Heavy-metal hijabis from Indonesia set to smash stereotypes and rock Glastonbury

JAKARTA – Smashing barriers is something all-female

heavy metal band Voice Of Baceprot (VOB)

do well, and their voices will be heard loud and proud when they take to the stage at the iconic Glastonbury Festival in late June.

The three young hijabis, or Muslim women who wear headscarves, are debunking stereotypes of metalheads – often seen as noisy, tattooed and overwhelmingly male – and challenging established norms in Muslim-majority Indonesia, hitting milestones and earning an international reputation along the way with their gutsy message of non-conformity.

On May 2, news broke that VOB will perform at Glastonbury, the first Indonesian band to do so in the music festival’s 54-year history.

Britain’s biggest performing arts festival is held for five days at a 364ha site on Worthy Farm in Somerset County, south-western England. In 2023, over 200,000 people attended the event, with a record 21.6 million watching the BBC’s television coverage of the event.

Two weeks later, VOB found themselves among the trailblazers in the entertainment and sports field listed in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Class of 2024.

When band members Firda Marsya Kurnia, Widi Rahmawati and Euis Siti Aisyah heard the double serving of good news, they broke out into boisterous cheers and celebration.

The feeling was “overwhelming”, the band members told The Straits Times, attributing their success to a decade of hard work, determination and a loyal fan base.

Drummer Siti (or Sitti, as she prefers to be known), 24, said: “Never would have thought we could play at a stage like Glastonbury. It still feels like a dream too high for us to achieve.”

Lead singer and guitarist Marsya, also 24, said: “We feel so proud, but at the same time, there is a slight feeling of apprehension because we are representing Indonesia.”

Bass guitarist Widi, the youngest of the group at 22, completes the trio.

There is a great sense of camaraderie among the bandmates, who have been making music together for 10 years now. They finish one another’s sentences, tease one another mercilessly and laugh a lot – like sisters, almost.

The band have come a long way, from playing cover hits at school events to writing their own music, releasing hit singles, selling out shows at local venues, and touring internationally.

The “baceprot” in the band’s name means noisy, in the members’ native Sundanese language. The 20-somethings aim to make noise, to challenge attitudes and conventions about the music they play and about Muslim women, one song at a time.

With lyrics that address issues such as gender inequality and climate change, VOB have been called by British magazine Metal Hammer “the metal band the world needs right now”.

The band’s hit English single released in 2021, God, Allow Me (Please) To Make Music, has drawn more than five million views on YouTube and over a million streams on Spotify to date.

VOB’s music, which contains lyrics in Sundanese, English and Bahasa Indonesia, has struck a chord with Indonesians of all ages, who have historically been partial to heavy metal music.

Even politicians are fans. In 2021, then Deputy Speaker of the People’s Representative Council Muhaimin Iskandar paid tribute to VOB. “Come on VOB, your hijab is not an obstacle to making music; your voice will shake the whole world,” said Mr Muhaimin, who was a vice-presidential candidate in the recent Indonesian elections in February.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo is known to be a heavy metal fan, with Metallica and Lamb Of God among his favourite bands.

And South-east Asia’s largest heavy metal music festival Hammersonic takes place annually in Jakarta, with the most recent event in early May attended by 38,000.

All three VOB members hail from humble backgrounds in rural West Java province. Growing up in a conservative farming community, religious education was the norm.

The girls met in 2014 during their secondary school days in their home town of Garut, where they still live with their families.

They were introduced to metal music in their early teens by a teacher who taught them how to play instruments and helped set up their band. That teacher, Mr Cep Ersa Ekasusila Satia, still meets them on occasion to write and produce their music.

The girls decided on the name VOB and started off by playing covers of songs by famous bands such as Metallica, Linkin Park and System Of A Down. Their version of System Of A Down’s Toxicity, which was uploaded to social media platforms eight years ago, went viral and garnered widespread attention.

“We asked ourselves, ‘Wow, doesn’t this feel cool?’ Especially because at that time, there was no one who really played music like we did,” said Marsya, to laughter from her bandmates. 

They eventually went from performing covers of hits to writing and composing their own songs, doing most of the recording sessions in Jakarta, a four-hour drive from Garut.

From the start, the girls knew the path ahead would not be easy in a country where it is unusual for women to perform heavy metal music.

While their parents were initially dismayed and sceptical about their daughters being on stage, they are now fully supportive and even show up at performances, said the band.

Still, haters will hate. The band members recalled how in 2015, when they were walking home after a practice session, someone threw a rock at them. Attached to it was an expletive-ridden note telling them to stop playing. 

Similar threats would be issued from time to time, but the teenagers played on, channelling their angst, fear and distress into music.

“We were victims of discrimination and being bullied. Growing up, it felt like there were not a lot of platforms that spoke out against that, and we did not feel there was a lot of freedom to fight against it ourselves,” Marsya told ST.

“We want to keep setting an example, especially for the young girls, (so) that we have a brighter future,” she told Forbes on May 15 in its 30 Under 30 Asia feature on promising young talent in the region.

Naysayers continue to rail against the sight and sound of three heavy metal hijabis rocking the stage, taking up space and making noise – which is undoubtedly viewed in certain quarters as an affront to traditional cultural and religious values.

Still, it is not just about having fun and being on stage. Going against the norm and defying stereotypes are resounding themes in VOB’s music.

The band’s unique take on issues such as gender, faith, identity, class struggle and global crises has won them many fans. These include fellow musicians from famous American rock bands like Rage Against The Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

In 2023, VOB released their debut album, Retas, to overall positive reviews. British music webzine-magazine Kerrang! scored the album 4 out of 5, calling it “an exceptional debut which holds a mirror up to society and sees it glare back with a scene of corruption and unjust violence”.

The band are a familiar fixture at venues in the US and Europe. In 2022, they performed at Wacken Open Air in Germany, billed as the world’s largest heavy metal gathering, drawing crowds of 50,000 or more.

Glastonbury will be the biggest stage yet for the band, whose members can hardly contain their glee at the prospect of proving their mettle on June 28.

VOB plan to perform a mix of old and new songs, and as many of its hits as possible. Much time has been spent polishing their act for the festival, said Sitti.

“We’ve been working hard and it’s been almost every day. All we want is to do Indonesia, and our fans, proud,” she added.