Acidity (album)

2005 studio album by Kekal

Acidity

Studio album by

Kekal

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
| Spirits from the Ancient Days
(2004)  |  |

|
|

Kekal studio albums chronology
| 1000 Thoughts of Violence
(2003)  | Acidity
(2005)  | The Habit of Fire
(2007)

|
|

Professional ratingsReview 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

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.

There is a music video created for the song "Dream for a Moment".[11]

## Concept

[edit]

The 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

[edit]

Acidity 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

[edit]

All 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]

Promotional poster for the album release party at The Avenue, Hotel Sari Pan Pacific, Jakarta, Indonesia

* 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]

1. ^ Freitag, Michael. "Kekal - Acidity". Arising Realm Magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2012.[permanent dead link]
2. ^ 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.
3. ^ Korpinen, Antti (3 October 2006). "Kekal - Acidity". Imperiumi.net (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 June 2012.
4. ^ Promonex. "Kekal - Acidity - Rating details". Metal Storm. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
5. ^ Lang, Stefan (2 April 2005). "Kekal - Acidity". Powermetal.de (in German). Weihrauch Median Verlang. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
6. ^ a b c "Kekal : Acidity". Progressive.homestead.com. "Psyche Folk" Radio. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
7. ^ Neithan (2 June 2005). "Music is very unique and personal". Archaic Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
8. ^ a b Kekal. "Acidity (2005)". Kekal.org. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
9. ^ Kekal. "Kekal Shows". Kekal.org. Archived from the original on 26 October 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
10. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Kekal". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
11. ^ Spitonitself (1 June 2007). "KEKAL - A Dream for A Moment". YouTube. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
12. ^ Kekal (11 September 2010). "Flashback, 15 Years of Kekal (1995 - 2010) - Part III: Acidity". Facebook. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
13. ^ Wagner, Jeff (2010). Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal. Bazillion Points Books. p. 342\. ISBN 9780979616334. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
14. ^ Jordan, Jason. "Kekal - UltimateMetal Revisits Indonesia". UltimateMetal.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
15. ^ Lang, Stefan (28 April 2005). "Interview mit Jeff Arwadi" (in German). Powermetal.de. Retrieved 12 February 2011.

* v
* t
* e

Kekal

* Jeff Arwadi
* Azhar Levi Sianturi
* Leo Setiawan

Studio albums|

* Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams
* Embrace the Dead
* The Painful Experience
* 1000 Thoughts of Violence
* Acidity
* The Habit of Fire
* Audible Minority
* 8
* Autonomy

Compilation albums|

* Introduce Us to Immortality

Collaborations|

* Chaos & Warfare

Related articles|

* Discography
* Overcome or Burn Forever in Hell/Arachnid Terror Sampler

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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