In Indonesia in the mid-2000s, the music industry was still dominated by “commerce pop” albums, which sold like hotcakes. Albums like Bintang Lima by Dewa, Peterpan’s Taman Langit, and Sheila on 7’s Kisah Klasik Untuk Masa Depan dominated the mainstream music charts.
However, since the early 2000s, there has been an interesting new phenomenon. Apart from releasing albums from mainstream musicians, major labels began to look at musicians who previously operated in the sidestream realm—or underground—and released their albums.
Maybe it’s naive, but if we track it, the phenomenon of migration of many underground musicians who signed a contract with a major label could be caused by the “Superman Is Dead effect.” After previously moving on the “indie scene” on the Island of the Gods, in 2003 Superman is dead signed a contract with Sony Music Indonesia and released the album Kuta Rock City.
Who would have thought the album would explode on the market? In the aftermath, because Kuta Rock City is selling well on the market, major labels in Indonesia are starting to look at other underground bands so they can sign contracts and release albums under their auspices. Some of them are the album 7:172 by the one-finger metal (metal satu jari) band Purgatory (2003), Alkemis (2005) by the green grunge gentlemen unit from Bali, Navicula, and not to forget Berkarat (Rusty) by the Ujung Berung metal unit, Burgerkill.
Specifically, this article will discuss the Berkarat. Why? In 2023, the album Berkarat will be 20 years old.
In mid-June 2003, Burgerkill became the only underground band that signed a six-album contract with the Sony Music Entertainment Indonesia label. Berkarat, their second full-length album, was their first release with Sony Music. However, this collaboration between Burgerkill and Sony Music lasted only a short time. In 2005, the contract between the two was terminated due to a lack of agreement between them.
Discussing the long history of this band based in Ujung Berung. Initially, Aries “Eben” Tanto moved from Jakarta to Bandung in 1995 to continue his studies. There he met Ivan Firmansyah—or better known as Ivan Scumbag—Kimung, and Kudung as Burgerkill’s first line-up. The name Burgerkill itself is taken from the name of the American franchise restaurant, Burger King, which was later changed to Burgerkill.
In 2000, after various delays due to many factors such as personnel dislocations, Burgerkill finally released their debut album entitled Dua Sisi (Two sides). Independent Riotic Records released this album, and 2,000 copies were printed. The album was also re-released in 500 copies, which eventually ran out very quickly.
Back to their second album, Berkarat, after going through a long recording process, which was also caused by changing personnel, Burgerkill finally released the album Berkarat under the auspices of Sony Music Entertainment Indonesia (SMEI) in 2003.
The release of this album was with problems. It is common knowledge that when a band or musician who originally came from the independent realm then releases work under the auspices of a major label, they will receive much criticism—or insults—from the independent/underground community. In the same vein as Superman Is Dead, which released an album under the same label that oversees Burgerkill, accusations of “sell out” also landed on Burgerkill. They are considered to have betrayed the Do It Yourself (DIY) ethos and sacrificed their ideals in order to sell more albums.
Berkarat is special for many reasons. Firstly, in terms of the distribution process, this album was able to get a wider distribution reach due to the collaboration with the major label SMEI (although in terms of sales, this album was not very successful if viewed from the perspective of SMEI as a major label). Second, apart from Eben, there is still the late Ivan Scumbag as a mastermind. So, aesthetically, this album is an opus magnum of Indonesian metal music.
Even though sales are down, Berkarat was successfully selected as the recipient of the 2004 AMI Awards for the Best Metal Production category. Ivan Scumbag coined the title Berkarat to represent the internal condition of the band, which at that time had “stayed in place” for two years, as well as telling the story of the stagnation of life that Ivan was experiencing.
I remember that I bought a cassette tape of Berkarat after watching the video clips for the songs “Terlilit Asa” (Entangled in Hope) and “Tiga Titik Hitam” (Three Black Points) on MTV. At that time, I was still really into nu-metal like Linkin Park and System of a Down, and I suddenly discovered music that I thought was new and sounded fresh. Ivan Scumbag’s half-screamed vocals are like a suitable landscape for shouting out the anger within, not to mention the lyrics, which embody feelings of despair, anger, and frustration.
Listen to the lyrics of the song “Penjara Batin” (Inner Prison) for example which says: “Sulit ‘tuk ungkapkan beban pikiran / Mati terbelenggu angan-angan / Terkunci erat tanpa bisa berontak / Aku terlahir cacat di jiwa / Umpat diri ini, setan, iblis neraka / Mencakar muka, butakan hati nurani.” (“It’s hard to express the burden of my thoughts / Dead shackled by my dreams / Locked up tightly without being able to rebel / I was born flawed in my soul / Cursing myself, Satan, the devil of hell / Scratching my face, blinding my conscience.”) There is unfathomable anger and frustration in these lyrics. Frustration because he was born with a mental disability, and it is difficult to express the burden of thoughts that bind him.
The next song that deserves to be highlighted is the album’s closing track entitled “Tiga Titik Hitam” (Three Black Points). This song can be said to be the most different from the other nine songs. This is because apart from the presence of Ivan Scumbag’s hoarse and shrill voice, this song also includes the distinctive voice of Fadly, the vocalist of the band Padi, who collaborates with Burgerkill. Naturally, Burgerkill could collaborate with Fadly on this song. This is because Fadly and Padi were under the same label, SMEI, at that time. In my opinion, the decision to collaborate with Fadly was not only based on achieving a certain aesthetic but also considering promotional factors because Padi was a pop band that was making a name for itself on the market at that time. Naturally, Fadly appears in this song as a form of promotion so that Burgerkill can be more widely known. As a result, it will lead to bigger album sales.
Another song that deserves the spotlight is “Berkarat” (Rusty) with the pithy lyrics “Tuhan, aku ingin mati.” (“God, I want to die.”) A cry of despair that reached the depths of his heart, to the point of begging God to take his life.
From a musical perspective, Berkarat is special due to many factors. Apart from Ivan Scumbag’s hoarse voice, the fierce guitar riffs on this album are also worth listening to carefully. The presence of the double pedal/double bass drum throughout the album also makes the songs on Berkarat sound very tight. Interestingly, the drum patterns on this album do not feature the blast beat technique that commonly appears in the metal music genre. Guitar, bass, and drums played in unison make the music on this album really hit the spot. In several songs, the guitar distortion is also removed and replaced with a clean sound to give a new feel, as well as bringing out the hard-clean-hard dynamics commonly adopted by metal bands.
I interpret the Berkarat album as a manifesto from the figure of Ivan Scumbag. The real form of frustration and incomparable fatigue that he felt. Unfortunately, on July 27, 2006, Ivan Scumbag had to pass away due to an illness he had been suffering from for a long time. After Ivan Scumbag’s death, Burgerkill had to continue touring and performing. Yadi from the band Motordead temporarily replaced the vocalist position. Later, after auditioning, Yupi Yupiki (Vicky Mono) was chosen as the vocalist, who replaced Ivan Scumbag as the vocalist.
Burgerkill can be said to be one of the most important metal bands in Indonesia. Even though many trials have hit them, for example, the death of Ivan Scumbag in 2006 and mutual changes in personnel since their founding until now. Their name not only resonates in Indonesia, for example, by winning the 2004 AMI Awards for their album Berkarat. In the international metal arena, the name Burgerkill has also been taken into account.
For example, Burgerkill was named Metal As F**k by the 2013 Hammer Golden Gods Awards in England. Burgerkill is also one of the few Indonesian metal bands who were able to try out the stage at the world’s largest metal festival, Wacken Open Air, in Germany in 2015. Burgerkill also performed on stage at Bloodstock Open Air in the UK.
On April 20, 2020, Burgerkill released an EP entitled Killchestra. This mini album is a mix and match of metal music with a classical orchestra. In this song, there are two songs composed by Ivan Scumbag from the album Berkarat which have been re-arranged, namely “Penjara Batin” (Inner Prison) and “Tiga Titik Hitam” (Three Black Points). The combination of fierce metal music and classical orchestra played by the Czech Symphony Orchestra makes these songs seem majestic and sophisticated. This succeeds in taking us back to 2003 when Ivan Scumbag sang these two songs with different arrangements. We are invited to remember the extraordinary figure who made an extraordinary contribution to the album Berkarat.
Bad luck befell Burgerkill again. During the pandemic in August 2021, Vicky Mono, who had replaced Ivan Scumbag and had been the vocalist of Burgerkill since 2007, decided to resign. As if that wasn’t enough, another unfortunate fate befell Burgerkill when, on September 3, 2021, the founder, driving force, and main personnel of Burgerkill since its formation, Eben, left forever. Eben’s sudden and unexpected departure really shocked many people. Many musicians expressed sadness and condolences when Eben passed away.
Twenty years later, Berkarat will remain a special album. This album teaches us to be able to express frustration, emotions, and despair using various coping mechanisms that we believe in. One way is by playing or listening to metal music.
Berkarat is proof that no matter what niche the music we play—for example, metal, prog-rock, or even experimental—there will always be a market that we can enter.
Let’s listen carefully to this album, which is already 20 years old, in memory of Ivan Scumbag, Eben, and the musical career of a metal band from Ujung Berung called Burgerkill.
In closing, at the 2022 Pesta Pora event, I got to see Burgerkill perform. At that time, the song “Penjara Batin” (Inner Prison) was sung. This band performed with a minimalist version; there were only four people: Ramdan Agustiana on bass, Agung “Hellfrog” Ridho on guitar, Putra Pra Ramadhan on drums, and Ronald Alexander Radja Haba, who was appointed as the new vocalist in 2021. Minimal version, with maximum ferocity. Their enthusiasm doesn’t seem to be extinguished. Since the last time, I watched it at Pesta Pora last year for an indefinite period. It looks like Burgerkill will continue to roar with its metal ferocity, and Berkarat will remain firmly entrenched in the ears, thoughts, and memories of its listeners.
Happy 20th birthday, Berkarat. Hopefully, your listeners will not be trapped in a condition like that described in the song “Terlilit Asa,” Derita ini ‘kan terus kukecap dalam kesendirianku.” (“I will continue to feel this suffering in my solitude.”) Through the first single from the Berkarat album, we can learn that we are not alone. We have many friends and people closest to whom we can share the suffering we feel. So that we can be happier, think happily, and be more optimistic when facing life, which is sometimes like an inner prison that restrains us.
Ps: previously featured in Indonesian on pophariini.
Aris Setyawan 