Balcony

Balcony is a hardcore group from Bandung, Indonesia. The band forms in 1994 and goes through several line-up changes before settling into its own identity. In its early phase it covers songs by Sick of it All, then begins performing original material in 1995 and 1996. Its sound at that stage draws on Sepultura, Slayer, Sick of it All and Bad Religion, alongside other music the members listen to at the time.

The band’s first release, Instant Justice, appears in September 1997. It is presented as a straightforward early statement that focuses on the band’s surroundings, everyday life and social problems. The following year is marked by disruption and a pause in activity, with performances and wider band activity stopping for a time and some members leaving the group.

Balcony returns with a second album in 1999 after a lengthy period of reflection and change. That release, a 12-track set, is described as a deliberate move away from stagnation and a shift in musical and lyrical approach. The band questions fixed ideas about hardcore, including whether the genre has to follow one guitar pattern, one musical formula or one narrow definition of identity, and treats hardcore as a means of communication between people rather than as a rigid style.

In 2000, more touring, new material and experiences outside Bandung shape another phase of the band’s development, alongside the arrival of a new family member in the group’s orbit and a period of difficult circumstances and new ideas. By 2001, Balcony is working on a new collaborative piece that it presents as a refusal to be trapped by one musical stereotype. The band states that its ideas and music continue to expand.

After nearly two years without a release, Balcony issues Metafora Komposisi Imajinar in 2003 as a cassette recording of nine compositions. The release is framed as a further change in direction from its earlier records, while still reflecting the band’s experiences and perceptions over the previous two years.

Style and influences

Balcony works within hardcore, but its material also draws from thrash and metal and from melodic punk influences. Across its releases, the band repeatedly links music to identity, change, social observation and the conditions around it in Bandung and beyond.