Kekal – The Habit of Fire
Open Grave Records/Whirlwind Records - May 15, 2007
By Jason Jordan
Though I could try, it’d be pointless to hide my dismay at the thought of a black metal-free Kekal, but when they announced that The Habit of Fire would be in a different vein than all previous outings, I simply crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. While the Indonesians’ sixth full-length is heavily steeped in electronica – as their music’s been for some time – it’s more rock than metal on the whole. Nevertheless, it proves a solid listen despite the lessening of aggression and near absence of BM, but is admittedly not up to par with 2005’s Acidity, which could quite be their magnum opus up to this point.
Still, ‘The Gathering of Ants’ is a curveball insomuch that no significant changes seem to have occurred in the overall Kekal sound. It is a reasonably heavy tune laced with synth effects and clean vocals – the latter simply competent. ‘Isolated I’ is similar, though I can’t shake the feeling that Rush influenced these guys since I hear faint likenesses during certain sections. The 11-minute ‘Manipulator Generals (Part I of Dictatorship),’ which has three parts itself, is perhaps more in tune with industrial than electronica and also includes a fair amount of noise. Not to be missed either is the 15-minute, five-part ‘Escapism.’ THoF, like many of its individual compositions, samples an array of human emotions and generally has a passage to coincide with each of them, making it a melting pot both style and mood-wise.
Lamenting or decrying stylistic changes does no good, and bands that remain unchanged over the years sometimes come dangerously close to stagnation, providing they manage to avoid it in the first place. Like I said earlier, I miss the black metal that often emanated from their earlier works – especially the growls, which are few and far between here – but The Habit of Fire is an interesting release that’ll keep listeners busy at over 70 minutes in length. While Kekal continue to evolve, I must again state that my loyalties do indeed lie with Acidity.
Official Kekal Website
Official Open Grave Records Website
Official Whirlwind Records Website
Open Grave Records/Whirlwind Records - May 15, 2007
By Jason Jordan
Though I could try, it’d be pointless to hide my dismay at the thought of a black metal-free Kekal, but when they announced that The Habit of Fire would be in a different vein than all previous outings, I simply crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. While the Indonesians’ sixth full-length is heavily steeped in electronica – as their music’s been for some time – it’s more rock than metal on the whole. Nevertheless, it proves a solid listen despite the lessening of aggression and near absence of BM, but is admittedly not up to par with 2005’s Acidity, which could quite be their magnum opus up to this point.
Still, ‘The Gathering of Ants’ is a curveball insomuch that no significant changes seem to have occurred in the overall Kekal sound. It is a reasonably heavy tune laced with synth effects and clean vocals – the latter simply competent. ‘Isolated I’ is similar, though I can’t shake the feeling that Rush influenced these guys since I hear faint likenesses during certain sections. The 11-minute ‘Manipulator Generals (Part I of Dictatorship),’ which has three parts itself, is perhaps more in tune with industrial than electronica and also includes a fair amount of noise. Not to be missed either is the 15-minute, five-part ‘Escapism.’ THoF, like many of its individual compositions, samples an array of human emotions and generally has a passage to coincide with each of them, making it a melting pot both style and mood-wise.
Lamenting or decrying stylistic changes does no good, and bands that remain unchanged over the years sometimes come dangerously close to stagnation, providing they manage to avoid it in the first place. Like I said earlier, I miss the black metal that often emanated from their earlier works – especially the growls, which are few and far between here – but The Habit of Fire is an interesting release that’ll keep listeners busy at over 70 minutes in length. While Kekal continue to evolve, I must again state that my loyalties do indeed lie with Acidity.
Official Kekal Website
Official Open Grave Records Website
Official Whirlwind Records Website
