Kekal

Kekal emerged among the earliest heavy metal acts from Jakarta, Indonesia, to gain traction beyond local borders, and they appear to represent the first black metal outfit to openly uphold Christian convictions. The band originated in 1995 with Jeff Arwadi on guitars, vocals, and programming, Leo Setiawan on guitars, Azhar Sianturi on bass and vocals, and vocalist Harry. Three albums arrived in rapid order—Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams in 1998, Embrace the Dead in 1999, and The Painful Experience in 2001—yet personnel changes reduced the lineup to the duo of Arwadi and Sianturi by the time of their fourth release, 1000 Thoughts of Violence, which explored extreme progressive directions. Setiawan rejoined for Acidity in 2005, an album widely regarded by fans and reviewers as Kekal’s finest to date, and the quintet’s fifth full-length, The Habit of Fire, appeared in 2007.