Leonard "Leo" Setiawan is mainly known as a former guitarist for

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

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 accordi ...

. His main occupation is civil engineer and he owns and operates a building development firm in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Kekal

Leo joined Kekal in 1996, just after the band released their official demo, Contra Spiritualia Nequitiae. Kekal had originally been primarily a

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw ( lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

band but Leo brought with him a diverse set of musical influences which, throughout the first 5 years, allowed the band to develop their style by incorporating many diverse elements from outside metal. This distinct style became most prominent in their third album The Painful Experience, which marked as a starting point for the band to step more and more into

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy pa ...

and

avant-garde metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, and experimental) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventional sou ...

and make further experiments with their music. Shortly after this album was released, Leo Setiawan left the band 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 me ...

, where he pursued his master's degree in Civil Engineering.
MetalStorm News update, transcribed from a Kekal Newsletter Leo Setiawan later moved back to Indonesia, and was back in the studio with Kekal to record their official reunion album, Acidity (album), Acidity in 2005. In 2009, Kekal front man

Jeff Arwadi Jefray Kurnia "Jeff" Arwadi (born 1974) is an Indonesian musician, music producer, and graphic designer. A native of Jakarta, Indonesia, he now resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He is mostly known as a former guitarist, vocalist, and record pro ...

stepped down from the band and Leo announced that, since Jeff left the band, he would as well. As bassist

Azhar Sianturi Azhar Levi Sianturi is an Indonesian musician and mechanical engineer. He is mainly known in the music scene as the former bassist for avant-garde/progressive metal band Kekal. He also has his own grindcore project called Mournphagy. His profess ...

had already left Kekal, the departure of Jeff and Leo rendered the band member-less. Despite this, it was decided that Kekal would continue as an institution. HM Magazine News Update In evidence of the band's continued existence, Kekal has released two more albums to date; 8 and Autonomy in 2010 and 2012 respectively, to which all 3 former members of Kekal have contributed.

Discography

Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams ''Beyond the Glimpse of Dreams'' is the debut album by Indonesian extreme metal band Kekal released in 1998. Vocalist Harry left the band after the album's release. Recording The music on the album features extremely fast melodic black metal mix ...

– 1998 * Embrace the Dead – 1999 * The Painful Experience – 2001 * Self Krusher compilation: 5th Anniversary THT Productions – 2001 * Introduce Us to Immortality – 2003 * Road Trip to Acidity – 2005 * Acidity (album), Acidity – 2005 *

The Habit of Fire ''The Habit of Fire'' is a 2007 album by Indonesian avant-garde metal band Kekal. Released on 15 May in North America, Japan & Australia and 15 March in Europe & South America, it is their sixth full-length album. The album was constructed dur ...

– 2007 *

Audible Minority ''Audible Minority'' is the seventh full-length studio album by Indonesian experimental metal band Kekal. According to the band, the album is titled "Audible Minority" because the music on the album is of extreme minority status, and is "entirely ...

– 2008 * 8 – 2010 * Autonomy – 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Setiawan, Leo Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Musicians from Jakarta Indonesian heavy metal musicians Indonesian guitarists Kekal members Christian anarchists