Tanak Bihis: Sarawakian DSBM At Its Bleakest

By Lara Kramer  •  22 Jan 2026 in Music

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From the rain-soaked streets of Kuching, Sarawak, emerges a sound that is as solitary as it is unsettling.

Formed in 2015, Tanak Bihis is the one-man project of David Dean, the frontman of Kuching thrash metal band Velhalla. It is the city’s first foray into depressive suicidal black metal, existing in stark contrast to the thrash scene with its minimal, isolated, and unflinchingly bleak approach.

The project began as an outlet for Dean to escape the expectations of thrash and explore a more introspective, depressive sound. Inspired by the solitary ethos of artists like Varg Vikernes and Xasthur, Tanak Bihis was never meant to be a conventional band. It was a personal experiment, one man translating isolation and despair into music.

Between 2015 and 2017, the project lived in the margins of the DIY underground. Early recordings such as the demo CD Jeran Nuju Bala Iblis, limited to just 50 hand-distributed copies, captured raw, unpolished emotion. Songs like ‘Pleasure of Mesalina’ and ‘Graveyard Haunting’ were not about technicality but about conveying stark, haunting feelings with complete creative control.

Tanak Bihis’ discography highlights the project’s evolution while remaining faithful to its depressive core.

‘Hear Me No More’ (2018, Single) marked the first studio-recorded track, establishing the project’s identity. This was followed by The Sad Chapter (2019, EP) and the split Unity in Blasphemy (2019).

Later releases like Unceremonious Burial (2021, EP), ‘The Final Epoch’ (2021, Single), and ‘Agony End’ (2021, Single) further explored bleak atmospheres and emotional intensity. A more recent single, ‘Serian’ (2021), features Jane Nuek of Dance On Your Grave and is performed in Bidayuh Serian, the first Tanak Bihis track in the local language.

‘Serian’ also represents a step forward in experimentation. Jane’s inclusion was originally intended for Velhalla years ago but never happened. The collaboration is deliberate, challenging preconceptions about genre boundaries and highlighting that black metal can intersect with unexpected voices and backgrounds.

Dean describes it as progression rather than provocation, showing that the scene can evolve without losing its emotional authenticity.

Nearly a decade on, Tanak Bihis remains active, independent, and uncompromising.

A quiet, relentless force in a region where metal often thrives on speed and spectacle, it’s a project defined by solitude, by emotional honesty, and by its refusal to conform. Sarawakian DSBM at its most haunting, most introspective, and most raw.

For those willing to enter its shadowed world, the project offers no comfort, only the stark truth of despair rendered in sound. Check it out on Spotify now.

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