Tapping into the unimaginable depths of Indonesian underground, one can’t but be amazed how many bands – and great bands at that – can be found.
Obviously, only a tiny amount of those reach the West, because, as we all know, money talks. The more you spend on promotion, the more known you will be, and while there are exception to this, it usually is a valid statement.
But I’m digressing a little bit.
Today we have a nice opportunity to get to know yet another Indonesian underground metal band. And because they just announced the release of their debut EP, I think it’s time to check on them to get a better picture of things.
Hello, folks!!!! First of all, congratulations to your debut EP! How are you doing these days? Resting?
Thank you for the celebratory greeting and your help with the promotion. We’ll rest a bit, but the show will go on.
There’s not much to be found about FETTER online, to be honest, so, let’s make things right, and right now! And let’s start with introducing the current line-up, what do you say?
The band was formed when the coronavirus hit civilization, [which was] unfortunate for us. This band was founded by our bassist, when his old band has folded.
It’s not that surprising nowadays to see a female singer in an extreme metal band, females getting more and more recognition in metal, which is great. How did you find Oktavia and what’s her story about starting as vocalist of Fetter?
When we first started jamming we were usure who the vocalist should be. Then Darryl, as lead guitarist, has suggested to try Oktavia – who at that time was still his girlfriend (now they are married and have a daughter) – and when we’ve heard her voice, it was “wow!, that’s terrific!”
3. From what I could find, the band resided in Surabaya, right? Are all the band members from that city or surrounding region?
Well, we are from Surabaya. there are some members who live in the suburbs of Surabaya. but we are used to socialize, gather and be part of the city of Surabaya.
Let’s talk about your beginnings a bit. What are the origins of the band and who was the instrumental person (or persons, if there were more) in founding the band? What year are we talking about?
As we said earlier, it was unlucky for this band to be formed when the coronavirus was attacking civilization. The first new position fell to our bassist (Tora), the man who founded the band and gave this band its name. After ending his journey with his previous band, he talked with a friend who was none other than Ongky (a very influential person for us, especially for references and branding) to found a thrash metal band. after that Tora met his childhood friend Darryl, yeah there are many people who play a big role for us. including people who were in this band before this band became the current formation. oh yeah, the band was formed in late 2019.
5. I think it’s the same everywhere, more-less… let’s talk about the actual start of rehearsing and related things – what problems have you encountered as a newly formed band, have you had any problems finding a rehearsal room? How about instruments, I guess they are not cheap, right?
Yes, we didn’t encounter any major obstacles because we had all been in bands for a long time before Fetter. The good news is that in our city there are many band studios that are rented for underground bands and with equipment that is not cheap either. We also have our own personal equipment for live performances. To have good equipment, of course we have to spend more money, but that’s normal for the quality of music and sound that we want.
6. Fetter plays thrash metal, although with hardcore punk influences, which I consider a great combination! What bands were and are your main influences when writing your material?
For your information, the founder of this band was a punk. Yes, that’s right, Tora came from the Punk environment in this city. but on the other hand we are all also influenced by hardcore punk music, even more than that. death metal also influences our way of playing music. we listen to Tragedy, Fredag Den;13, Terror, even Mortality Rites, Death, Obituary, Entombed, Gatecreeper, Fuming Mouth, Enforce, Creeping Death and many more
7. As readers of Indokult know, there are so many bands in Indonesia… how hard is it for a new band on the scene to get some recognition? Are people prefer more established bands, or are they ready to support new acts as well?
Well for us there is no new normal, the cycle will always rotate. new waves come with new energy and spirit, many of those who preceded us give appreciation too and many of our friends give support. so for us, this is not a new normal.
8. Your debut EP bears title “Curse of Massacre”. Can you tell us more about the EP, how many track it contains and shine some lights on the individual songs? Why such a title for the EP, what is its significance?
There are five songs in our EP and all the song lyrics were written by Tora, actually from the first song to the fifth there is a connection in meaning, they all tell about blasphemy at the “sacrifice of faith” in this case we blaspheme those who feel they have power over others by spreading wrath and Our opposition to the paradigm of hypocrisy. “Curse Of Massacre” is a synopsis of the whole thing. We strongly condemn the “Massacre” in any name.
9. The recording of the latest single, “Dogmatic” was at Texas Sicklab Studio & MOSAS (Maestro of Symphony Art School). Can you tell us more about this studio (let’s do some shout out here)? Did you record all your tracks there? Why did you choose this particular studio and what you can tell us about working with Indra “Komeng” Nur Cahya?
That’s right, we did it there. and the recording was done for us at MOSAS. Not only that, we also worked on the entire EP at Texas Sicklab with Indra, who we usually call Komeng. It was really fun working with Indra, especially since he was also the sound engineer when we did our live shows. Indra is very experienced, he also works as a sound engineer for other big bands in Indonesia, especially underground music.
10. The EP is ready, what date is the actual release of it? What label has taken care of its release and where will it be available, whether in physical or digital form? Do you prepare also other merch for your fans, like t-shirts etc.?
No specific date, but we’ll make sure it’s within the week after I write this. we do it independently, without a label. unlike the single Dogmatic, we work together with Masasiorangutan Records. We will release it in physical form (CD) and digital platform, of course we include our merchandise in the form of a T-Shirt whose artwork is done by our good friend (ilham @ tks.lowskill) a great artworker who has made images for Guns N Roses, Blink 182, Sum-41, Wu-Tang Clan and many more.
11. Thrash metal bands play live and from what I could find, Fetter is no exception. Tell us about your live performances…what’s the best to date you can tell us about?
Yeah, we do a lot of shows from gigs and festival stages, from all of them have their own similarities for us. we once played in the middle of the forest, an event titled HARDHORE initiated by friends of SURABAYA HARDCORE. A very cool event, hahahaha! We couldn’t sleep, because besides us there were many other bands performing music from afternoon to morning, as well as big stages like ROCK IN SOLO last year, very memorable.
As always, it’s only logical to talk about the local Surabayan scene as well… for those readers who would like to know more about it, what bands and artists would you recommend to check? And also – because I am interested not only in metal – how about other genres…anything upcoming in dangdut koplo or pop, for example? Is there any Indonesian music legend with ties to Surabaya?
The first one is probably FRAUD, the hardcore monster in this city. really influenced our way of playing music especially about sound and branding. LIE DOWN is also worth listening to, they are really crazy when they perform. like waves from a sea of fire.
13. After “Curse of Massacre”… what are your next plans? Have you already started working on new material?
Of course, after this we will not just be silent, we have prepared materials for the album. of course with a different sound, even though we are a thrash metal band but for the next album the death metal sound is very thick. wait for our delicious dishes, which of course are made from hellfire, hahahaha!!
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