There are bands you can hear getting comfortable with their own history, and then there are bands that have been around long enough to know they still have something to prove. Langsuir belong firmly in the second camp. After more than three decades of surviving lineup changes, shifting directions and the usual bullshit that comes with keeping an underground band alive, Bentara Guru and company return with ‘Fitan’, a five-track EP that sounds less interested in recreating the past than figuring out where Langsuir can go from here.
And this is not simply another round of Malay mysticism dressed up in Black Metal clothing. ‘Fitan’ digs deeper into Malay identity itself, and that difference matters. The old Eastern occult atmosphere is still somewhere in the bloodstream, but the songs are much more concerned with heritage, language and the cultural ground the band actually comes from. That gives the record a character that cannot be copied by some European band throwing a gamelan sample into an intro and calling it exotic.
The title track opens the EP without vocals, beginning with traditional sounds and the noise of battle before the guitars come crashing through. It is an unusual way to start a Langsuir release, but it works because it immediately establishes the mood instead of rushing to throw a vocal line at you. From there, ‘Iradat Kematian’ brings in new vocalist Ad Bomohymns, whose harsher barking and shrieking approach gives the band a different edge from the unmistakable low growls associated with earlier Langsuir material. It takes some adjustment, but that is exactly what makes this lineup interesting.
The guitars remain the real backbone of the record. Bentara Guru and Mirlanast bring together the abrasive Black/Death attack with those Eastern melodies that have always separated Langsuir from the average Malaysian Extreme Metal band. ‘Iradat Kematian’ even throws in a guest solo from Shah Sidious, while ‘Di Kala Geruh Menjelma’ takes things somewhere completely different, breaking up the attack with Malay poetic vocals from MonoloQue before the guitars and drums come charging back.
That track is probably the biggest indication that Langsuir aren’t afraid of fucking around with their own formula. What started life as a Grindcore-based composition has become something much more unusual, moving between sinister Black/Death Metal and traditional Malay elements without sounding like somebody desperately trying to prove how ‘ethnic’ they are.
Then comes ‘Air & Tanah’, and this is where the EP really locks into place. The guitars are sharp, rhythmic and memorable without losing their aggression, while Ad’s vocals give the song a different kind of urgency. This is the track that makes the new Langsuir lineup feel less like a replacement for an older era and more like an actual continuation with its own identity.
The closing ‘Nan Beradat Keturunan’ reaches back toward the Hellenic Black Metal influence that runs deep through the Malaysian underground, with that old Rotting Christ flavour surfacing in the riffs. It is a nice reminder that Langsuir’s roots aren’t limited to one particular strain of Metal. They’ve always absorbed different influences and somehow dragged them back into their own world.
My biggest reservation is the production. ‘Fitan’ sounds considerably cleaner and more digital than the nastier Langsuir material of the past, and while the guitars benefit from the clarity, some of the old ugliness has been polished away. Burning Twilight’s drumming in particular deserves more room, because there is plenty of violence in his playing but parts of the percussion feel buried underneath the rest of the mix.
Still, I would take this over another tired veteran release simply going through the motions. ‘Fitan’ has ideas, it has identity, and most importantly, it sounds like Langsuir are still curious about what they can do. After all these years, that is probably more important than trying to recreate whatever people remember from the old days…and Langsuir don’t need to sound like it’s 1995 again.
