3 former key members are Jeff Arwadi (guitars, vocals, programming, drums), Azhar Levi Sianturi (bass, vocals), and Leo Setiawan (guitars), all have left the band in 2009.
They started in 1995 as a more straightforward black metal band. Throughout the first 5 years, they developed their own style by incorporating many diverse elements from outside metal. This distinct style become most prominent in the third album "The Painful Experience", which marked as a starting point for the band to step more and more into the progressive metal and avant-garde metal and made further experiments with their music.
In 2003, they released "1000 Thoughts of Violence" and received positive media reviews. This led to their first European mini-tour in 2004, playing a string of shows in countries such as Germany, Netherlands, and Sweden. After that tour, they released their 5th album, "Acidity", in 2005. They made even further experiments on their 6th album, "The Habit of Fire", which found the band decreasing their early metal sound to give more room for jazz, avantgarde and electronic elements.
In 2006, right after the recording of "The Habit of Fire", founding member Jeff Arwadi moved to Canada while the rest of the members are in Indonesia, leaving the band unable to play shows and do touring. At the same time they left their longtime record label Fear Dark and status of the band was in question. After few months of uncertainty and rumors of break-up went around among their fans, they all decided to remain together and to keep the band only as a studio project. They quickly signed licensing deals with 2 record labels to release "The Habit of Fire" in 2007. The album received very well and it was nominated as The Best Avantgarde Metal Album in 2007 by Metal Storm, as well as CD of The Month by UK’s music technology magazine Sound on Sound.
Later in 2007, Jeff announced on the band’s Blog that the new Kekal album is on the way, which he has been working it all by himself. It was revealed later on, that the new album is entitled "Audible Minority", and it was released officially in December 25, 2008 with a total of 11 songs including an A-ha cover song.
On August 12th, 2009, Jeff decided to leave Kekal, citing a plethora of reasons including but not limited to lack of inspiration. As Leo has also agreed to leave if Jeff leaves, and that Levi has already left earlier, Kekal effectively has no members remaining. The band, however, will continue to “exist” as an institution, albeit with no active members.
In January 2010, Jeff announced that he has been working on a new material with a possibility to be released under the Kekal name. It came to surface shortly after, that all 3 former members have also contributed in working the new album titled 8, officially released in December 2010. But however, there is no sign that they will rejoin the band as members, leaving Kekal as a zero-member band.
With no official members, Kekal is still active to this date, limited only to make and release new studio material (albums, EPs). In 2012 another full-length album entitled Autonomy was released on CD as well as free digital download, followed by a 5-track EP called Unsung Division EP.
"Kekal" means "eternal" in Indonesian.
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Millennium
Kekal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Another task, another failure
Beneath these physical progressions
We've made one giant step of degradation
Reaching the point of no return
As this world falls beyond control
Should we call this "development"?
Time will no heal the wounds and scars
Through the ages that we've passed
The love we have is the love we deny
Where greed seems for mor appealing
Millions have died as the victms of wars
And the millions live under extreme poverty
When we try to find something to blame,
Our fingers are pointing of ourselves
It is so unpredictable... suddenly alll drown so deep
Our world is now crumble
Crumbled-down withing a thousand year
Lord please forgive us, we are weak
Live this life so far away from You Way
Here we must face the consequence
So many years we've refused to seek the Truth
Chosen to be under the influence...
...of ignorance
We've passed through the ages with greed
Creating all the profit-seeking systems
We built a tower withouth proper foundations
But now it's all too late as the tower falls...
This is what we are: helpless in our frustation
But yet I still hear the voice calling me back
I know I've wandered, so far away
From the pathway that is prepared for us
Everything changes
As we're approaching another millenium
But Your Love still remains the same
With the presence of You in our hearts
I believe, our love will survive
The Kekal song Millennium is a deeply introspective and critical commentary on the state of humanity as we approach the turn of the millennium. The lyrics speak to the cyclical nature of life- the same issues of greed, war, poverty, and ignorance continue to plague us from generation to generation. The chorus refers to the concept of reaching the point of no return, suggesting that our actions have led us to the brink of self-destruction. The lyricist also highlights the irony of physical progressions- advances in technology and knowledge have not translated into better moral or ethical values.
The verses take a somber tone, touching on themes of loss, futility, and regret. The phrase "the love we have is the love we deny" seems to suggest that as a society, we choose to ignore love and compassion in favor of self-gratification and profit-seeking. The song also acknowledges the staggering loss of life and the vast divide between rich and poor. The pre-chorus speaks to the inevitability of change as we approach another millennium but ultimately offers hope for redemption through the presence of love and kindness in our hearts.
Line by Line Meaning
Another year, another lesson to learn
Every year, we learn something new
Another task, another failure
Every task comes with the possibility of failure
Beneath these physical progressions
Despite advancements in technology and science
We've made one giant step of degradation
We have reached an all-time low despite progress
Reaching the point of no return
We have reached a dangerous point of irreversible destruction
As this world falls beyond control
The world is falling apart and we cannot stop it
Should we call this "development"?
Is our so-called progress really development?
Or should we agree "it's a self-destruction"?
Perhaps we should admit that we are destroying ourselves
Time will no heal the wounds and scars
Healing takes more than just time
Through the ages that we've passed
Throughout all of history
The love we have is the love we deny
We have love but we do not show it
Where greed seems for more appealing
Our desire for more has blinded us to love
Millions have died as the victms of wars
War has taken many lives
And the millions live under extreme poverty
Poverty affects millions of people
When we try to find something to blame,
When we look for someone to blame
Our fingers are pointing of ourselves
We are to blame
It is so unpredictable... suddenly alll drown so deep
Things can change quickly and unpredictably
Our world is now crumble
The world is falling apart
Crumbled-down withing a thousand year
The world has been falling apart for a long time
Lord please forgive us, we are weak
We are weak and we need forgiveness
Live this life so far away from You Way
We are living our lives far from God's path
Here we must face the consequence
We must face the consequences of our actions
So many years we've refused to seek the Truth
We have ignored the truth for many years
Chosen to be under the influence...
We have chosen to be influenced by ignorance
We've passed through the ages with greed
Throughout history, greed has driven us
Creating all the profit-seeking systems
Our systems prioritize profit over people and the environment
We built a tower withouth proper foundations
We have built a world without a solid moral foundation
But now it's all too late as the tower falls...
It is too late to fix things as the world crumbles
This is what we are: helpless in our frustation
We are helpless in our frustration
But yet I still hear the voice calling me back
I still hear hope calling to me
I know I've wandered, so far away
I have strayed from the path of love
From the pathway that is prepared for us
The path of love has been set before us
Everything changes
Change is inevitable
As we're approaching another millenium
As we near a new millennium
But Your Love still remains the same
God's love never changes
With the presence of You in our hearts
With God's presence in our hearts
I believe, our love will survive
I believe that love can endure
Contributed by Samantha P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.