Here comes an unusual metal troubadour: March.

What would be your first impression when you hear the word“metal”? It is very likely that people think of the following words: black, long, messy hair. Some people also see metal fans as those who have a bleak future.

But, if you meet the dudes from March, things appear a bit different.

March is consisted of four young guys who have devoted their energy and time to metal for a long time. Added value to that fact, these dudes live their daily life far from metal itself.

Guitarist Rachadian Ramadan (Ryan), for example, is a doctor. Erixon Sihite, the drummer, is a full-time banker at a multinational bank while another guitarist, Arya Aditya Ramadhya (Lale), is also known as a jazz guitarist with Maliq and D ‘Essentials.  

Their frontman, Faddy Alkatiri also has another life outside metal. He also contributes to E45, an electronic gang. But metal has always been their melting pot.  

“We know what metal is. It is not a look, but the music and the spirit we play, says Ryan who joined the band back in 2006.

The band was initiated by Faddy who had just left his previous band in 2005.

Visually you won’t see a generic metal outfit with March’s look. But by listening to Polymath, their debut album, you may be electrified within seconds and instantly confirmed that these dudes are totally in depth with what they play.

It also took few years to complete this album, including a year in waiting to get the album finally  released nationwide. Polymath is produced by Yayat Achdiyat, definitely one of the country’s most bad-ass metal producer who has been a loyal partner to local legend, Burgerkill.

“We played a gig in Bandung one day, just before Burgerkill on stage. We bought their — back then — new CD, Beyond Coma and Despair and we instantly fell in love with how the production was done. And Yayat was the guy behind that, so made an offer to him to produce our album. He showed some interest, so here we are, with him on board,” Ryan recalled.

Yayat’s cold hands and March’s materials proved to be a lifetime match. Polymath came out with superb quality. Faddy, who writes all the lyrics, speaks loud about life.

“We don’t want to attack certain people and government with our lyrics. We just tell people what we have around, what we feel, see and hear,” says Faddy.

This combination creates a really enjoyable album.

“March act as an influence to people’s life. We want to take people who hear our music to hear a new angle of metal, which is actually a music for everybody,” says Ryan.

“Well, you can see us; A medical doctor and a busy banker with no metal look. But we can play and enjoy metal, right?”

With these facts, no wonder you probably will see March around for 30 years or more. “We’ll be here, no worries,” says Ryan.

You can follow March by logging on to their website at march-official.com or  twitter.com/marchmarchmarch.

*) At a Glimpse is all about the local music scene. Give us a shout at sundayglimpse@gmail.com. Also, become our friend on www.facebook.com/sundayglimpse and follow us at twitter.com/sundayglimpse.

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