Jeff and Levi photos by Daniel Lindholm
Leo photo by anonymous
Influences
A-ha, Amebix, Björk, Black Sabbath, Camel, Celtic Frost, Chroma Key, Cocteau Twins, Chick Corea, Miles Davis, Depeche Mode, Discharge, Duran Duran, Godflesh, Iron Maiden, Joy Division, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, Mahavishnu Orchestra, The Mars Volta, Massive Attack, Curtis Mayfield, Merzbow, Pat Metheny, Wes Montgomery, Gary Moore, Napalm Death, N.E.R.D., Outkast, Paradise Lost, Parliament, Pink Floyd, The Police, Portishead, Radiohead, Recoil, Return to Forever, Rush, Soft Machine, Sonic Youth, Talk Talk, Tangerine Dream, Trouble, U2, Voivod,... etc.
These are the streaming audio of 30-second to 1-minute samples/snapshots from "The Habit of Fire" album.
Words from the press about "The Habit of Fire"
"...their tightness and discipline as a unit is impressive, and you can tell that they’ve been playing together for a long time. The adjective ‘progressive’ has been over-used in music, but Kekal have more right to it than most. " - Sound On Sound Magazine (CD of The Month)
"The Habit of Fire is as compelling as it is bizarre. The 70-minute CD is like flipping randomly between radio stations playing Rush, King Crimson, Ulver, and the Mars Volta, yet there’s a cohesiveness that keeps everything from imploding, highlighted by the remarkable, 15-minute 'Escapism'. Truly one of a kind." - Popmatters
"The Habit of Fire is a progressive, adventurous album that almost transcends the metal tag altogether. It is living proof that music is only limited by the creativity of the artists. If there is any justice in this world, this album will bring Kekal some much deserved attention from fans all over the world." - Metalreview.com
"This is an album that's extremely difficult to categorize...This is an album that's experimental, unusual and completely unique." - About.com
"This is vibrant interesting metal of a decidedly experimental nature...The axe-work is some of the tastiest I have heard in a while... All in all, this is genius (a word used too easily, but here completely justified) and is on my personal top-ten list for 2007." - Avantgarde-Metal.com
August 2005, after 10 years of existence as a band, KEKAL decided to move forward and to come deep into musical territories yet unexplored by the band. Throughout the year 2006, KEKAL was busy recording and shaping their 6th album entitled "The Habit of Fire", an ambitious project which marks a new statement for the band. "The Habit of Fire" is an experimental (but yet accessible) 70-minute epic concept album of 'urban avantgarde metal', with a liberal use of electronic elements and mix of countless musical sub-genres to accompany their trademark guitar-driven soundscapes. March 15th will see the release of "The Habit of Fire" on Whirlwind Records (Germany) for Europe and some South America, with a May 15th release date set for the USA, Canada, Australia & Japan on Open Grave Records (USA).
KEKAL started out in 1995 as a more straightforward extreme metal band. Throughout the first 5 years, they developed their own style by incorporating many diverse elements from outside metal, but not until they released "The Painful Experience" (2001), their 3rd album which marked as a starting point for the band to step more and more into the progressive territory and started to make further experiments with their music.
In 2003, they released "1000 Thoughts of Violence", an album that has gained a lot of attention even beyond the Asian region due to the uniqueness of their music, combining elements of jazz-fusion, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, trip-hop, experimental electronic and ambient music, and blend them together into their own distinct style. Critics then started to cite Kekal among the finest independent avant-garde metal bands, and they toured Europe for the first time in 2004. In 2005 they released their 5th album "Acidity".
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Discography full-length albums:
[click album cover for more details on track-listing, credits and media reviews]
The Habit of Fire
(2007)
Acidity
(2005)
1000
Thoughts of Violence (2003)
The
Painful Experience
(2001)
Embrace
The Dead (1999)
Beyond
The Glimpse of Dreams (1998)
Split-Albums:
"Chaos & Warfare" (2002)
split CD with SLECHTVALK
Best-Of/Collection
Albums:
"Introduce Us to Immortality" - best of album (2003)
"Spirits from The Ancient Days" - demos re-issue (2004)
I like the new video. The walking/stair climbing parts are rad. Also, the Cash cover is nice! I'm getting more and more curious about the new album. Hope all is well!
Hello fellas. I just wanted to stop by and say that I have listened to the Johnny Cash cover at least ten times since it has been posted. I really do love it! Excellent production and a perfect kick you gave it. I forwarded the link to my grandmother so she can listen to it, as she likes Johnny Cash. Hopefully she will love it and I can turn her over to metal!
It took me some time, but in the end I got "The Habit of Fire"! Great innovative album, it's been stuck in my car radio for a long time now! Just read that you plan on covering A-Ha, looking forward to how that's going to sound.
