Thursday, 15 September 2016

NEW INTERVIEW: Our second interview with SIKSA KUBUR (Jakarta Death Metal), by Collin Brophy

SiKsaKubuR Interview by Collin Brophy

In this interview we finally get to know what SiKsaKubuR means in English as well as the new album name Mazmur 187. For me this interview has so far been the biggest and most privileged and that is because this is the first interview SiKsaKubuR has done in English and I am very grateful for this honour and will never forget.

SiksakubuR's music is of the brutal kind and not for the faint hearted, I have only been aware of SiksakubuR for around 15 months and as a newcomer, not only to SiksakubuR’s music but to also the abundance of talented and amazing metal bands spread throughout Indonesia. Even today I am finding new metal bands from all genres that are just amazing and can be held up in the same vein as some of the biggest metal bands not just from Europe and America but anywhere else in the world. 

SiksakubuR have played some of the biggest metal festivals in Indonesia, they have played Bangli Metalheads, Dreamloud Open air Metal Festival, Cibinong Deathfest and Obscene Extreme Asia just to name a few, and not to mention their own shows all around Asia. Hopefully one day we will have the privilege of seeing SiksakubuR playing right here in Australia.

SiksakubuR is a well-respected metal band from Jakarta Indonesia, and they are also well respected all over the world. SiksakubuR was formed back in 1996 and they have 20 years of experience and 7 albums under their belt and with number 8 on its way. It was an honour and a privilege to interview the very talented guitarist from SiKsaKubuR Andre Tiranda. Andre Tiranda is a very down to earth type of guy, very friendly and he is always happy to have a chat. Andre has been the guitarist in SiksakubuR since December 2001. I am very hopeful to be able to meet Andre face to face one day and just sit down and talk all that is metal not just in SiksakubuR but also in Indonesia.

So far the only albums of SiKsaKubuR that I have really listened to are Tentara Merah Darah and their self-titled album SiKsaKubuR. Both albums are very different in many ways, but both albums are just as brilliant as each other. I would say that their self-titled album SiKsaKubuR is a lot more brutal then Tentara Merah Darah. With a new album on the way called Mazmur 187, I am very much looking forward to hearing this; if any of their last albums are to go by Mazmur 187 could be in the running to be in my top 10 albums of this year, but I will just have to wait.

Collin Brophy. Hello how is everyone in the family that is SiKsaKubuR?
Andre Tiranda. Hello brother, we are all good here ... thanks for asking...

C. Brophy. What does SiKsaKubuR mean, and how did you come up with the name of your band?
A.Tiranda. Siksakubur means Grave Torture, and our former drummer came up with the name inspired by Sepultura who use their mother language...

C. Brophy. SiKsaKubuR has been around for 20 years, what has been the proudest moment as a band so far?
A.Tiranda. Yeah brother it's 20 years now ... and the proudest moment for me is that we are still doing the thing we love which is playing metal music until now...

C. Brophy. SiKsaKubuR has released 7 albums so far, with a new album due soon, what album would you recommend for a newcomer to your band, and why is that?
A.Tiranda. Yeah that’s right. I recommend for the newcomer to check out our previous 7 albums before listening to our newest album ... because they can listen to our musical journey...

C. Brophy. As a musician what made you decide to start up a metal band, and why did you choose death metal as your genre?
A.Tiranda. ... I first started in metal bands when I was in junior high school back in the 1990s and my band played heavy metal to thrash metal because I thought that was the only music that fit my situation back then.... and I chose death metal I think because it's challenging and it suits my guitar playing style.

C. Brophy. How is the metal scene in Indonesia now compared to when you started way back in 1996?
A.Tiranda. The metal scene nowadays is for sure very big, and there are so many great bands in every area in Indonesia. And, because of internet, all the things seem easier now....

C. Brophy.  SiKsaKubuR has a new album called Mazmur 187, what does Mazmur 187 mean and how did you come up with the album title and who came up with the album cover?
A.Tiranda. Yes.... 187 is code used by law informants to identify (murder death kill), yes it's maybe a code from some area in USA but it sounds cool to me ...and Mazmur is Psalms from the bible ...and Psalms is a praise ... so by combining these two words .. we get Psalms 187 or Mazmur 187 in Indonesian ....and I’m the one who came up with the album cover idea...

C. Brophy. Can you tell us about the new album: is there a theme or story to the album?
A.Tiranda. Yes...  all the stories are based on a killing ... all motives of killing ...different song different motive ...just a standard death metal theme...

C. Brophy. How many songs are on the new album, how would you describe the album and are there any surprises on the new album?
A.Tiranda. There's 10 songs on this album, and for me this is the most diverse album I’ve ever written...so many elements and we got some friends from a different genre who will feature on some of the songs....

C. Brophy. Who wrote the lyrics for the new album, and how did you come up with the lyrical content for the album?
A.Tiranda. Me and our vocalist wrote all the lyrics, and we always do some research from the books, articles, even movies just to build the ideas for lyrics.

C. Brophy. Have you got an up and coming tour to support the new album?
A.Tiranda. Yes we will do the touring for the new album ... but just local tour...cuz we can't afford to go touring overseas...

C. Brophy. As a relative newcomer to the Indonesian metal scene, what 5 bands would you recommend, and what 5 albums would you recommend?
A.Tiranda
1- Viscral – “Egocentric Underneath of Horror”
2- Sufism - Reptilia Buas
3- Karnak - Asimilasi Dagasatra
4- Abgotter - Rebeligion
5- Miasma - The Ancient Fallacy

C. Brophy. Good luck with the new album and hopefully we will see you one day in Australia.
A.Tiranda. Thanks so much ...we hope so...

C. Brophy. Thank you for your time and it’s an honour to do an interview with such a talented and well respected metal band from Indonesia.
A.Tiranda. Ur welcome ... the honour is mine...

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