1000 Thoughts of Violence (2003)
4th full-length studio album

Release Dates (Original)

Undying Music/Alfa Records, February 2003 (Cassette)
Fear Dark, June 2003 (CD)
Rock Express Records, August 2003 (Cassette)

Release Date (Re-mastered Re-issue)

Hitam Kelam Records, October 2017 (CD)
Kekal, October 2017 (Digital)

Track Listing

1. Subsession / Once Again It Failed
2. Vox Diaboli
3. In Continuum
4. Paradigma Baru
5. Artifacts of Modern Insanity
6. Violent Society
7. Subsession II
8. Default
9. Beyond Numerical Reasons

Total Running Time: 50:33

Album Description

Considered as the band’s "breakthrough" album, Kekal’s 4th full-length has been the band's most-loved and highest-selling album since the year it was unleashed. Released originally by 3 record labels on CD and Cassette Tape, it received highly favourable reviews from media and overwhelming listeners’ reception.

The album sold close to 10,000 physical units combined (not including digital downloads), and the band toured Europe in 2004 following its successful release and reception of the album. Locally, the album received a mainstream record-stores distribution as well as coverage in mainstream music magazines and radio stations within the first year of the release date. This album led Kekal to get international recognition.

In 2017, the album was re-mastered for the first time, and was re-released in physical format as a limited-edition 2CD combo along with "Embrace The Dead" album, which also be sold separately.

Credits

Album Line-Up
Jeff Arwadi : guitars / vocals
Azhar Levi Sianturi : bass / vocals

Produced by Jeff & KEKAL
Recorded & mixed at Vision Studio, September - December 2002
Engineered & mixed by Jeff Arwadi
Digital & analog synth orchestrations: Jeff
Sampling, noises, loops, fx, & programming: Doctor D & Jeff
Additional guitar: Azhar
Additional bass: Jeff
Additional vocals: SCA
Drums: Sang Hitam
Cover artwork & layout by Soundmind Graphics

Buy 1000 Thoughts of Violence Physical

• Original Used CD and Cassette (sold by online re-sellers) on Discogs site

Note: The original CD and Cassette Tape versions are now out-of-print and has already been sold-out at official stores/distributors, but if you are into collecting out-of-print physical releases, you may still get the used copies sold online via Discogs site. See from the list of resellers here. They accept PayPal for international orders.

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. Free Download available. Audio is the 2017 re-mastered version.

Online streaming sites + other digital music stores:
Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Google Play Music, iTunes, Amazon Digital, Shazam, and more...

"1000 Thoughts of Violence" is the album that arguably changed people's views about 'Indonesian metal' forever. What drove you to compose and produce this critically-acclaimed album that in quality, competes with established international acts, and could stand a test of time?

The most important thing is the environment. I built my own home studio in late 2001, Vision Studio. Not that 'professional' at all on the recording equipment, it was just a simple PC-based DAW setup, but it was enough for recording music without disturbing the neighbors, so I could spend the night recording music. And as it's my own studio, I can manage the recording time to fit with my schedule of other activities and job. It's as simple as that. So, being comfortable at your own pace is important for creativity. Every time there was an idea coming out, even when I was asleep, I'd just wake up and record them. I would say this album is still a streamlined continuation of "The Painful Experience", still an angry album above all things, but with more careful attention and emphasis on the technical side than the temperamental side. For example, I could let go of certain feelings on "The Painful Experience" anytime they come up when singing the lyrics or taking the guitar solos. Here, they were kept until it was the right time for them to appear. It's all about getting the perfect moment. Songwriting has improved as well, and mainly because around that time, I started to listen to a lot of different music, with only less than 50% metal music on my playlist.

You did a European mini tour in 2004 following the release of "1000 Thoughts of Violence", what did they think about you being an 'Indonesian metal band' that did tour over there? Was there a lot of envy being thrown at you? As Kekal might also be the first band from Indonesia to tour Europe!

Initially, there were 2 distinct responses we got in Europe. One is from people who welcomed us, which are actually much bigger in numbers, and the other one who didn't welcome us. Some might be because of envy, some might be because of something else. But all in all, the record label who also sponsored and promoted the tour, Fear Dark, knew exactly what audience and from which countries, and even cities, that would deliver the best response if we played there. They didn't want to lose money from the tour, of course, so they must have done some market research, I guess, and also because we had a very good relationship with them. We only played in countries where Kekal albums sold in pretty good numbers. But for some people that have never heard any Indonesian band, it might change their perspective. It has always been a negative stereotype, something like "bands from so-called 3rd-world countries will never deliver enough good quality music." We had in our minds to change that perspective by proving it on the shows.

[Additional notes from Jeff, August 2025. Taken from the Substack post "Ritual Contemplation: Listening to Kekal".]

One of the biggest contributing factors to Kekal’s 4th album “1000 Thoughts Of Violence” is that I wrote and recorded all the music entirely in my modest home studio at that time, relatively free from unnecessary distractions, although not completely free as anyone would think. During recording some of the guitar tracks, there was a cockroach roaming inside the studio. I hate cockroaches (and spiders), but at the same time I could not manage to let that strange creature out (it was the one that could fly as well) because chasing it out of the studio room means it would end up roaming my living room area. Killing that cockroach was out of the question because the fumes from insect spray would also kill me softly. This cockroach story is the one I cannot forget, and here I’m going to give it credit for contributing some kind of angst to my performance while recording the album. You can play faster if you’re in terror!

Get the entire Kekal digital album discography (a bundle of 19 Kekal digital releases sold on Bandcamp including 13 full-length albums and 4 EPs) for only $29 USD. That's a 50% off a-la carte price.

A great way to check out the music of Kekal.

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