Albums of Purgatory interview Kekal's guitarist
Albums of Purgatory: Firstly, whats the band up to
right now?
Jeff: We're currently writing new material for our next album.. So far about 3
or 4 songs done and we were demoing some of them to see how they will go..
AoP: How would you describe the Kekal sound?
J: Intense, aggressive, emotional, melodic, progressive, a bit experimental, and
a bit technical as well.. We've been labeled as progressive black metal,
symphonic metal, or melodic death metal, but I think we are not really fit into
particular sub-genres of metal..
AoP: How did you get involved with the band?
J: Actually I was helping Kekal when we were still a one-time project band in
1995, but then became a permanent member in 1996..
AoP: Can you remember your first gig (how did it go)?
J: My first gig was with my high-school band, long ago.. It was not so good, but
I remember such cool things from that moment, as we were the high school's
heaviest band who didn't know how to play instruments..
AoP: What sort of reaction have you been getting from fans
and press since the release of the split with Slechtvalk?
J: The CD has just been released and the label Fear Dark just mailed out the
promos few weeks ago, so no press responses yet for now as it's still too
early.. As from listeners, some already wrote us that they like our songs from
the split.. Since Kekal and Slechtvalk are very different to each other so the
fans are different too.. The good thing for us is that this is an opportunity to
show our kind of music to Slechtvalk fans.. Check out the label's website: www.fear-dark.com
AoP: What are your favourite Kekal tracks?
J: Our recent songs are our most favorites.. Especially the title track from
"The Painful Experience" album.. We try not to stick to the past so we
won't look our old material as a more special thing for us..
AoP: What are your favourite all time songs?
J: CAMEL "Echoes", KING CRIMSON "Court of A Crimson King",
TROUBLE "The Skull", IRON MAIDEN (all songs from "Seventh Son of
a Seventh Son" album) and probably some more..
AoP: What was the first record you bought?
J: A bootleg tape of THE BEATLES, when I was about 5 years old.. Actually I
begged my mom to buy me that tape because I didn't have my own money back then,
but that was my first album collection and proud of it because it's a rock
album..
AoP: What would be your dream band line-up?
J: Watching Robert Fripp on guitar and Bill Bruford on drums, no bassplayer
& vocalist.. Just 2 of them..
AoP: What do you think of the position of metal and music
in general today?
J: I don't know and I don't care.. If metal still have a place in the general
music map that's great, but if not that's not a problem too.. We just play the
music we like and love, and that's all..
AoP: Which other bands in the scene really stand out for
you at the moment?
J: I'm not really into metal at this moment, but ocassionally I check out some
metal bands, but not too much.. I really love the latest album from SIGH
"Imaginary Sonicscape".. That's an awesome album..
AoP: Do you have any funny stories about the band you can
share with us?
J: Mmmm.. I can't recall them..!
AoP: and finally, what do you see in the future for Kekal?
J: Keep releasing good albums..