BERKARAT

Biography

This is a short story of 12 years career from the heaviest band which has been such a phenomenon among metal music lovers in Indonesia. A band whose name was inspired by a fast food restaurant from USA, it is Burgerkill, a band which came from Ujungberung, Bandung, Indonesia, a place where Death Metal/Grindcore community grows at east Bandung, Indonesia. Burgerkill, which origin community was in scene Uber (a common abbreviation for Ujungberung), always goes with Stenograph Tribal style and aggr...

This is a short story of 12 years career from the heaviest band which has been such a phenomenon among metal music lovers in Indonesia. A band whose name was inspired by a fast food restaurant from USA, it is Burgerkill, a band which came from Ujungberung, Bandung, Indonesia, a place where Death Metal/Grindcore community grows at east Bandung, Indonesia. Burgerkill, which origin community was in scene Uber (a common abbreviation for Ujungberung), always goes with Stenograph Tribal style and aggressive music that is speedy (Jasad, Forgotten, Disinfected, and Infamy to name a few).

Burgerkill was formed on May 1995, started by Eben, a scenester from Jakarta who moved to Bandung for his study. There, he met Ivan, Kimung, and Dadan who became his first line-up. This band began its career as a side project which didn't have any certain purposes, just a bunch of metal kids jamming their axe-hard while waiting an offering to perform a real one. But it didn't go that way in Eben['s mind, he thought that this band was his life and he tried so hard to make Burgerkill worked and admitted in their communities. Since then, the band got many chances to perform, mostly in Jakarta, from Eben's friends there. That's when the enthusiasm of underground music lovers for Burgerkill started and, indirectly, a phenomenon of hard music was born in Indonesia.

The first form of this band was unsettled, many underground musicians had joined the band. But now, they've already find their solid line-up. In 1995, they only thought about performing, went home, practicing at studio, there's no anything else. But it all changed since they succeed to release their first single which became one of tracks in "Masaindahbangetsekalipisan" music compilation, an album of bands from Bandung in early 1997. Other names like Puppen, Full of Hate, and Cherry Bombshell were also compiled in the album. It was produced by Richard Mutter (ex-drummer of Pas Band). It really was a glorious moment for underground music. Everything is new and new things stoked people! Track from Burgerkill, Revolt! became an opening track in album that was sold 1000 pieces shortly.

These guys of Burgerkill started to enjoy recording process that made them couldn't stop working. At the end of 1997, they joined other compilation "Breathless" with enclosing their songs "Offered Sucks" and "My Self". In early 1998, their career continued by releasing single "Blank Proudness" which was included in "Independent Rebel", a Grindcore Ujungberung band compilation album. This compilation was released by major label and distributed widely in Indonesia and Malaysia. Burgerkill was going broadly in so many underground events since then. The antics went higher, number of their fans grew excessively and always waiting for their performances. Burgerkill the Hardcore Begundal!

At the same year, the band released "Everlasting Hope Never Ending Pain" through a compilation album "Ticket to Ride". Benefit from this album fund the construction of Bandung's skate park. This single brought them to the new era of Burgerkill, when at the beginning they were much inspired by Oldschool Hardcore Band in creating music. Named it : Minor Threat, 7 Seconds, Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, Instead, etc. But then, their music were influenced by more various kinds of music like Modern Metal and Newschool Hardcore which got faster beat and more aggressive. Energetic riff-power chords became a strong character of Burgerkill's music, and not to forget the guitar fill-in that made it totally catchy. These guys of Burgerkill never felt enough and always tried to gain more from all kinds of hard music that would be interpreted through every note in their pieces. That's what made them more mature in making music than before until it went into their second album.

Some of Mainstream Achievement were theirs, in example was Best Independent Band nominator for NewsMusik magazine in the year 2000. In early 2001, Burgerkill got PUMA (USA sport apparel) as their supported wardrobe to perform for a year. A year after, they got INSIGHT (brand of Australian clothing) as their supported brand in every of performances.

In the middle of 2003, Burgerkill became the first hardcore band that signed contract for the next six albums with Sony Music Entertainment, one of biggest major label in Indonesia. Then, at the end of 2003, they released the second album, "Berkarat". It was more progressive and fully skilled, to be compared with the first album. Their songs almost had no straight forward sound and simple moshpart that is usually found in other hardcore bands. In vocal, they kept it sounds depressive and dark, character of Ivan the vocalist became stronger and bold, it was about written mother language and distinct articulation in the lyrics. Meanwhile, from the music, Toto, Eben, Andris and their new guitarist, Agung, weren't afraid to explore more parts in music and expressed it that none of Indonesian heavy metal had done it.

A startled thing in the middle of 2004 forBurgerkill was they were chosen as "Best Metal Production" for the album "Berkarat" in AMI Awards, a prestige music achievement in Indonesia. It was unthought-of them to achieve such an award that gave them more responsibility and seriousness to prove another works in music.

While working on their 3rd album in early 2005, Toto decided to quit from the band which had been built with the other for 9 years. But the band had to go on, they reformed the band with placing Andris, that used to be the bassist as the drummer. They kept working for this album with help from an additional bassist. When they've finished working on their 3rd album, Burgerkill decided to sever the contract with Sony Music Entertainment that caused by no agreement reached in the album proceeding.

So guys...these kids always have a great spirit to keep blowing their power, and they finally released the 3rd album, "Beyond Coma and Despair" by their own label Revolt! Records on August 2006. This album was so deep and meaningful for all Burgerkill's personnel in each aspect: the sound, structure, and form of the music that was utterly different with their former albums. Heavier, explicit, and technically elements were presented in this album.

There are no ivory that isn't cracked, Burgerkill had a hugest grief in their career. Ivan, the vocalist of theirs past away in July 2006. He got inflamed brain that took the icon of hardcore music in Indonesia away forever. Without they even realized before, all the lyrics in the album described his condition at the time, it had personal and depressive plot that showed the ending journey of him. "Beyond Coma and Despair" was a tribute for Ivan Scumbag who had always been a good friend also brother that fully talented and dedicated with his amazing character in works. Burgerkill was in blues, but they were so convince to keep moved on and to make music that had been their lives for more than a decade, with brought up a new vocalist in the band. And after doing a long process of Vocal Audition, finaly they found Vicki to be a new front man for the next chapter of their career.

They successfully did Java Bali tour to promote their album on January 2007. The ticket sold out showed how their fans felt very enthusiastic of Burgerkill performances. A written story wouldn't just enough, just wait their next surprises and listen to the new album, watch them play and feel how heavy metal totally unforgettable possessed you! BURGERKILL HARDCORE BEGUNDAL IN YOUR FACE, WHATEVER!!!

official website: http://www.burgerkillofficial.com Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.