In a sobering event at a rock festival, a beloved drummer tragically passed away on stage after playing only two songs with his band. The musical community is in mourning.
Raja Azreen Raja Talib, a famed Malaysian rocker, was passionately performing with his band Meditasi—translated to “Meditation” in English—at last month’s Teruntum Rock Festival in Malaysia. In an unexpected turn, he collapsed while still in full swing of the show.
The 56-year-old drummer had just finished the second song out of their planned ten when lead vocalist Bakaruddin Daud, known to fans as Burn, noticed him slumped lifelessly over his drum set.
Recalling the heart-wrenching incident to the Malaysian newspaper Berita Harian, Burn said, “I rushed towards him, but I could feel that he was already gone.” He continued, “I called and patted him, but there was no response. His body felt cold to the touch.”
Burn also shared that the audience was in a state of panic as the situation unfolded. In his own words, he expressed being “truly shocked and deeply saddened” by the loss of a bandmate who, moments earlier, appeared to be in perfect health as they prepared to thrill festival-goers with their set.
“He was really happy to meet up with friends. He didn’t appear sad or unwell,” Burn said.
But shortly after he collapsed and was rushed to the nearby Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital, Talib was pronounced dead.
“He was given respiratory assistance, but he did not regain consciousness or respond after the collapse,” the drummer’s older sibling, Raja, confirmed to the outlet, adding that the cause of death was reportedly heart complications.
Both Talib’s brother and bandmate Burn revealed that the late drummer had recently been diagnosed with diabetes.
His brother further shared that Talib was hospitalized in June due to heart issues.
“He was hospitalized twice; the first stay lasted two to three weeks before he was admitted again,” Raja said, adding that “it is possible that extreme fatigue took a toll” on his brother’s heart as he went straight from a BMX competition to the music festival where he ultimately died.
Meditasi was founded in 1983 as a group named Metal Wizard before they rebranded in 1989.
The band shot to fame during the golden era of Malaysian rock in the 1990s and are much loved for performing Malay-language rock and power ballads.
After going on a temporary hiatus, they reunited in 2015 and currently have more than 46,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.