Bring Me The Horizon Pays Off Its Debts to Indonesian Fans Through NEXFEST 2024 Concert, There’s a Rare Duet with Babymetal!

Kapanlagi.com - Ancol is blazing hot! That phrase might best describe the situation at Carnaval Ancol, Jakarta on Sunday (25/8). This location was chosen for the NEXFEST 2024 event.

The event, promoted by RAVEL Entertainment, has indeed been highly anticipated by metalheads in the country. There’s no doubt about it, the line-up is extraordinary, featuring Bring Me The Horizon, Babymetal, and several local metal bands such as DeadSquad, Burgerkill, Saint Loco, Strangers, and For Revenge.

What is the course of NEXFEST 2024 like? Check out the review from KapanLagi.com below.

1. Venue Filled with Deep Black

© KapanLagi.com/Guntur Merdekawan

The gates opened starting at 12 PM. In the midst of the scorching sun, metalheads began to appear. Almost everyone seemed to be wearing black outfits.

Upon entering the entrance area, the metalheads were immediately greeted by the official merchandise booth from the performers. Since it opened, the merchandise booth was quickly crowded by visitors. Even as the afternoon approached, the queue was still long and winding. They didn't want to miss out on buying official merchandise from their favorite bands.

In addition to the merchandise booth, the audience could also find a row of food booths lined up. The menu offered was varied, ranging from fast food, heavy meals, snacks, to just drinks. The audience need not worry if they ran out of energy to headbang, mosh, and jump around throughout the event.

2. Opening Acts that are Directly Hot!

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For Revenge became the opening band for NEXFEST 2024. They took the stage around 1:00 PM, according to the schedule. Although it wasn't very crowded yet, some metalheads were already faithfully standing in front of the stage.

The heat of the afternoon sun seemed not to diminish the enthusiasm of the metalheads to sing along with the Emo band. The typical emo songs with melancholic lyrics were performed by the band from Bandung.

After them, it was Strangers' turn to take over the stage. The tension among the audience rose even more when this Thrash Metal band kicked off with their super heavy songs.

Strangers performed about 10 songs that afternoon. The adrenaline of the audience seemed endless as they followed the beats of the band from Bandung.

The next performer was just as cool; Saint Loco. The Nu Metal music they played brought a slightly new vibe to the audience, who still seemed quite wild.

Occasionally, the audience created a circle pit and moshed wildly yet still in an orderly manner. Afterwards, around 4:20 PM, Burgerkill took their turn to 'Attack' the audience mercilessly with their heavy songs.

3. Take a Break, Before Being 'Attacked' Again by DeadSquad

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After Burgerkill's performance, NEXFEST 2024 took a short break to give the audience a breather for about 30 minutes. Some audience members were seen performing the Maghrib prayer, while others filled their stomachs at the available food booths.

The event resumed, and the day seemed to be getting darker. Although the hot weather was no longer enveloping, the venue was once again ignited by DeadSquad's performance that night, featuring their hit songs such as Pasukan Mati, Black Triangle, Manufaktur Replika Baptis, Bangsat Kuasa, Hollow Vision, and many more.

Their brutal performance was welcomed with several circle pits that formed in the audience area.

4. BABYMETAL Becomes More Fluent in Indonesian

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The Japanese Kawaii Metal group is one of the most anticipated main performers by the audience. Performing around 19:50, the venue began to fill up.

During their third visit to Indonesia, BABYMETAL appeared to be getting fluent in Indonesian. Several times, Su Metal greeted the audience using Indonesian, which made the crowd cheer.

Throughout their performance, BABYMETAL played hit songs such as: Distortion, PA PA YA, Megitsune, Metal, Monochrome, Gimme Chocolate, DxMxC, and Metal Resistance.

Not to be missed, their latest song RATATA, full of energy, was also included in one of the setlists. Electric Callboy, who is a duet partner on that song, was featured on the giant screen.

"Are you ready for Bring Me The Horizon? Thank you, Jakarta!" shouted Su at the end of their performance.

5. BMTH Settles Their Debt to Indonesian Fans

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In 2023, an unpleasant memory was left by Bring Me The Horizon during their performance in Indonesia. Due to technical reasons, they were forced to stop in the middle of their performance. In fact, their concert on the second day was completely canceled.

This year, Oli Sykes and the team paid off their 'debt' to Indonesian fans through NEXFEST 2024.

The English band took the stage at around 10:00 PM WIB. Before that, there was a greeting from EVE, the AI character from the cover of the album POST HUMAN: NEX GEN on the giant screen.

The first song performed was Darkside from the latest album. The audience, who had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Oli and the team, seemed to go wild as they welcomed their idol. Without mercy, since the first song, the audience was immediately asked to open the mosh pit to perform the ritual of mass moshing.

After that, the song Happy Song was played. The fans went even wilder welcoming this energetic song. The mosh pit opened again in several areas, where the audience continuously sang, headbanged, moshed, and jumped throughout the song.

The next setlist performed in sequence included; Sleepwalking, Mantra, Teardrops, Kool-Aid, Shadow Moses, Limousine, Amen, which was then followed by..

6. The Anticipated Appearance of Babymetal

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In the midst of the heated atmosphere, suddenly a breath of fresh air appeared on stage, namely Babymetal. They joined BMTH to perform the song Kingslayer.

As a note, BMTH and Babymetal rarely get to perform together singing their duet on stage. So it can be said that Indonesian fans are very lucky to witness this duet live.

The outdoor field of Carnaval Ancol also witnessed the madness of the BMTH and Babymetal duet. The venue seemed to experience a mini earthquake due to the stomping and jumping of the audience who were so excited.

"Give applause to the best girls in the world!" praised Oli while inviting Babymetal to leave the stage.

7. A Fan Climbs on Stage and Duets with Oli Sykes

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In the song Antivist, BMTH invited a fan to sing along on stage. A lucky woman named Vionna stepped forward and performed the metal-themed song with great enthusiasm and without any issues.

Several times, Oli even seemed to embrace the lucky woman while singing together. The fans were incredibly envious.

Not stopping there, during the super viral song Drown, Oli performed a stage dive and went down to make direct physical contact with the fans in the front row. This super emotional song successfully created a loud choir that pierced through the chilly night sky.

BMTH then closed their performance that night with the fiery song Throne. They seemed to want to leave no mercy to the audience, creating unforgettable beautiful memories.

In conclusion, NEXFEST 2024 was an explosive and huge success. The audience went home orderly and satisfied, although it's certain their voices were hoarse from singing nonstop and their bodies sore from jumping and moshing throughout the event.

(kpl/gtr/ums)