With very little in the way of pure heavy metal at this year's Glastonbury, the sight of three teenage Indonesian girls being one the sole representatives could be looked at as an example of tokenism by cynics. If you're among that number, think again, because Voice of Baceprot easily justify their position on the Woodsies Stage, with a fantastically powerful, and often genuinely moving, set of passionate old school metal.
An impressively large and intrigued crowd gather early in the morning to see the band, and that curiosity has visibly morphed into proper excitement 45 minutes later. The reasons are clear: firstly all three members of VOB have mastered their instruments way beyond their years, bassist Widi Rahmawati doing a mean impression of Steve Harris, galloping up and down her fretboard with impressive dexterity: even a late-set drum solo, standardly the ultimate momentum killer, by Euis Siti Eisyah garners huge roars of approval.
The real MVP though is vocalist/guitarist Firda Marsya Kurnia, who manages to bawl out gorgeous, soaring vocal lines whilst also ripping out riffs that KK Downing and Glenn Tipton at their peak would be proud of.
This is a band that are passionate about the causes they talk about in their music, and even though there is an obvious language barrier, the eco friendly and anti-war sentiment seems to hit harder thanks to the unique perspective they bring. But, even if you choose to ignore that side of the band, this is as rip-snorting a set of Priest, Maiden and Sabbath-inspired metal that you’re going to get this weekend at Glastonbury. The fact that it's delivered by these three individuals just makes it all the more remarkable.
By the end of the set Firda is in tears.
“This is the best gig ever!” she screams, clearly overwhelmed, as Woodsies roars their appreciation. You’d be a stony hearted cynic to disagree.
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