Young Indonesian rockers Voice of Baceprot smashed out Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” in style at a festival in France. The three young women did it in a way you’d never see Metallica do it – wearing hijabs, the traditional Islamic headscarf. Their tight and entertaining performance at the 2021 Les Rencontres Trans Musicales festival has picked up four million views on YouTube.
The heavy metal trio formed in 2014 while they were middle school girls living in a remote farming village in Garut, Indonesia. They’ve since picked up some big-name fans, including Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash as well as endorsements from Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid. Check out their performance below.
Voice Of Baceprot is made up of guitarist and vocalist Firda Marsya Kurnia (23), drummer Euis Siti Aisyah (23) and bassist Widi Rahmawati (21). After working on their music during their school years, the band signed to a Jakarta booking agency Amity Asia in 2018 and released their debut single “School Revolution”. The funk metal jam gained 2.4 million views on YouTube and the accompanying exposure allowed them to play international musical festivals.
In November 2018, Guns N’ Roses played in Indonesia and Slash asked the trio to meet him backstage. A live performance of Rage Against the Machine’s Guerilla Radio was later re-Tweeted by Tom Morello and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Pepper also re-Tweeted one of the band’s rehearsal videos. You can listen to Voice Of Baceprot’s “School Revolution” below.
Listening to their original music, you can really hear the trio’s rock-solid groove and songwriting talent. In 2021 Voice Of Baceprot dropped an EP of live songs and their second single “God, Allow Me (Please) to Play Music”. The single is currently their biggest hit, with 4.5 million views on YouTube. In 2022 they entered heavy metal royalty by playing at the 75,000-capacity Wacken Open Air festival in Germany, which is the biggest metal festival in the world, as well as one of the largest open-air events in the country.
Voice Of Baceprot has also had a busy 2023, releasing their debut album Retas on July 23. The band is supporting the album with lead single “What’s the Holy (Nobel) Today?” and an 11-date US tour due to start in August. The band sings in English as well as their native Sundanese, which is an Indonesian language. The band has gained praise for their socially aware lyrics, which address issues such as feminism, support for victims of abuse and the failings in the education system.
Voice Of Baceprot is part of a small but growing metal community in Indonesia. However as reported in The Guardian, the band have also had pushback from conservative elements in their native West Java, with issues such as frontwoman Marsya having had a rock thrown at her head, which she found had a note attached telling her to stop playing “devil’s music.”
Nonetheless, the band doesn’t show any sign of slowing down and right now are just going from strength to strength. If you would like to see more from Voice Of Baceprot, you can subscribe to their YouTube channel or follow them on Instagram.