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Bakar Bufthaim, last surviving member of Rotor, dies of heart attack
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Drumming legend: Bakar Bufthaim, former drummer of '90s Indonesian thrash metal band Rotor, shows off the vinyl for the band's debut album 'Behind the 8th Ball' on May 11, 2021. (Instagram/Courtesy of Bakar Bufthaim) (Instagram/Courtesy of Bakar Bufthaim)
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x-drummer of ‘90s metal bands Rotor and Sucker Head, Abubakar “Bakar” Bufthaim, passed away aged 54 in South Jakarta on Thursday morning. He died of a heart attack.
Bakar’s family shared the news with their close friends on Thursday through messaging applications.
“Innalillahi wa innailaihi rojiun, [We belong to God and to God we shall return],” the message began.
“May Bakar Bufthaim rest in a state of husnul khotimah [full of blessings], his grave spacious and luminous, his sins forgiven and his deeds accepted, and the family he left behind given patience and sincerity,” it continued.
Born in Probolinggo, East Java, on Nov. 25, 1967, Bakar was an original member of the prominent Jakarta-based thrash metal band Rotor. Often hailed as the “Indonesian Dave Lombardo [of the United States metal band Slayer]” in the music scene, he helped Rotor rise to stardom in the 1990s before the band’s eventual dissolution. He was the last one to pass away among the original Rotor line-up.
Bakar had played drums since he was 7 years old, growing up admiring drumming legends like Ian Paice of British rock band Deep Purple, John “Bonzo” Bonham of Led Zeppelin, and Lombardo of Slayer. He was crowned as the best drummer in Lumajang, East Java, in 1987 after taking part numerous music competitions.
Bakar died a little over one year after the death of Rotor leader and guitarist/vocalist Irfan Sembiring, who died suddenly in February 2021. Both Bakar and Irfan attended the band’s vinyl release party of their 1992 debut album Behind the 8th Ball at M Bloc Space, South Jakarta, in January 2021 as the last surviving original members at the time.
Rotor’s original bass player Juda “Judapran” Pranyoto died from a drug overdose in 1998 and the band’s vocalist Jodie Gondokusumo died in 2002.
Rotor released three albums with Bakar as drummer: 1992’s Behind the 8th Ball, 1995’s Eleven Keys and 1996’s New Blood. Despite Bakar’s absence, the band also opened as a supporting act for the US heavy metal outfit Metallica during the band’s infamous, riot-filled concert in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, in 1993.
Bakar became a permanent drummer for another famed metal band Sucker Head for its 1998 album Paranatural, not long after he quit Rotor. Previously, he also contributed a small part to the band’s 1995 album The Head Sucker.
