It was an oddly quiet Sunday night at Gramercy Theater. I was there to see Voice of Baceprot, the Indonesian all-female metal band that has been storming the internet with covers of Rage Against the Machine and Metallica, among others. These young queens are touring the US, playing a mix of their own original tracks and a handful of hard rock covers. Despite the viral spread of VOB’s covers, and the popularity of their first original “God Allow Me (please) to Play Music,” Gramercy was sparsely populated, with a mix of metalheads, older city normies, and various groups of people speaking what I presumed was Sundanese (the dominant Indonesian language). Still, people were abuzz with energy and ready to rock.
The opener was Boston-based Above Snakes, a nu metal outfit with tons of testosterone. Vocalist Johnny Skulls got several members of the crowd headbanging, while himself flinging around thirty inches of braided hair and a band shirt that said “I don’t blow coke but I love the way it smells.” It seemed an odd juxtaposition to have that kind of brash blow-and-sausage meatfest next to the modest-appearing cutiepie trio of VOB, but I could see the connection in sound even if the opener wasn’t my particular flavor of rock.
Voice of Baceprot took the stage to expectant shouts and whoops. I had wondered if they’d bring some heavy metal theatrics, but they walked on stage and collected their instruments rather demurely. The visual drama came from their mostly black outfits crowned with black hijabs. They started with “Public Property,” an anthem for women tired of street harassment. Vocalist and guitarist Marsya glides across the stage between vocals, giving us rock and roll drama in her body movements or a death stare during her shreds. Bassist Widi is a monster, and you can read on her face how much she knows it. “That bassist!” I heard a guy exclaim on the subway after the show. I shouted the same back. Widi is unbelievable at slapping the funk on these tracks. And then there’s Sitti, stamping out wild and complex rhythms especially on “School Revolution,” which had me screaming “don’t try to judge us now!” Their abilities subvert expectations. The American bias towards hijabi girls is to project a weakness or powerlessness onto Muslim girls and women. But their music is a fierce defense of womanhood and a call to punch upward, the opposite of what Americans would expect. It’s a beautiful thing to watch a stereotype be smashed to smithereens. Between songs, moments of communication within the band almost break the heavy metal spell and remind me that these are just kids, barely out of their teens. But once the sound starts, they are giantesses, and they could own arenas.
I am fairly certain that this is VOB’s first tour, and I hope we get to see them in the states again despite the attendance of this New York show. They sound un-fucking-believable, and they will only get better as they keep growing and writing songs that fight the power. Brava!
Music-Survival-Guide 