Unknown EPIC Albums VI: Kekal - "1000 Thoughts of Violence"

Band: Kekal
Home: Jakarta, Indonesia
Styles: Black Metal, Progressive
Avant-Garde Black Metal, Avant-
Garde Electronica
Similar Bands: Drottnar, Ulver, Extol
Lyrical Themes: Society, Life,
Morality, Injustices, Philosophy,
Christianity
Years Active: 1995 to date --
Kekal as a collective still actually exists, although nobody is
officially in the band.
CD Discography:
"Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams"
1998
"Embrace The Dead" 1999 "The Painful Experience" 2001
"1000 Thoughts of Violence" 2003
"Acidity" 2005
"The Habit of Fire" 2007
"Audible Minority" 2008
"8" 2011 "1000 Thoughts of Violence"
track listing:
1. Subsession/Once Again It Failed 4:36 2. Vox Diaboli 4:30 3. In Continuum 5:44 4. Paradigma Baru 2:32 5. Artifacts of Modern Insanity 5:16 6. Violent Society 5:03 7. Subsession II 4:56 8. Default 5:34 9. Beyond Numerical Reasons 12:19 On "1000 Thoughts of Violence",
Kekal was:
Jeff Arwadi - lead vocals, guitar,
bass, orchestrations
Azharlevi Sianturi - bass, vocals,
guitar "Sang Hitam" - drum machine
Doctor D, Jeff Arwadi - sampling,
electronic noise, programming
Safrina Arwadi - female vocals
BAND INFO:
Kekal's best-selling, heaviest, darkest release overall, and the
one squarely in the middle of
their historical progression from
album to album, "1000 Thoughts
of Violence" is a masterpiece in
avant-garde, progressive, forward-thinking and highly
intelligent music. Kekal music is
instantly recognizable at any
moment by its two main
components of success: intimate
experience and encyclopedic knowledge of their intended
musical vision, and expertise at
expressing it equal to Johnny
Carson's instinctual sense of how
hilarity can ensue.
The moment this album begins, one is aware of how much more
progressive and dark it is in
comparison. Kekal's combinations
of instruments have been
tinkered with in unusual ways
just to get the ideal PRODUCTION for this album: the kick drum is
far up in the mix, the bass is
sludgy and less prominent, and
the vocals are polished but yet
more manic and militaristic. The
goal was to destroy the natural groove that the band generally
relies on in order to make the
album sound slightly more clinical
and unsettling. Removing this
element means Kekal was taking
quite a risk, but they knew exactly what changes to make in
order to adapt to a new sound.
The drumming patterns have
taken ten huge steps towards
progressive metal, often playing
patterns that would be almost impossible for most human
drummers either by using
incredibly quick blasts or abrupt
tempo changes involving several
different distant parts of the kit
almost simultaneously. Sang also consciously steers away from
solid grooves and simplistic parts
when one is expecting them in a
frenzied accumulation of tension,
suggesting the violence that
forms the center of the album's concept. The guitar work in its
style and tone - both long
central points of the Kekal sound
- has also changed markedly,
taking on an industrial, often
cold feel: brutal low-end riffs appear fairly often, while the
trademark Kekal chords sound
ten times more sinister when
backed up by the drumming,
sped up 50% and doubled by
both guitarists. Bass, when audible - often not much at all -
merely suggests its presence
due to the production, as if
haunting the listener. The typical
avantgarde elements either add
a "Jakarta back alley" feel by using native Indonesian elements,
or increase the sense of tension
by often hurtling the songs to a
screaming halt.
The album concept this time is
centered on moral decline and human violence, which the Kekal
members have seen firsthand
everywhere in Indonesia. "1000
Thoughts of Violence" points to
how violence is in our minds and
lives every day - how we think about it in 1000 ways. The only
escape from our sorry human
nature, if one takes Kekal's
discography literally, is a return
to God - though they are no
longer a fully dedicated Christian band. Also note the original
concept of the 12-minute epic
"Beyond Numerical Reasons": in
three movements, it probes the
deeper meanings behind the
numbers 404, 911 (notably, how we now associate it with 9/11)
and 70x7, meaning infinity. (This
is a Biblical reference; Movement
III is about the inner struggle to
forgive or not to forgive.)
Experimental but always pointing towards a clear progression of
ideas, Kekal remained in full
control of their music even as
their experimental period began
to solidify into a coherent,
unique style of...shall we say, world music. Appreciate all
cultures, for everyone is unique
and may see what nobody else
can. Kekal offer their
contribution to the world metal
stage and, thanks to their innovative and pointed social
commentary, could be valid
candidates for Indonesia's United
Nations representatives.
www.kekal.org/freedownloads.php