Sydney Thrash Band 'Absolutely Broken' After Indonesian Police Detain Members

Sydney melodic thrash-metal trio Flaming Wrekage have had to cancel the remainder of a tour of Indonesia following the band's detainment by immigration police, the members have reported.

The band are currently on the circuit in support of recent album From Flesh To Dust, landing in Indonesia for their first-ever international tour on 16 March. However, 10 days later, they advised their fans they would have to withdraw from their remainder of their gig commitments.

"After police intervention at the Malang Beerhouse, our set was cancelled and our passports were held for over 36 hours by immigration police," they wrote in a post on Facebook, in which they described themselves as being "absolutely broken" by the events.

"Regardless of the fact that the venue held the correct paperwork and permits, the show was still shut down."

According to the band, the early stages of the sojourn were essentially incident-free, including a successful gig at Pasuruan's Orgi Sauna Room — "If there's a hotter show in the world, I don't want to know about it," they wrote in a statement — before they headed on to a university show in Jember.

It was at their next show, in Surabaya, where they claim things started to turn from being all "letting off fireworks on top of mountains, checking out the local bars, swimming in hot springs" to an exercise in increasing concern, with the band accusing local police of seemingly trying to coax a bribe out of the venue to allow the show to proceed.

"Our set time was pushed back by several hours in an attempt to move them on and, although they waited till the end of the show, they left without any trouble, or at least no trouble that we were aware of directly," they reported.

Which brings us to the show at Malang's Houtenhand Beerhouse, where the band claim their show was cancelled by undercover police who turned up at their gig.

"They shut down the show and took our passports," they said. "Everyone from the show, including over a hundred fans, waited till after midnight outside the venue, hoping that we still might be able to play. It seemed like a bribe wasn't going to cut it this time."

Their situation worsened after police apparently told the band to front up to the immigration office the next morning at 10am because it "appeared there was an issue with our visas", they said, "despite the fact we weren't making a cent from the tour".

"[Guitarist] Dave [Lupton] was briefly questioned by the chief officer, who explained that our holiday visas were not the correct documents," Flaming Wrekage's statement said. "The shows, although all free, were being promoted, which counted as commercial activity; therefore, we were supposed to have working visas to be touring the country."

According to the band, the saga went on for close to 36 hours, involving prolonged periods of intense questioning about their intent and activities as well as costing them close to $3000 in unexpected airline fees, as they were forced to book new flights and cancel all remaining shows in the country.

"Even though we hadn't committed a crime, we were very concerned about being deported, which would have completely ruined any future touring prospects for the band," they said.

Adding to their wounds is the fact that, by their own account, the tour was proving to be one of the best runs they've ever undertaken, right up until it was scuttled.

"The three shows that did go ahead were three of the best, most packed shows Flaming Wrekage has had the opportunity to play," they wrote. "The experiences we had in this country will never be forgotten and I highly recommend touring Indonesia to every metal band. You will be given the best treatment possible and all of the shows are incredible."

"We are all home safe and sound, so now it's time to do the only thing we can — keep playing shows," they continued. "See you on the road."

The band are barely pausing for breath now that they're back in the country — they play The Basement, Canberra, this Friday, 31 March, with Darker Half and more, and are back in Sydney on Saturday, 1 April, to hit The Factory floor with Holllow World, Daemon Pyre and more.

From there, they have a slew of dates to support From Flesh To Dust (and hopefully recoup some of that aborted-tour money) in Melbourne, Alice Springs, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

See theGuide for more details.