HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The Painful Experience'' is the third full-length studio album by
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n
extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
band
Kekal Kekal (sometimes stylized as KEKAL) is a heavy metal and electronic music band formed in 1995 in Jakarta, Indonesia. According to AllMusic, Kekal was one of the first heavy metal bands from Indonesia to make international inroads, and accordin ...
. It marks the transition of Kekal from straightforward melodic
black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...
to a more distinct
progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...
style, while still retaining the intensity and speed. The title refers to the recording sessions for ''
Embrace the Dead ''Embrace the Dead'' is the second album by Indonesian extreme metal band Kekal. It reached sold-out status in 2004. On 15 August 2010, a new, remastered limited edition entitled ''Embrace the Dead 1999'' was released as a free download, for up to ...
''. Guitarist
Leo Setiawan Leonard "Leo" Setiawan is mainly known as a former guitarist for progressive metal band Kekal. His main occupation is civil engineer and he owns and operates a building development firm in Jakarta, Indonesia. Kekal Leo joined Kekal in 1996, ju ...
left the band before the recording sessions began and moved to
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, but he was still listed on the album credits as a guitarist due to his contribution to the album's songwriting and general concept. The album was released by four independent labels: Fear Dark in the Netherlands for the European market, Clenchedfist Records in the United States for the North American market, Indonesian label THT Productions for the
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
n market, and HROM/HIRAX for Eastern European market.


Reception

Kekal experimented greatly on ''The Painful Experience'', and received mixed to positive reviews. The album was praised by critics for its numerous experiments and emotional quality, but was criticized for Jeff's
falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...
screaming on some of the songs, which drew comparisons to
King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...
. Austrian magazine ''Arising Realm Magazine'' rated the album 6.0 out of 10, stating that the band had potential but that the album was vague. Staff member Promonex of
Metal Storm Metal Storm Limited was a research and development company based in Brisbane, Australia, that specialized in electronically initiated superposed load weapons technology and owned the proprietary rights to the electronic ballistics technolog ...
also rated the album 6/10, while Stefan Lang from Powermetal.de viewed the album very favorably. Peter Doorakers of Lords of Metal rated the album 80 out of 100, concluding that "All in all a fine album. The more adventurous black metalfans should give it a try." In 2010,
Christian contemporary Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
hard-music music magazine ''
HM Magazine ''HM Magazine'' is a monthly, digital and print on demand publication focusing on hard music and alternative culture of interest to Christians. It is headquartered in Houston, Texas. The magazine states that its goal is to "honestly and accurate ...
'' ranked it number 59 on their Top 100
Christian metal Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by ...
albums of all-time list with Lloyd Harp stating about the album: "This Indonesian band's early work was primitive black metal. ''The Painful Experience'' took the harshness of black metal, but infused it with lots of melodies and some progressive sensibilities. It hinted at the ground their later works would traverse, but ''The Painful Experience'' is perhaps the most successful of their fusion of progressive metal and extreme black metal."


Style

The diverse style of the album includes elements of
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
,
thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work *Thrash (surname) * Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *'' Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video gam ...
,
power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...
,
classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...
, and symphonic black metal. In a recent interview with the band's
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
staff, Jeff stated that he had forgotten how much energy and intensity he and the other band members put into recording the album. He also admitted that album contains a fair amount of
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
influence, and that he had been listening to a lot of Iron Maiden material at the time of recording.


Lyrical themes

For this release, the band expanded its lyrical approach to tackle the current socio-political scene in Indonesia. The opening track "The Monsters Within" is based on a true story of an impoverished man who is reduced to stealing but is caught and beaten by a mob. The song "Mean Attraction" is about terrorism and is based on the Indonesian Christmas Eve church bombings of 2000. The title track is about the painfulness of life and how
Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
have to take up their cross.


Track listing


Personnel

Line-up: *Jeff Arwadi –
guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
, synth orchestrations,
noises Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...
and samples, additional bass *Azhar Levi Sianturi – bass, vocals, additional guitar *Leo Setiawan – guitars (credited, but did not perform) *FXAJ – additional guitars, noises and samples, additional
arrangements In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...
*Doctor D – additional vocals, noises and samples, additional arrangements *Sang Hitam – drum machine Additional Credits: *Aris Darisman – severed face
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
*Jeff Arwadi –
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
and mixing *Jeff/Soundmind Graphics – cover layout design


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Painful Experience 2001 albums Kekal albums