SAS Group: Bad Shock

SAS Group was an Indonesian band formed in 1975 from the ashes of the hard rock group AKA (featuring AKA’s guitarist Soenatha Tanjung and rhythm section Arthur Kaunang, bass, and Syech Abidin, drums, and minus their singer, Ucok Harahap. Bad Shock is a compilation of some of their best tracks from 19765-1981.

Opening track "Baby Rock" sounds like Cactus 'One Way or Another' meets Led Zeppelin's first 2 albums, with the lead guitar work being very Ritchie Blackmore-influenced. High-pitched vocals but slightly bluesy. Great song. Vocals are like Robert Plant meets Rod Evans.

"Space Ride" is up next with heavy riffing to start it off...Sabbath meets Deep Purple, Grand Funk Railroad, & Montrose. Ian Gillan-style vocal wails on this one. Blistering lead guitar and a cool synth solo trade-off also highlight this hot track.Like Lord and Blackmore from the glorious Mk II era Purple! Heavy track and one of my favorites here. "Bad Shock" is a crushing and epic way to close out Side A. More huge proto-metal riffing with a slight bluesy edge. Very Montrose/Cactus influenced. Lots of jams & solos here! We then move on to "Summer Sun"-riffy like early Purple/Montrose, with a catchy chorus...heavy track and lots of fun!

"Tattoo Girl" is a fast-paced hard rocker, more early Purple elements, with Rod Evans-styled vocals and Blackmore-influenced riffing and soloing....strong track! From here on out we get 2 songs sung in their native language, the first being "Larantuka" , which starts off darker, a more Sabbath-style song, yet very melodic and less doom and more straightforward rock and pop "jika Nanti Kau Panggil Namaku" closes things out a melodic little pop song from them, with Electric piano and lush vocals...reminds of early Bee Gees, except not as good.

Most of this kicks ass. A couple of the tracks don't stand up to the rest, but if you like rare 70s hard & heavy rock rarities, this is for you.

Arthur Kaunang
Bass, Keyboards, Vocals

Soenatha Tanjung
Guitar, Vocals

Syech Abidin
Drums, Vocals

Track Listing

1. Baby Rock 4:37
2. Space Ride 6:42
3. Bad Shock 11:08
4. Summer Sun 6:29
5. Tattoo Girl 4:53
6. Larantuka 5:37
7. Jika Nanti Kau Panggil Namaku 5:22ol>

Added: October 17th 2026
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Psychic Reader Records
Hits: 17
Language: english

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