KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — Malaysian drummer Raja Azreen Raja Talib died onstage last month after collapsing mid‑performance during the Teruntum Rock Festival.
The festival took place in July, when Meditasi was scheduled to perform a 10‑song set at the event.
Berita Harian reported that the 56‑year‑old musician had completed two songs with his band Meditasi before suddenly slumping over his drum kit.
Frontman Bakaruddin Daud, known as Burn, told Berita Harian, “I rushed towards him, but I could feel that he was gone,” adding that he patted the drummer and called out to him but received no response.
Burn said fans were visibly alarmed as they watched the collapse and noted that Raja Azreen had appeared cheerful and showed no signs of illness before taking the stage.
Festival staff rushed him to Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital, where medical personnel provided respiratory assistance before pronouncing him dead.
His older brother, Raja, confirmed to Berita Harian that the cause of death was reportedly linked to heart complications.
Raja said the drummer had recently been diagnosed with diabetes and had been hospitalised twice in June for heart‑related issues.
He added that “extreme fatigue” may have contributed to the collapse, noting that Raja Azreen had gone directly from a BMX competition to the festival performance.
Meditasi, originally formed in 1983 under the name Metal Wizard before rebranding in 1989, rose to prominence during the golden era of Malaysian rock in the 1990s.
The band reunited in 2015 after a hiatus and currently draws more than 46,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
