Eraserheads: Combo on the Run

Formed in 1989 following the fall of the authoritarian regime of President Ferdinand Marcos (1986), the Filipino rock band Eraserheads consists of lead singer and primary songwriter Ely Buendia, guitarist Marcus Adoro, bassist Buddy Zabala, and drummer Raimund Marasigan. Eraserheads: Combo on the Run, directed by Maria Diane Ventura, is a fierce rockumentary that does not shy away from the vibrating internal conflict of a profoundly influential group.

Viewers get to see a warts-and-all approach to the band’s journey from raw and edgy college band to winning MTV awards and selling out huge arenas. The filmmakers utilise home video footage, interviews with the band, talking heads of those who knew the band, and music videos. This eclectic array of media offers considerable insight into the trouble and strife experienced by the band’s members. 

Some of the earlier performance footage is a little on the rawer side of things, and this may make it harder for audiences to fully engage with the movie if (like me) they are unaware of Eraserheads and what’s to come. But, enduring is highly recommended. The latter half of the documentary is incredibly compelling and emotional, delving deep into several challenges the band faced, including going on hiatus, struggling with fame, the chaos of touring, and personal family issues that resonated through their group. Strong drama presents itself when we learn more about the fracturing internally of the band, the resentments they had towards each other, and how the pressure of representing a nation’s creative freedom weighed on them all. 

One of the most compelling aspects of Eraserheads: Combo on the Run is how artists can rise to fame at a specific point in time culturally, making their arrival far more significant than ticket sales and streaming numbers. In 2025, with the rise of fascism in certain areas of the world, the story of Eraserheads is just as relevant now as it was in 1989, especially when you consider their 2022 comeback in support of the candidate facing off against a relative of Marcos. The band means so much to Filipinos because they were expressing themselves, dissenting, and generally punk in their attitude towards most things, which would never have been condoned under the previous regime. 

It’s also noteworthy that the band members were not immune to the way things were before the fall of martial law. Several of them mention during the documentary how they struggled to process the new ways of doing things and how this led to further fractures within their band. 

Rockumentaries live and die on their approach, and with this, Maria Diane Ventura has brilliantly captured the tense and conflicted atmosphere that emanated from this band for so long without losing any of the energetic and comedic trappings that made the band so popular. This movie feels like a truly profound insight into a significant period in time for Eraserheads, their fans, and indeed their country.