For Indonesia’s all-girl heavy metal band, music is the ‘voice of resistance’ — Assembly

(Courtesy of Voice of Baceprot Instagram)

Voice of Baceprot challenges stereotypes about gender, culture and religion through heavy metal music.

According to Voice of Baceprot, an all-girl band from Indonesia, heavy metal music “is not bound by a rule.” The same seems to apply to the girls themselves. Rocking out in their hijabs, leather jackets and black nail polish, the three teens challenge gender and religious norms in their conservative Muslim community.

Raised in a rural area of West Java five hours south of Jakarta, vocalist and guitarist Firdda Kurnia, drummer Eusi Siti Aisyah and bassist Widi Rahmawati met at their local madrasa (Muslim school). The trio fell in love with heavy metal music after their teacher (and now band manager) Abah Erza played them the song “Toxicity” by System of a Down.

“Upon hearing it, we seemed to find something that was very compatible with our noisy and critical personalities,” the band remembers. They began experimenting with music, first learning to play the guitar before graduating to other instruments and discovering their individual places within the band. “The instruments we currently hold are those chosen by our own hearts,” the band shares. “The instruments that are currently our choices are ones that have helped us show how much potential we have in music.”

It’s clear that “potential” is not something these young musicians lack. Since Firdda, Eusi and Widi founded Voice of Baceprot in 2014, the band’s popularity has grown across Indonesia, which has a strong underground metal scene. They play about three shows a month and have performed on some of the biggest stages in the country. While the girls say every stage is “always memorable,” some of their favourite moments include performing at Ubud Writers and Readers Festival and Rock Revolt in Paradise in Bali.

However, marching to the beat of their own drum isn’t always easy. Some conservative critics believe the band’s music is against their religion and send hateful messages to the girls. But Voice of Baceprot doesn’t let a few naysayers stop them from enjoying their right to rock. “We did nothing wrong. Islam is a very tolerant religion,” the band says.

And the majority of audiences are hearing — and celebrating — Voice of Baceprot’s message to look past stereotypes associated with teenage girls and their religion. Currently, Voice of Baceprot boasts over 32,000 followers on Instagram, with featured articles in major news outlets like NPR, BBC News and The New York Times.

The band refers to their fans as “their one source of energy,” saying “we really feel like we are part of the international world that brings positive change among young people.” Voice of Baceprot’s two most popular songs, “School Revolution” and “The Enemy of Earth is You,” protest issues like intolerance, climate change, access to quality education and gender inequality.

Although Firdda, Eusi and Widi were able to complete their secondary education and Indonesia has made progress for girls and women in recent years, challenges still remain. In 2018, there were almost two million girls out of school, particularly in rural regions and marginalised communities. The country also has the eighth highest absolute number of child brides in the world.

The girls believe that music is the best way to address the issues they witness in their country and around the world. “We are the young generation who will have an important role in the progress of human civilization. We don't want generations after us to remain in the wrong system or way of thinking,” the band shares. “As something that can be easily accepted by many people, we believe music is one of the things that can make a change for the better.”