Style: Avante-Garde/Black Metal/Electronic (mixed vocals)
Review by: Matt
Country: Indonesia/Canada
Release date: 01-08-2020
Do you like black metal, vocaloid and trap beats, but thanks to the hectic modern world, you only have time to listen to one album? Hey… Kekal.
I’ve crossed paths with Kekal before, many years ago: I remember listening to Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams and The Habit of Fire, and while I respected what the band was doing in the 2000s, they didn’t enter my repertoire again until now. It’s reassuring that they’ve been cranking out this bizarre music for 25 years and still haven’t made any concessions to normalcy. You don’t go a quarter century just rattling off genres that shouldn’t go together – that’s a “life’s work” span of time. They clearly know what they want to do by this point, and it doesn’t really matter if we like it or not.
So, do I like it? Yeah, though my relationship with this album is purely intellectual curiosity. I can’t say the individual elements are all that amazing… The clean vocals carry a tune and nothing more, the harshes get buried in the mix, the drums are programmed and stiff. They sound like drum machines from twenty years ago, and for all I know, maybe they still use the same one. The trap beats are the most recognizable calling card, and… they certainly happen. It sounds gimmicky, and I suppose it is, but they’re such a frequent occurrence that they earn their place. This album doesn’t exactly bring out the best of all the genres it dabbles in, but it is listenable and often fascinating for its creativity.
Nothing here is listener-friendly, but it’s not a train wreck either, and this went by a lot quicker than most hour-long albums I’ve reviewed for the blog. I think that’s thanks to the sheer audacity of the songs, which are by nature kind of disjointed but never dull. The chord choices are tastefully jazzy, and the song structure is loose, but still present. For the quick tour, try “Hidden No More” – You’ll immediately know from the beeping if this album will entertain or annoy you, and I think this song has the strongest tension and flow while showcasing the band’s insanity. On the one hand, it’s got a surf guitar riff with 90s techno sounds over it, but on the other hand there’s that epic, vaguely-unsettling guitar melody at the end. To me, this is the appropriate blend of wacky and serious, while other tracks might go a little too far. Who am I kidding, this one goes too far too, but it is a pretty gripping piece.
I’d say Quantum Resolution is a successful experiment, except these experiments are just business as usual for these very peculiar musicians. My feeling isn’t one of total triumph, though, so much as the relief one feels when a juggler manages not to cut off his hand with a chainsaw. Definitely worth listening to once, though like last time, I don’t know if I’ll be coming back to it. I am glad that Kekal exists and makes these albums, though.
Recommended tracks: Hidden No More, Spiritual Anarchism
Recommended for fans of: Manes, Ulver
Final verdict: 6/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Independent
Kekal is:
No official lineup, but…
Jeff Arwadi (likely everything)
Leo Setiawan (possibly guitars)
Azhar Levi Sianturi (possibly bass)
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