Kekal
A restless collision of black metal, glitchy electronics, and jazz fusion. It sounds like a digital ghost haunting a heavy metal studio in Jakarta.
A restless collision of black metal, glitchy electronics, and jazz fusion. It sounds like a digital ghost haunting a heavy metal studio in Jakarta.
Kekal sounds like the future of metal as imagined by someone locked in a room with a high-end computer and a collection of 90s black metal tapes. It is a dense, often overwhelming experience where blast beats suddenly dissolve into ambient synth pads or jagged jazz-inflected guitar solos. The production is distinctly digital and layered, favoring a sharp, clinical clarity over traditional metal warmth.
What makes them truly distinctive is their complete disregard for the 'rules' of extreme music. Since becoming a memberless studio project, they have leaned into a 'street-progressive' aesthetic that feels more like an art-rock experiment than a traditional band. You might hear a hip-hop breakbeat or a New Wave synth line right in the middle of a technical metal riff, yet it feels intentional rather than ironic.
Start with '1000 Thoughts of Violence' to hear the moment they truly broke away from their black metal roots. If you prefer something more atmospheric and electronic-forward, 'The Habit of Fire' offers a fascinating look at how they deconstructed the metal genre entirely.
Kekal is an Indonesian extreme metal band formed in 1995 in Jakarta. According to AllMusic, Kekal was one of the first heavy metal bands from Indonesia to make international inroads, and, according to sociologist of heavy metal, Keith Kahn-Harris, was one of the few extreme metal bands from Southeast Asia to ever make more than a minimal impression on the global scene. Founded by two musicians known simply Yeris and Newbabe, the band underwent some shifts in lineup in its early years, but emerged with a consistent lineup of three key-members, guitarist/vocalist Jeff Arwadi, bassist Azhar Levi Sianturi, and guitarist Leo Setiawan. Over the course of its career, Kekal has transitioned from a primarily black metal-based style into progressive metal, avant-garde metal, and electronic music, incorporating many other genres such as ambient, jazz fusion, and progressive rock. The band debuted its first studio album in 1998 with Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams and has so far released thirteen full-length studio albums, four EPs, several compilations and contributions to various collaborative albums. After its fourth studio album, 1000 Thoughts of Violence, in 2003, the band embarked on 2004 mini-tour of Europe. After three more studio albums – Acidity (2005), The Habit of Fire (2007), and Audible Minority (2008) – all remaining band members officially left Kekal in August 2009. The band has continued as a legal entity since then, the former members contributing material as the band continues to release new albums. Since 2015, all musical contributions to new recordings are kept anonymous.
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