As progressive death metal outfit Dezember celebrate their 12th anniversary this Saturday with the "Still Alive: Death's Not Dead" concert at Studio 125, they'll be pondering the irony of feting their survival with their first ever major show.

"It seems unbelievable but it's true. We've never headlined a concert before," says the band's frontman, the dreadlocked Siam "Ton" Choomthong.

"Fortunately, time has given us the chance to prove ourselves."

"We usually just play two or three numbers. For this show, we'll be playing more than 20 tracks dating back to our debut album 'Lathi Satan' in 1994, through to the latest, last year's 'Naturalism'," he says, adding that he and his band mates are busy dusting off their old songs.

Being promoted by 10,000 posters and 5,000 handbills at Chatuchak Weekend Market, Siam Square, RCA, Ratchadaphisek, and Khao San Road, the mega concert runs from 3 to 11pm and features nine rookie acts, Retrospec, Oblivious, Tazzmanian, Brand New Sunset, Kluay Thai, Outro, Quake, Mayteria and the Hard Set.

Pathompong "Pong" Sombatpibul, vocalist with Stone Metal Fire, will also be making a guest appearance.

"Dezember is an inspiration to these new generation bands and Phi Pong is an inspiration to us. We have followed his music since the O-Larn Project's 'Kumpapan 2528' [February 1985] album," says Siam.

"He'll be singing covers of his favourite foreign artists' songs."

Siam says Dezember, which also features vocalist Norathep "Off" Chinda-mart, Naphol "Czech" Yenchaem on bass and drummer Ratn Kobayashi, has survived because of its strong identity.

"To us, music is an art we can express our sense of self through. We've also evolved over the years, blending in other genres such as jazz.

"Twelve years ago, we'd get up on stage and pay less attention to the sound, and go for the entertainment factor instead. We were distinguishable from others of that time, but today we're much tighter."

Dezember also has a reputation for playing its own songs rather than choosing to pound through covers by such foreign artists as Sepultura and Pantera.

Siam nods. "It was a problem at first as fans tended to prefer the covers so most bands would only slip in one or two of their own numbers during a set.

"I really hated it when audiences paid no attention to locally written songs. I guess it pushed me to work harder on coming up with numbers that they'd like."

The iconic band Metallica has inspired many younger metal outfits all over the world. Did their music also influence Dezember?

"Oh yes! Metallica are the ancestors of metal music. I used to listen all the time to James Hetfield's guitar chords and the band's speedy rhythms. You can hear their influence on our first album. They're amazing!"

Siam has come under heavy criticism twice for being unfaithful to death metal.

The first time was when he launched a side project, a commercial rock band called Xanax; the second, when Dezember switched from underground labels to music company Sanamluang for last year's album "Naturalism", the band's first new outing in seven years.

"Xanax was my own project and never influenced the band. I merely wanted to offer another style of music," he says.

"As for the switch to Sanamluang, the company never asked us to change anything on the album, they helped us to promote it. I don't see it as a problem."

Siam says Thailand's underground music scene is changing with more opportunities open to today's new bands than ever before.

"The new-generation bands are influenced by the Internet and are given more chances by their parents. They also have more money. One of my students had Bt80,000 to blow on a Gibson [guitar]. Another came up with Bt90,000 for a Les Paul.

"Times change, and music trends are also changing."

So what's next for Dezember?

"We're ready to go international," says Siam confidently.

"We're planning to record our next album in English and promote it outside the country."

Tickets for Dezember's concert cost Bt300 and are available at DJ Siam, Nong Tha Prachan, Jedi at The Mall Bang Kapi, and Aroyhoo at Imperial Samrong.

For more information call (086) 330 0977, (089) 888 5787, or visit www.dezemberfanclub.com.

Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul

 The Nation