Maria Ozawa, a French / Japanese adult video actress, became highly popular for her exotic looks (or so IMDB tells me). Another entity in entertainment that shares the exotic trait with her is Malaysian Death Metal maestros CAKERAWALA, who just released their second single, "Ozawa", in tribute to her.

Hailing from Penang, the band plans to record their first EP by the end of 2013, and if the EP is going to be filled with songs like "Ozawa", and then it is definitely going into my collection.

"Ozawa" is a tour de force of CAKERAWALA's ability as a Death Metal band, a true peek into the window of their music. CAKERAWALA has the finesse to be highly technical as the song will prove, but they also have the natural grit to be heavy and relish in neck-snapping breakdowns. All three guitars are highly impressive with blazing riffs set to induce killer bouts of headbanging and the drumming is as precise and relentless as it gets.

The groove of the song is complex and caked with delicate nuances, calling for a fierce rhythmic assault soldiered on by the unyielding efforts of drummer Teng Yi and bassist Chu Xian. As the song progresses from the verse to the chorus, the originality of CAKERAWALA's songwriting becomes apparent and it's quite astounding really, shadowing the styles of Technical Death Metal, basking in the glory of the guitar.

It has to be said that for me, the standout was the vocals. It's unlike any mainstream vocalist in Death Metal I can think of. To put it simply, don't expect cookie-cutter cookie monster vocals; instead expect something more refined and emotional, perhaps more Thrash influenced.

The song clocks in at about three minutes, possibly less. I didn't time it or anything, but when the song finished I was aching for more material. This goes to show that CAKERAWALA's soon to be released EP is only going to be filled to the brim with Metal goodness the likes of which we have heard in "Ozawa", and I can only anticipate with excitement the coming of that glorious day.