Growl Power: Regime holds a vocal chokehold on the competition

For us ladies, it is just cool to be in a band, whatever the instrument. But it is beyond cool if we are in a band that plays a male-dominated genre of music–like say, metal. Which makes Petung, the vocalist who growls for Malaysian metal hardcore band Regime, incredibly cool. A coolness that is doubled by her lack of regret, and her cute features. “Seriously, blame it on my father,” she explains regarding her love for the genre. “He used to listen to Black Sabbath a lot when I was still a child, so it was kind of an influence to me in terms of music.”

As the new vocalist of Regime, Petung forms the frontline of a band consisting of guitarists Ajis and Bob, bassist Hafizi and drummer Ad. “It is very hard to find a girl who can growl like a chap because most of the girls out there are able to scream but not growl,” says Ad. “So when we saw her growling, we immediately knew that she was the one.”

Petung herself is not unfamiliar to this style of singing, having been in two hardcore bands previously. Yet she manages any perceived gender bias within the underground scene with ease. “Surprisingly, [other bands] are very supportive and they always give me advice,” she says. “But I also can’t deny that I still get stupid comments from the sexists out there when I perform. But who cares?”

The boys first formed in 2006 with a goal of fighting for the local metal scene. Their influences range from American metalcore act August Burns Red to Malaysia’s legendary P Ramlee, and their riff-heavy songs combine everyday experiences with a general disappointment over the state of the world (eg. capitalism, discrimination, racism, sexism).

Over the last two years, Regime has released an EP, Malaysian Dreams, and played in numerous gigs alongside various local and international acts. Last year they organised Girl Fest ‘08, aimed at fighting discrimination against women, and jammed together with acts like America’s 97-Shiki, Singapore’s Bloody Rejects and My Precious, and The Philippines’ Choke Cocoi.

Already, material is being prepped for an upcoming first album, hopefully due out this year. And for Petung, it is merely the beginning of what she hopes will be a fruitful journey. “The most important thing is that I have support from the scene and also from my family,” she says. “[My family] were [initially] totally against it when they found out that I got involved in metal music. But as time went on and the band progressed, they started to accept it. Now they totally support me, especially when I show them magazines that feature Regime.”

Words Ellyn Photo Regime

www.myspace.com/rejimx

*Taken from JUNK's March 2009 issue