Despite their status as bonafide metal maestros on their home turf of Malaysia, thrash titans Cromok initially formed in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia in 1987 and spent their first few years of existence Down Under. The four students – Shamsuddin "Sam" Ali (vocals and bass), Khairul Anuar "Karl" Shariff (guitarist), Tarmizi "Miji" Mokhtar (drums) and the late Kharuddin "Din" Muhammad (backing vocals and guitar) – met at the University of Wollongong and began honing their chops on Sydney's fertile metal scene. They released their debut studio album, Image of Purity, in 1991 and earned praise for fan favorite, "Misty." Their formula was simple enough: fast, catchy riffs, no-frills drumming and virtuoso guitar solos. By 1992 they had all returned to Malaysia and continued to perform and release music in spite of the Malaysian government who sought to ban their music. This seemed to only strengthen the band's resolve and they continued to churn out popular tracks like 1993's "Another You" (from their second album Forever In Time) and "I Don't Belong Here." Cromok went on to amass another six albums, including 2002's Deafening Silence, and 2005's Untitled + Raw. Kharuddin "Din" Muhammad died on September 27, 1997 in Mersing, Johor due to malaria and the band continued as a trio for the next four years until Khairul Anuar "Karl" Shariff split off to focus on his solo career. He was replaced by revered Malaysian guitarist Hillary Ang from Malaysian rock band Search and they carried on performing live until Hillang Ang left in 2005 and Cromok went on hiatus. The original trio (along with session guitarist Shah Ziri) reunited in 2012 for a reunion show and in 2018 they unveiled their new Malaysian thrash concept, "thrashditional;" a mix of 'thrash metal' and 'traditional.'
