Psychic Reader announces Bad Shock: the first-ever reissue of 1970s Indonesian hard-rock trio SAS Group.

Bad Shock is a compilation album featuring songs from SAS Group’s highly collectible first LP—a copy of which fetched $4,000 on Discogs back in June—as well as the band’s later hits. The first press was a limited 200-vinyl run that sold out two months after its February release.

Composed of Arthur Kaunang (bass, keyboard, vocals), Soenatha Tanjung (guitar, vocals), and Syech Abidin (drums, vocals), SAS Group formed in Surabaya, Indonesia in 1975. SAS was the spiritual continuation of legendary rock band AKA, which featured the same personnel in addition to frontman Ucok Harahap. 

Harahap left AKA in the mid ‘70s to start his solo career, and SAS was formed. By 1991 SAS had produced 15 full-length albums and two compilation albums.

Bad Shock focuses on their 1976-1981 output, delivering sprawling, prog-influenced hard rock laced with dueling synth and guitar solos. Almost every track is sung in English and holds its own against the best Western rock of the era. But “Jika Nanti Kau Panggil Namaku,” a mellow love ballad sprinkled with disco accents, closes the album on an unexpectedly sweet note.