One of the band’s guitarists made a joke about wanting to share the celebratory dessert with everyone and the audience erupted in laughter. Euphoria was airborne and the subsequent applause wasn’t contained — it was wholeheartedly expressed.

The crowd was there to see Roxx, an Indonesian heavy metal band celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Since the release of its definitive self-titled record in 1992, Roxx has experienced enough tumults and triumphs that most bands with the word “legendary” slapped on their CV would be able to sympathize. One of these was formation changes; one of its primary guitarists, Jaya, quit the band in early 2016; and its former drummer, Arry Yanuar, passed away in 1999.

Last Friday, the members were also celebrating the release of Anthem, their sixth LP, containing five original songs and four reworked ones.

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At Rolling Stone Café in South Jakarta, their brand of high-octane rock was received by long-time fans who roared out Roxx’s songs when prompted with such warmth that it made me think the whole thing was wholesale fan-service.

And it kind of was; its song, “Rock Bergema” (Echoing Rock), was dubbed one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s 150 best songs of all time, and its newly worked version was included in Anthem. The videos for “Rock Bergema” and the Anthem lead single “Black Status” were also shown during the anniversary concert, along with snapshots of the band’s early years.

Now consisting of Iwan Achtandi (guitar/ backing vocals, who reentered the band after Jaya left); Raiden Soedjono (drums); Trison Manurung (vocals); Toni Monot (bass/ backing vocals) and Didik Danardono aka DD Crow (guitar), Roxx’s metal music was ferocious and lively.

They put weight on “Rock Bergema’s” lyrics, “Hai engkau yang berjiwa muda / dan cinta akan musik / mari bernyanyi bersama-sama /  dengan irama rock ‘n roll,” (Hey you with the youthful spirit / and who love music / let’s sing / in the rhythm of rock and roll) with delightful fervor.

Ever since its self-titled LP boasted hardrock instrumentation over more than two decades ago, Roxx’s music has traded up for something more gritty and discordant. The band took it easy with the shift; it wasn’t jarring at all.

Take some of the cuts it performed, like “Ada Tiada” (“There Not There”) or “Setengah Manusia” (“Half Human”).

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Drawing cues from Metallica, Anthrax or Megadeth, Roxx incorporated slow-burning metal with speed and thrash with abrupt downshift. Over intense guitar work played by Iwan, “5 cm” from its self-titled LP is one of Roxx’s heaviest entries to date, with Trison spitting out the lyrics, scorching his throat in the meantime.

And the band’s lyrics have gotten more selfaware. Namechecking Facebook and Twitter to comment on the confused facility social media provides in politics, “Black Status” harkens the band back to its Roxx days sonically, but leads it into a new game lyrically. Hear also: “Jangan Ribut di Sini” (Don’t Make Any Noise Here) — the title alone should be enough for you.

Metal has always had a place in Indonesia. It has, for example, Seringai as one of its prized mainstays, when Roxx gamely took the same part many years ago.

With Anthem, the band is trying to re-enter a scene that has fortunately, if I observed correctly during Friday’s performance, been kind to it. I saw many attendees wearing Roxx’s T-shirts, beaming when “Rock Bergema” was played.

During one of Roxx’s stage banters, Trison asked a trivia question. The winner would get a T-shirt.

“Why do you think metal’s even cooler now?”

One concert-goer correctly answered that it’s because the President is a metalhead. He earned that shirt. Then applause erupted before Roxx — the band that has helped define Indonesia’s metal scene — continued playing its anthems of the night.

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