Acidity is the fifth album by Indonesian avant-garde metal band Kekal. It was recorded in celebration of the band's tenth anniversary, and was an official reunion album for the band.[2][7][8] It marked the return of guitarist Leo Setiawan to the band, and includes the vocal talents of founding member Newbabe. The album was released following the band's successful 2004 European mini-tour, and a promotional concert and release party was held for the album on 13 March 2005 in Indonesia.[9] It was considered by many to be the band's strongest work to date,[10] and is one of four albums available for free download from the band on its website.
| Acidity | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 2005 (THT Productions/T.O.P/Musica Studios, cassette) March 2005 (Fear Dark Records, CD) | |||
| Recorded | Vision Studio, Jakarta, Indonesia Studio Vertigo, Melbourne, Australia | |||
| Genre | Avant-garde metal, electronic, extreme metal, heavy metal | |||
| Length | 56:06 | |||
| Label | THT Productions/T.O.P. Fear Dark Records | |||
| Producer | Jeff Arwadi Mixed at Vision Studio | |||
| Kekal compilations chronology | ||||
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| Kekal studio albums chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Arising Realm Magazine | 9.0/10[1] |
| HM Magazine | favorable[2] |
| Imperiumi.net | 5+/10[3] |
| Metal Storm | 7/10[4] |
| Powermetal.de | Highly favorable[5] |
| "Psych Folk" Radio | Extremely favorable[6] |
| Rock Tribune Magazine | 85/100 |
| Terrorizer | 8.5/10 |
There is a music video created for the song "Dream for a Moment".[11]
Concept
editThe band has stated that while each song does not represent the overall sound of the album, each song contributes to the album concept.[8] According to Jeff, the title is referencing acid indigestion caused by urban stress and eating fast food, and represents the stress of city living and economic hardship.[12]
Style
editAcidity continued with the experimental precedent set by 1000 Thoughts of Violence and included a wide variety of musical styles including avant-garde, black metal, classic rock, electronic, indie rock, progressive metal, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and trip hop.[2][13] Other elements incorporated into the sound were jazz and ambient passages as well as double-bass drum blasts.[2] The vocals range from black metal shrieks to death growls to clean vocal styles.[2] A review by progressive.homestead.com, a division of "Psych Folk" Radio, listed the album style as including elements of "symphonic metal, heavy metal (more like early Iron Maiden), dark and brutal metal, even a few seconds of hiphop metal".[6] Other elements cited were "gothic wave", jazzy melodies and improvisations, "pop song orientation with metal background", "progressive techno-electronic", "wild" progressive rock, and "some mad freakout theatrical avant-garde vocals", ambient guitar feedback, and "perhaps of few seconds of some Indonesian element."[6]
In an interview on Ultimate Metal.com, Jeff responded to the band being labeled "avant-garde": "For us, avant-garde is not a classification of music. It is a state of being, a state of becoming... ...once your music can be classified easily, I don't think the word progressive or avant-garde fits. So that's why we mention in our bio that "avant-garde" is an ideal state for us, and not a classification."[14]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Jeff Arwadi
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Characteristicon" | 5:59 |
| 2. | "Strength in My Weakness" | 4:56 |
| 3. | "Thy Neighbor's Morality" | 7:25 |
| 4. | "A Dream for a Moment" | 5:50 |
| 5. | "Broken" | 4:46 |
| 6. | "Envy and Its Manifesto" | 5:59 |
| 7. | "The Way of Thinking Beyond Comprehension" | 8:51 |
| 8. | "Romanitika Destruksi" | 2:25 |
| 9. | "Blessing in Disguise" | 5:38 |
| 10. | "Empty Space" | 4:08 |
Line up
edit
- Jeff Arwadi – vocals, guitars, programming, mixing
- Azharlevi Sianturi – bass, vocals
- Leo Setiawan – guitars
- Newin Atmarumeksa – vocals
With special guests:
- Didi Priyadi of Happy Day – guitars
- Jason DeRon of Paramaecium, Altera Enigma – guitar
- L. Rion – drums
- Hans Kurniawan of Inner Warfare – keys[15]
References
edit- ^ Freitag, Michael. "Kekal - Acidity". Arising Realm Magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Morrow, Matt (2005). "HM - Kekal Review". HM Magazine Sep/Oct Issue (#115). HM Magazine. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
- ^ Korpinen, Antti (3 October 2006). "Kekal - Acidity". Imperiumi.net (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ Promonex. "Kekal - Acidity - Rating details". Metal Storm. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ^ Lang, Stefan (2 April 2005). "Kekal - Acidity". Powermetal.de (in German). Weihrauch Median Verlang. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- ^ a b c "Kekal : Acidity". Progressive.homestead.com. "Psyche Folk" Radio. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ^ Neithan (2 June 2005). "Music is very unique and personal". Archaic Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
- ^ a b Kekal. "Acidity (2005)". Kekal.org. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
- ^ Kekal. "Kekal Shows". Kekal.org. Archived from the original on 26 October 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Kekal". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
- ^ Spitonitself (1 June 2007). "KEKAL - A Dream for A Moment". YouTube. Retrieved 2 June 2012.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ Kekal (11 September 2010). "Flashback, 15 Years of Kekal (1995 - 2010) - Part III: Acidity". Facebook. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
- ^ Wagner, Jeff (2010). Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal. Bazillion Points Books. p. 342. ISBN 9780979616334. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- ^ Jordan, Jason. "Kekal - UltimateMetal Revisits Indonesia". UltimateMetal.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
- ^ Lang, Stefan (28 April 2005). "Interview mit Jeff Arwadi" (in German). Powermetal.de. Retrieved 12 February 2011.