By Georgia Smith
Voice of Baceprot – the fresh sounding, powerfully-led female rock band formed in Garut, Indonesia take to the limelight with their punchy first album ‘Retas’, and surely demanding that any listener rethink their preconceptions of what metal music can be.
The four-piece, performing in hijabs and challenging criticisms and stereotypes from both the metal scene and their religious backgrounds, not only offer an album rich in heavy, technical guitar and versatile, innovative vocals, but one that demands the attention and judgement of its own merit. ‘Retas’ needs no explanations or concessions, with the confident musicality of its construction, and the directly challenging, confident lyricism and performance of their lead singer and guitarist Firda Marsya Kurnia. ‘Baceprot’ meaning ‘noisy’ in Sudanese (along with English, the band use dual-language lyrics), and with lines such as “I am not the enemy, I just want to sing,” (from ‘God Allow Me (Please) To Play Music’), this first full-length offering unashamedly takes up its own space, speaks for itself, and becomes almost a tangible progression into the band’s personal, cultural, and musical standing.
The opening track ‘What’s The Holy (Nobel) Today’ is immediately gripping with its tight, clean guitar and confidence in the bands style; often technically reminiscent of their influences of Rage Against the Machine and Metallica, yet with the fresh perspective of a voice and background so far underrepresented in the scene. Long instrumental phases and interesting hollow-sounding guitar solos give way to punchy multi-lingual vocals- more isolated in songs such as ‘Age Oriented’ as the track progresses and becomes heavier and more demanding, more innovative and original, whilst ensuring the powerful messages of the music are not lost in the musical construction. Though their influences are present, Voice of Baceprot undeniably have pushed these ideas further, made them their own, and confidently ensured that their music be appreciated for the fresh edge they have sharpened on this album.
‘School Revolution’, ‘The Enemy of Earth is You’, and the hugely powerful live closing version of ‘God Allow Me…’ from their performance at Head in the Clouds in Jakarta last year make use of a rich variety of vocal performances. Faster paced, almost rap-like lyrics pair unexpectedly well with the choral, female collective used to empower their choruses, carried by the head-banging heaviness of the guitars and drums.
‘Retas’ becomes a richly crafted display of feminine collective, versatile vocals that become harsh and almost post-hardcore in ‘Not Public Property’ without overpowering the anthemic choruses and light, catchy bridges of the earlier songs.
Track four, ‘Kawani’, is an instrumental-only, and seems to mark a shift in the album as the band become more comfortable and confident in what they have come to embody. Following on from the first three tracks’ demanding of attention and understanding, ‘Kawani’ allows the musicality of VOB to stand completely alone. In this spotlight, it holds up impressively- cultural and musical influences married and balanced in a way that is strikingly original without being alienating; heavy whilst melodic. The inclusion of a purely instrumental track suggests a confidence in their own style, their own message, and means that the following tracks ‘Not Public Property’ and ‘God Allow Me…’ are bolstered, strengthened, proving that whichever stereotype or preconception Baceprot feel is aimed at them can be swept aside by pure musicality and freshness of style.
Following ‘Kawani’, a point-proving display of talent and musical technicality, the final four songs become more metallic, harsher, their lyrics more powerful and questioning. The effective balance of long guitar phases with short vocal ones means that ‘Retas’ is always punchy, catchy, never allowing the attention to wander. The unexpected harsh vocals on ‘Not Public Property’ and the almost operatic live performance of ‘God Allow Me’ display a continual pushing of boundaries and expectation; as the album progresses Baceprot offer an ever-increasing array of metallic talents. ‘School Revolution’ is- not counting the live track- the final new offering of the album and encompasses all these established musical details and range of skill whilst parting on the ethos that the band has come to embody- the smashing of controlling expectations and limitations, and the collective empowerment of feminine success. Doing this successfully to a powerfully, inarguably heavy backdrop is a masterclass in fresh skill and musical innovation.
Ending ‘Retas’ with a live recording is a confident nod to Voice of Baceprot’s exciting future as musicians and performers. Even richer, layered vocal performances and adaptable, meandering guitars not present in the studio version is a promise to their listeners- of continual pushing of the boundaries that seek to contain them, and the suggestion that ‘Retas’ with its lyrical promises of change and demanding of attention by their own merit- are only the beginning of the powerful creations that Voice of Baceprot not only offer, but embody.
- ‘Retas‘ is out now.
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