In March, 2012, Bandung-based heavy-metal-slash-hard-rock-band Komunal uploaded a video trailer on its YouTube channel for its then-coming third studio album, Gemuruh Musik Pertiwi. It did not bother to edit the video title for the trailer, leaving the file format, “flv”, dangling untrimmed at the end. 

The teaser, which featured time-lapse clips of the band setting up its recording equipment in a studio and Riandy Karuniawan (Bandung-based visual artist) working on the album’s cover artwork, left a lingering thought for many long-time listeners. Komunal’s sound was different; it was murkier yet less overdriven. 

The changes became more apparent after the album’s release; the band was going in a different direction.

A decade later, in March, Komunal released a mini album consisting of two songs, “Komando Badai Api” (Fire Storm Commando) and “Keras Menyambar” (Pouncing Hard). Released by Disaster Records, the record-label division of Bandung clothing-powerhouse Maternal Disaster, the band, again, took another direction for its sound, albeit rather familiar this time. 

Its signature abrasiveness came back.

On to the fourth: Komunal — consists of Anwar Sadat (left), Harry Reza (second left), Doddy Hamson (center) and Arief Snik (right) — are set to release their fourth studio album and embark on an independent tour. (Courtesy of Aldy Bibier) (Courtesy of Aldy Bibier/Courtesy of Aldy Bibier)

The mini album

“We don’t have any burden, no target and not a lot of desire. Our desire is to simply just play in a band,” said Doddy Hamson, the band’s vocalist, to The Jakarta Post at Funhouse Studio in Bandung, West Java, on June 18. 

The band was waiting for its rehearsal shift along with its recording engineer and coproducer, Edo Djatmika. “Us being here now, for me, it’s an achievement,” Doddy continued. 

“We make things however we want them to be. It’s always different,” Anwar Sadat, the only guitarist of the band, added, emphasising the band’s experimental side.

Komunal is set to release its fourth studio album in the near future. While the album itself is still yet-to-be-titled, the band had finished the recording process back in 2020.

“We finished recording in July 2020 […] Or was it August?” said Doddy, as he looked toward Sadat. “I forgot, but it was around that time, lah. After I got laid off,” Sadat leaned back into his seat.

The mini album, however, was not, in any way, part of their coming studio album. It was something that they came up with afterward. “The [coming] album’s direction is very different compared to the mini album,” said Doddy.

“We were not sure whether to start the mixing process or not, as we didn’t know when it would be released, with the pandemic still going strong at that time. Then we decided to do a mini album. At least Komunal was releasing something,” Doddy raspily chuckled. 

“So we started recording again,” said Sadat. 

“We didn’t plan any of it. We initially wanted to take one song from the album but then we thought we might as well record new ones,” Harry Reza, the drummer of the band, continued.

Doddy noted that both “Komando Badai Api” and “Keras Menyambar” were written within a day of rehearsal. “We all understand each other, we know what each of us want, so it’s relatively easy to get the ball rolling.”

'God(s) of Thunder': Komunal during their showcase at the now-closed community space Spasial in Bandung. (Courtesy of Hermandja) (Courtesy of Hermandja/Courtesy of Hermandja)

Jamming its way through

The band took a similar approach for the studio album’s recording process. It entered the studio without any prior idea or materials and left everything in the hands of the personnel’s chemistry. 

“We worked on 90 percent of the album by jamming in the studio. Sadat didn’t bring any concepts. No idea, not even riffs,” Doddy commented. 

“We made [the songs] really quick during rehearsals, then recorded a demo,” said Sadat before he started humming, imitating the process of recording a demo. 

“Then we listened [to the demo], looked for what we might be missing. Then recorded the real thing, if the demo felt right.”

“We were surprised by what we recorded,” Doddy claimed. “It’s different. A bit of a compendium of everything we did in Panorama, Hitam Semesta and Gemuruh Musik Pertiwi.”

“We listened to a lot of things, not just metal. I listened to a lot of Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran songs […] and The Cure, too. Sometimes I have this thought of ‘oh, hey, this part would be cool if it goes faster’,” said Sadat.

“Yeah. We’re very open to listening to all kinds of things. For example, a couple of Panorama’s song titles were taken from Indonesian pop songs. I took ‘Dalam Kerinduan’’s [In Longing] title directly from The Mercy’s, and ‘Demi Kau dan Semua Mati’ [For You and Everything is Dead] from Pance Pondaag’s ‘Demi Kau dan Si Buah Hati’ [For You and the Child].”

The collaging poet

Mostly, Komunal’s lyrics and titles come across as formal and yet outré at the same time -- it gives off an air of longed-for grandiosity in Indonesian language but sounded strangely novel. 

“I was actually not aware of [the words that I use for the lyrics]. I usually gather words without considering their meaning, but I need to be able to match them up so that they sound right when I sing,” said Doddy, as the band’s sole lyricist up until their third studio album. 

His approach in writing lyrics is reminiscent of that of collage techniques, but applied in the context of lyrics instead of visuals.

A lot of new approaches are being tested in the making of their coming album. Doddy noted as well that his creative process of writing lyrics, this time, involved the other members too. 

“As simple as writing words on a sheet of paper -- then I ask Sadat or Ai [Harry Reza’s nickname] to fill in the blanks.” 

There are four songs, out of the 10 songs that are to be included in the studio album, that were written this way.

“People often interpret it differently,” Sadat said, referring to Komunal’s lyrics. 

“Because I usually give the meaning to the lyrics and the songs after I finished arranging the words, [the lyrics] somehow became multi-interpretative,” Doddy continued. “But it’s not a bad thing.”

Rival schools: Sadat (top left) and Doddy (right) were in rival bands during their highschool times. The memory is to be highlighted in their coming studio album. (Courtesy of Aldy Bibier) (Courtesy of Aldy Bibier/Courtesy of Aldy Bibier)

The ‘Old Man’

Their latest songs were subject to the same phenomenon as well. 

“Do you know Tiger Wong?” Doddy asked. He was referring to the obscenely violent comic book authored by Hong Kong manhua artist Tony Wong. 

Initially titled Little Rascals, Oriental Heroes and its spinoffs gained a cult following in Indonesia in the early ‘90s. 

“‘Komando Badai Api’ is actually about a character in the comics. He’s an ambiguous figure who doesn’t care about what’s right or wrong.”

“Are you talking about Gembong Tengkorak?” Sadat asked.

“No, in the Indonesian version of the comic, he was referred to as ‘Old Man’,” Doddy replied.

“People think that the song is about a criminal,” said Sadat.

“Well, in a way, he is,” Doddy replied.

“He was so powerful, everyone in the comic died from facing off with him -- even Tiger Wong, the main character. The story didn’t end there, but the later editions did not make it to Indonesia so I stopped reading there,” Doddy said. “Even Buddha was challenged by the Old Man, in the comics,” he chuckled. 

Doddy then started discussing a theory of how the Old Man in the comic is a quantum-leaping entity that is able to traverse between Tony Wong’s comic universes.

“Hukum saja dibakar, apalagi diri kau [he burns even the law, let alone yourself]”, said Doddy, reciting the lyrics to “Komando Badai Api”. 

“The law does not apply to him.”