OK, let me just get this out of the way. I loooove me some Babymetal, and Doki Doki Morning makes my heart sing. However, when I saw the young badasses above doing their thing, I thought to myself, These girls are bringing their metal game hard.
Vocalist and guitarist Firdda Kurnia, drummer Eusi Siti Aisyah and bassist Widi Rahmawati make up the Indonesian all-girl metal band Voice of Baceprot, which literally means “noisy.” They formed the band back in 2014 after their middle school guidance counselor, Ahba Erza (coolest counselor ever!) introduced them to metal music at their madrasa.
Earlier this summer, they were asked to perform on Indonesia’s biggest variety show, which you can watch below.
They’re incredible, confident, and competent musicians, and I’m in love with Kurnia’s voice. If you check them out over at ReverbNation, you can check out several of their songs, all of which sound pretty awesome. Whereas a band like Babymetal is clearly an adorable pop confection, VoB is writing more serious-minded music, playing their own instruments, and putting themselves into their music.
It’s the “putting themselves into their music” part that really gets me. Three Asian teenage girls in hijab isn’t exactly the first image that comes to mind when you think Metal Band, but here they are. And while they now have encouragement from their families, that wasn’t always the case.
Indonesia is a really conservative country, and Kurnia’s parents originally forbade her from playing in the band. However, as VoB increased in popularity, her parents saw that it was a force that couldn’t be stopped, so they got on the bandwagon.
Kurnia, 17, talked to NPR about the response from fellow Muslims in Indonesia, saying that the bandmates have had to deal with some bullying, sometimes getting phone calls telling them to stop playing (especially since they’re playing in hijab), or being harassed on social media. However, Kurnia is determined to keep the music alive.
“They say my music is forbidden by my religion,” she says. “I’m a different musician because I’m a woman, and I play metal music but I’m wearing hijab. Hijab is my identity, OK?”
Right now, the band plays mostly covers, though the song they perform above, “The Enemy of the Earth is You,” is an original song about the environment, as is “The Sound of Student Soul,” a song about the state of education in their country.
I love girls who break the mold and do what they love no matter what anyone tells them. Rock on, Voice of Baceprot!
(image: screencap)
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