Watch This Indonesian All-female Trio Rock Wacken 2022

Voice Of Baceprot, or VOB, are making waves - you know you've made it as a metal band when you get invited to play at Wacken Open Air festival, one of the largest rock and metal festivals in the world. 

In the video below, VOB - vocalist Marsya, bassist Widi, and drummer Sitti - command a crowd of Wacken-goers checking out the action early in the day. The band ran through a fun intro before getting into Not Public Property, School Revolution, and God, Allow Me (Please) To Play Music.

Earlier this year, VOB released their latest single, PMS, short for "Perempuan Merdeka Seutuhnya" in Bahasa Indonesian or "Wholly Independent Woman" in English. The track followed Not Public Property and contained similar feminist themes.

PMS was written when VOB were still in school in 2017. "We wrote the song fuelled by the remaining energy that we had left after school. At the time, we were up to our necks with school activities, so we basically had to drag ourselves to the studio for workshops," Marsya recalled. The band found inspiration in a collection of short stories written by Indonesian author Feby Indirani titled Bukan Perawan Maria (Not Virgin Mary).

The song features a wicked electric guitar and bass guitar solo and heavy drums. Voice Of Baceprot have faced their fair share of discrimination growing up in a region that values religious and patriarchal beliefs; they stand against a system that demands that their sole post-school option is marriage.

The band seamlessly blend English and Indonesian languages on PMS, proclaiming, "Meski tak seperawan Maria / Akulah merdeka merdekalah seutuhnya!" (in English, that is, "Even though she's not as virgin as Mary / I am free, completely free!")

PMS was mixed by the Danish producer and sound engineer Tue Madsen (Meshuggah, Suicide Silence, Sick Of It All). On PMS, Voice Of Baceprot are bold and brave. The song proves that the band were worthy of their Wacken Festival debut in July this year, and the accolades from Tom Morello and Flea didn't come from nowhere. 

Last week, Melbourne melodic death metal band Be'lakor were added to the 2023 Wacken Open Air line-up. Be'lakor and friends join a stacked line-up headlined by Iron Maiden, followed by The Dropkick Murphys, Megadeth, Wardruna, Knotfest Australia favourites Trivium, Good Things Festival icons Jinjer, Abbath, Ensiferum, and many more. 

In February 2023, the band will perform a one-off Of Breath And Bone 10th-anniversary gig at Max Watt's in Melbourne. "Our third album, Of Breath And Bone, helped us to grow and find new audiences as a band," the band wrote on their website. Buy tickets here.

Watch VOB rip it up at Wacken 2022 below: