As Sahar Bio

As Sahar started out as a Thrash Metal band during the golden era of 80's. To be exact, 3 souls - Barchiel (guitar/vocals), Hanael (bass) & Uriel (drums) initiated the move for the band in December 1987 as they were really moved by the intense & aggressive music.

Early jam sessions were content to playing covers of their idols - Venom, Metallica, Hallows Eve, Fantom Warrior, Mercyful Fate & Postmortem. Due to unforeseen circumstances, it took As Sahar till the end of 1993 to ever record their materials. By then, Metal with avant-garde elements had stormed the scene, which inevitably changes their musical tastes as well. The 2 releases As Sahar produced in 1993: -"2 track promo-tape" & the "Primitively Eastern Winds" demo were actually the band's earlier thrashy songwriting's but added with atmospherical/ambient essences.

The fact that both releses received overwhelming & positive responses (minus the poor sound quality..of course) was a motivation for Barchiel, Hanael & Uriel to go further with their capabilities.

As Sahar then undergone a 2-year period of 'meditation' to find their own identity & what came out through their "Santau" demo in 1995 was evident of this. As Sahar became the pioneer of Eastern Black Metal - melodically & atmospheric Black Metal combined with traditional Archipelago influences. Also, lyrically, As Sahar dig into the aspects of mysticism & magickal practices within various Malay ethnic groups. "Santau" was then licensed by Nebiula Productions for wider distribution in Malaysia in cassette EP format with a new title "Meditasi Embun Pagi". Total sales of 4000 units of that EP raised As Sahar's status as an elite force in regional Metal scene.

Uriel soon left after the EP release & Iblyss who's got experince drumming for Abhorer & Impiety filled up that vacant slot. With Iblyss, As Sahar went on to be active in gigs around Malaysia & recorded songs for a few compilations as well. Their toughest period was the recordings of their first ever full-length album "Phenomistik" in 1996. The album, which was subsequently released in early 1997 under Nebiula Productions again, gained great response. Their brand of Malay-oriented Black Metal is highly regarded & they gained more fans that are fanatically obsessed by their cult art.

"Phenomistik" went on to hit the band's target sales of more than their "Meditasi..." EP. As Sahar's next project was a split album with Ipoh's uprising Silverian arts revelation - Hayagriva. Since both bands are tied with different labels, a 'neutral' label - Memories Records was chosen for that release entitled "Beyond Firmament". That's the latest material out in the market for the moment.

As Sahar, then underwent drastic changes in their musical styles & identity. This was evident enough in their latest track "Senandung Suralaya" recorded especially for the compilation Storm Of Nebiula II. Gone were their aggressive music, image & identity....Also gone from the line-up is Iblyss for some personal reasons. The As Sahar of today is only Hanael & Barchiel plus few other sessionists that experimented with musical variations that they listened to. The result is a new-age-like Metal a new music which As Sahar themselves called "E-Lust:Ronika Gothrock". That is something which they have high hopes for - bringing a wider dimension Metal into the next millinium. At present, As Sahar are busy preparing for their next album release entitled "Baku Karama" which will once again be a testing period whether their presently planted experimentation would bear its fruits.