Indonesia’s music scene is in mourning following the sudden death of Ricky Siahaan, guitarist of heavy metal band Seringai. He died on Saturday (Apr 19) at 10.10pm local time in Japan.
Ricky was 48 years old and died of a heart attack shortly after performing in a concert titled Seringai Wolves of Asia Tour at Gekiko Fest.
News of his death first broke on social media with Japanese musician and DJ Freya Fox initially posting on X that the band’s drummer had died during their concert in Tokyo.
She issued a correction an hour later, clarifying that it was guitarist Ricky Siahaan who had died of a heart attack. She added that a close friend of hers had confirmed it with the Tokyo police.
In his final Instagram post on Saturday morning, Siahaan shared moments from the band’s Japan concert. He posted: “Japan, we have lift off. Show number 4, Merry Go Round Shinjuku was an effing blast!”
Four days earlier, he had posted photos from Taiwan, where Seringai had performed in three cities: Taichung, Taipei and Kaohsiung.
Seringai released an official statement early Sunday morning on Instagram: “Our guitarist, our friend, our brother, Ricky, has suddenly passed after completing his set at the final stop of our tour in Tokyo, Japan. Ricky left this world doing what he loved: Playing loud music with everything he had. We’ve lost one of the most vital parts of this entity.”
The band also confirmed that arrangements to bring Siahaan’s body back to Indonesia were underway.
Wendi Putranto, Seringai’s manager, explained that the repatriation was going through Japan’s legal and administrative procedures.
