb of the Mutilated' and Carcass 'Heartwork' album is pretty unique also. Yeah I do collect some photos from my favorite bands but my favorite is to collect photos of pornstars and pornographic images! Tera Patrick is so fucking hot! Please go and check her out! As for Rotten.com, I do visit the website once in a while, but not too often as I prefer to visit porn websites better!! I love to see beautiful and sexy images!

So how long did it take to fill this intie?
Surprisingly, it didn't take me that long to fill up this intie as normally we would try to make our interviews as long and as detailed as possible.. but because Twan questions are rather different and unique from the rest of the interviews that RASPATUL had, so I decided to answer the questions in a less serious manner! But it doesn't mean we are not serious in our music, in fact we are very disciplined when it comes to our music.

Last rites?
Thanxs so much once again to Twan of BRUTALISM zine for interviewing us! Hope I will look sexy when I receive my BRUTALISM t-shirt! Any labels, zines and bands who wish to check RASPATUL out, just email us at : raspatul@hotmail.com or email Calvin at : war_lord21@hotmail.com we are now still in the process of promoting our 5 song MCD so please email us! There will be a sure reply from us, if not you will receive 1000 copies of RASPATUL cds for free! Haha!
Band:
Interviewer: twansibon
Feb 16, 2003

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