Altera Enigma is a

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 ...

band formed by

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia-based Jason De Ron, the former guitarist and front man of Paramaecium, and

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, Indonesia native Jefray Arwadi, former guitarist, vocalist, and front man of

Kekal Kekal is an Indonesian extreme metal band formed in 1995 in Jakarta. According to AllMusic, Kekal was one of the first heavy metal bands from Indonesia to make international inroads, and, according to sociologist of heavy metal, Keith Kahn-Harr ...

. Both of these musicians have a career that has seen them record and release nearly 20 albums between them. According to Jason De Ron, the name Altera Enigma was chosen because it represents something mysterious and unique. Kenny Cheong, a

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

bassist, joined the project in 2005, and Altera Enigma's first album was released in 2006.

Jayson Sherlock Mortification was an Australian Christian death metal band which was formed in 1987 as a heavy metal group, Lightforce, by mainstay Steve Rowe on bass guitar and vocals. By 1990, in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin, they were renamed as Mo ...

, a former band-mate of De Ron in Paramecium and also a former member of the band Mortification and the sole member of

Horde Horde may refer to: History * Orda (organization), a historic sociopolitical and military structure in steppe nomad cultures such as the Turks and Mongols ** Golden Horde, a Turkic-Mongol state established in the 1240s ** Wings of the Golden Hor ...

, joined on drums in 2007. In 2009, Jeff Arwadi, having relocated from Indonesia to Canada in 2007, decided to step down from the project.

Biography

Altera Enigma was formed as an outlet for Jason and Jeff to work together on music that would push their boundaries and challenge them musically. While both Jason and Jeff are more well known for playing metal music, both musicians claim a heavy influence from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and progressive music in all its forms. In an interview with NekroBlog, Jason said that, generally, metal has very limited emotional range, and that Altera Enigma is an attempt to break that mold. Kenny Cheong, a

bassist who plays a five string fretless, joined the band in 2005 and allowed Altera Enigma to further develop their signature sound. The band released its first album, ''

Alteration Alteration(s) may refer to: * Alteration (music), the use of a neighboring pitch in the chromatic scale in place of its diatonic neighbor. ** Alteration, in the mensural notation used by renaissance music, the lengthening of a breve, semibreve or ...

'', in 2006. 2007 saw the addition of drummer

, formerly of Mortification, Paramaecium, and

. The band is in the process of creating a new album, but progress on the record has been slow due to various events in the band members lives. As of March 2010, Jeff, who now resides in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, Alberta,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, decided that he needed to step away from Altera Enigma, and his contribution to the project is now minimal, although according to Jason DeRon the band will continue to take advantage of his creativity and inventiveness. As of May 2011, the band have announced that work on their second album is almost complete, with bass, keys, guitars done, and only drums left to record.

Lineup

;Current members * Jason De Ron (2004–present) –

Guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, keyboards ( Paramaecium/ inExordium, Soundscape) *

(2007–present) –

Drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

( Paramaecium, inExordium, Mortification,

, Soundscape, Revulsed) * Kenny Cheong (2005–present) –

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

(Soundscape) ;Former members * Jefray Arwadi (2004–2010) –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

(

, Doctor D, Armageddon Holocaust, Excision, Inner Warfare)

Discography

*''

'' (2006)

References

External links

Official Altera Enigma website

Reverbnation
Altera Enigma on Reverbnation {{DEFAULTSORT:Altera Enigma Australian progressive metal musical groups Australian Christian metal musical groups Australian death metal musical groups Victoria (state) musical groups Australian musical trios Jazz fusion ensembles Musical groups established in 2004