BANGKOK: Hundreds of headbanging metalheads rock out to the roaring guitars and thundering drums of Thai band Defying Decay, chanting along to their latest politically charged tune.
The group’s single “The Law 112: Secrecy and Renegades” is a raucous, defiant anthem with a taboo-defying message — challenging Thailand’s draconian lese majeste laws.
Criticising the royal family is punishable by up to 15 years in jail, but calls for royal reform — once completely off-limits — spilled into the open during a series of major youth-led street protests against the junta in 2020.
Saturday night’s energetic Bangkok crowd was the first in Thailand to see a live performance of the song, which had already found an audience on US rock stations in November.
The 112 of the title refers to the lese majeste section of Thailand’s criminal code, but the song’s…
