Quantum Resolution (2020)
12th full-length studio album
Album Description
"All nature, all formations, all creatures exist in and with one another, and they will be resolved again into their own roots. For the nature of matter is resolved into the roots of its own nature alone."
"Quantum Resolution" is by-far the most important Kekal album from the lyrical perspective. It can be considered as a "concept album" (the second of such from Kekal, after 2007 album "The Habit of Fire"), with all the songs relate themselves to the main/central theme, one way or another.
Thematically, the album is based on the spiritual insight, or Gnosis: The revelation about knowing who we really are as a species and as Humanity and where we are going. The lyrics dig with our dark history from a distant past, and also dig into our present time and future as well: what is our role here on Earth, and how do we deal with all the deceptions that are so rampant and very structural encompassing every aspect of life, as we are closing the chapter of our present age.
The music follows every song's temperament and general mood led by the lyrics. Stylistically, the album follows Kekal's faithful tradition by utilizing avant-garde and alternative approach to various expressions of rock, metal and electronic music.
Release Note
CD version is a limited-edition released by Eastbreath Records. Digital download can be chosen in either high-bitrate mp3 or other audio formats (lossless FLAC and ALAC available). Both can be purchased through Bandcamp. See section below for purchasing information.
Credits
Produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Jeff Arwadi at Ideation Station
Partial photography by Levi Sianturi & Jeff Arwadi
Front cover concept and digital artwork by Jeff Arwadi
Front cover photography by SCA
Since 2009, Kekal has no official band members.
Media Interviews/Articles Related to Quantum Resolution
- Marunouchi Muzik Magazine
- Metal Storm
- Idioteq
- Echoes Zine
- Musikeras (in Indonesian)
- RockHard Italy issue November 2020 (print magazine -in Italian)
- Slowly We Rot issue #16 (print magazine)
- EJMZine issue #4 (print magazine -in Indonesian)
Downloading, Streaming + Purchasing Information
Digital Album - Download + Streaming
Direct from Kekal @ Bandcamp.
Lossless formats (FLAC, ALAC) or high-bitrate mp3 available for audio download, plus streaming from Bandcamp app. Download comes with a 12-page digital booklet in PDF format.Other digital music stores + online streaming sites:
Apple Music/iTunes, Spotify, Deezer, YouTube Music, Amazon Digital, Shazam, etc...
Physical Album - Limited edition CD
The CD is factory-pressed and comes with a 12-page saddle-stitched booklet and a double-sided traycard (standard jewel-case packaging). December 2021 Update: No longer available to order.
Free Download Quantum Resolution
If for some reason you are unable to pay for the album, no need to look for it elsewhere. Free download codes for this album are available from Bandcamp.
Email kekalband@gmail.com and ask for your free download code.
Music Videos + Audio Streaming
Album Reviews
"Indonesia’s Kekal observe 25 years with their most 'out there' release to date, having evolved from extreme metal/punk crossover to avant-garde exhortations of musical and philosophical evolution."
—Metal Hammer (UK)
"Comparing Kekal with pretty much everything else is weird, in the sense that they manage to make music that should be pretty conventional, at least at times, but it feels so twisted and eerie that it's as if it doesn't come from the same framework as most other music." 8/10
"Quantum Resolution doesn't just create a discussion about musical styles, it goes further and manages to create different sensations and thoughts in each track. That's the magic that enchanted me ... It's not just about music." 9/10
"Honestly, there’s so much going on in the music of Kekal – almost to the point where it could overwhelm more casual listeners... One obvious benefit of having such a wide range in influence is that Kekal could never feels like an imitation of any band."
"KEKAL is a pioneer of black metal in Indonesia, but it has evolved into a variety of modern metal monsters that are completely impossible to describe with a single word of black metal... If Extreme Metal is Java, I think that KEKAL is the real Indonesian miniature that forms a multicultural archipelago..." 10/10
—Marunouchi Muzik magazine (Japan)
Read full review in Japanese
"In summary, Quantum Resolution is presented to the worldwide audience of extreme music as a long-standing scheme and despite that, the album is a worthy representative of new and great-inventive music." 8.5/10
"At first, the music of Kekal was strange to me, but getting more and more immersed in it invited me on an exciting musical journey and I must admit that although it is foreign to me, it is possible that I will get it in the future." 7.5/10
—Rozsdagyár Rockmagazin (Hungary)
Read full review in Hungarian
"It is great that Kekal dares to think outside the box, not too many bands do that and that’s always a positive thing when a band does that. So, I think you should have a look at this really strong album, it looks great in quantum resolution – really enjoyable stuff." 5/7
" A proggier take on post-black that goes in more unexpected directions than I can count. Textured, eclectic, cathartic."
"So, using many different styles such as reggae, hip hop, dubstep, industrial, space-rock and death metal, which may somehow fit together, but the inclined listener who does not deal with experimental sounds 24 hours at a time may possibly get on the nerves quickly..." 8/15
Insight - Behind the lyrics Q&A with Jeff
NOTE: Full in-depth behind-the-lyrics discussions of "Quantum Resolution" album's entire songs are compiled into a PDF document. Click here to download the PDF (mobile-friendly layout, 120 pages - Updated March 2022)
Q: "Quantum Resolution" is said to be the 2nd concept album under the Kekal banner. The first one is of course the band's 6th album: the classic and highly-regarded 2007 "The Habit of Fire". Is there any similarities between the two in terms of the general concept of both music and lyrics?
Jeff: To some degree, there's a line that connects both albums, other than the fact that it’s the 6th and 12th album respectively. "The Habit of Fire" basically tells the story about recognizing slavery in a kind of modern-day post-dictatorship urban setting. It's a fictional story but based on combination of real experiences from psychological, historical and existential perspectives. It tells about those in power, the authority, that always manage to enslave us as their workforce or "assets" for their benefits, by giving us false freedom and "robotic" mindset of needs, obedience and survival. Then after some period of confusion and isolation, the protagonist found that he possesses the power of imagination, that can create a so-called "alternate world" only from imagining or day-dreaming. At first, he got freaked out and thought that he's going insane because his "imaginations" became more and more "real" and at some point even entered his perception, but these so-called imaginations or fantasies actually helped him to escape his prisoner mindset (his sense of powerlessness), and with that he can actually fight his own fears and terror. Towards the end of the album, on the last track called "Escapism", it talks about his escapism; a kind of fantasizing or imagining his escape from his prison of enslavement and that gave him hope as if he would finally find an escape in reality.
Now, the lyrics on "Quantum Resolution" tell roughly about the similar story, but based on my own spiritual journey and experience. And this is far more real to me. Since a few years ago, I've got so many synchronistic revelations leading me to receive new knowledge or insights, whether through in-depth research on history from many perspectives, archeological discoveries, myths and traditions from ancient civilizations, etc, down to the more recent findings in Quantum Field Theory, in order to connect all the dots. It’s all based on basic quest of getting to know who we are. Those which also help expose the lies and deceptions of so many things I previously held whether as a result of dogma and propaganda taught since my childhood days through education, religion, media and so on. Same thing, there was a period of me freaking-out when I came to realization that this world and this whole perceptual "universe" of matter; our dimension including space-time, is a some kind of illusion or "holographic" one. [reference link 1] [reference link 2] An imperfect "shadow world/universe/dimension" so to speak. The matrix that "virtually" simulates or modelled after the real incorruptible one, and that we're somehow "bound" within this matrix where perception to this holographic “reality” seems to be real, without even realizing. Also some other revelations about the origin of our species, and the nature of this world that is ruled by these spiritual forces of evil that always try to enslave us. And also about the nature of god or gods that influenced or even maybe directly told our ancient civilizations to worship as god(s), is/are not God in the true sense, but it/he/they became god(s) that most people tend to worship due to the traditional and/or religious backgrounds, also because of the systematic deceptions. But on the upside, one of these realizations that I've got about who we really are, is that we are actually above those rulers in the Spirit, the Spirit that comes from the true God the Father/Source which enables us to communicate directly to the Source (without any mediation from religious authority) and lead us into ultimate re-connection to the reality once we're no longer in this "bodily prison"/avatar in the holographic universe. I've learned so much only during this short period which I call it a journey of discovery, or gnosis by popular term. Many of the lyrics are based on the personal revelations that I've got. Later on, about early 2018, I came across the suppressed old writings that were meant to be destroyed by those in power (which re-appeared again not too long ago, in 1945), which actually re-affirm almost everything that I've experienced and what have been revealed.
Musically, I can't say much because there are 12 to 13 years in between. I can't really go back to what Kekal had during recording "The Habit of Fire". The environment is very different now, and I don't have time to play around with anything as much as I did in 2006 when "The Habit of Fire" was recorded. "Quantum Resolution" is probably more "spacey" and maybe more “cosmic” at the same time, and less complex in terms of structural arrangements than "The Habit of Fire". The lyrics are much more spiritual, so the music would reflect its introspective and esoteric tendencies than the almost over-the-top experimentation on "The Habit of Fire", because that album talks about wild imaginations as part of the story, while "Quantum Resolution" is about spiritual journey and personal revelations. “Quantum Resolution” is the most spiritual album I’ve ever written in terms of the lyrics.
Download and read the full in-depth behind-the-lyrics discussions of "Quantum Resolution" album's entire songs, compiled into a PDF document. 120 pages. Updated March 2022.
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