Property of Homeland Intelligence Agency

FILE # 666666

Classification: Level 5 (treat as priority)

Subject: Musicians collectively known as Ana Kefr

Location: California

Points of interest: Subjects have been reported to question organized religion, international military operations and may provoke civil unrest with regards to race relations arising from possible inflammatory lyrical matter.

Observation is ongoing but evidence of red flags can be found on their website: http://www.myspace.com/anakefr

Media has become aware of this band and are inadvertently helping them to spread their message. Here is an example of a recent CD review.

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Ana Kefr – Volume 1 by Morley Seaver

Most CDs are of the light snack variety. You know the type; pick at a track here and there. Stop and start. Kid with your friends while intermittently banging your head. This is not one of those records. I initially became interested in this project because of the involvement of my high priestess, Tairrie B of My Ruin. However, after Ana Kefr's singer/founder contacted me and told me that the record is a 14-track philosophy-book-turned-epic-metal-album, I just had to hear it. And he wasn't kidding.

I know what you're thinking, Nostradamus, right? Well, c'mon in kids, this water is fine. To properly digest this truck-load of material, you have to sit and listen to it from beginning to end. As well, it's like they told you in school; the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. Merely tapping your toes and playing hunt and peck with the occasional phrase will detract from the deluxe package deal of this project i.e. a lyrical blueprint / philosophical DNA that will carry the band on its shoulders.

Ana Kefr is a new band made up of vocalist / keyboardist Rhiis Lopez, guitarists & backing vocalists Trent Pichel and Kyle Coughran, and percussionist Bryce Loeffler. Ana Kefr is an Arabic phrase meaning I am Infidel. The music is hard to categorize, if you're into that sort of thing. It's definitely metal but does not quite plant a flag in any official sub-genre. It has slivers of death and thrash but also features prog-metal leanings in the vein of say, Jon Oliva's Pain.

The record begins with the sound of a book being opened followed by an introductory piece that is instrumental save for the phrase Ana afekr yzn ana kefr (trans: I think, therefore I am infidel --- a play on the quote by French Philosopher Rene Descartes, I think, therefore I am) sung in a Middle-Eastern vocal line.. The piece is broken into two segments each played twice, ranging between a regal guitar / piano section that is a modest call to arms. It swings into a more aggressive coating with sort of the same ambiance but packing more ammo.

It erupts into The Day that Guilt Turned White a piece that almost sports a spiked dog collar and wrist bands, so prickly is the attitude. Lyrically, the boys want to ensure their words are not hidden and to make their observations crystal clear right at the top of this melee. Railing against Affirmative Action, they attack the idea of white guilt and ask What is the difference between a colored man and a nigger? I call it self-respect. f*** all concessions. I had nothing to do with oppressing your ancestors. Black pride – permissible! Brown pride – acceptable! Asian pride – commendable! White pride is racism? And this little gem: Mother Nature wants another casino, while you're paid for being red. Your sense of justice makes me f***ing sick, delivered à la Tom Waits via megaphone.

Feed a PETA Member to a Starving Child in Africa is more of a statement than a song but the impetus behind it laments the outlaw actions of some PETA members who are involved in illegal activities to save animals when other crimes are being perpetrated against the largest animal of all: man.

T.ruthless explodes out of the box like the Four Horsemen and shows that Lopez has a pretty impressive singing voice, utilizing clean vocals in parts to accompany his death renderings. Pichel and Coughran demonstrate their riffing ability while Loeffler metronomes the proceedings fiercely, culminating in a dust storm that is akin to a porcupine mosh pit.

The totally impressive Avenue of the Queen begins with a morbidly beautiful movement that wouldn't sound out of place on a mid ‘90s CoF record. Lopez's rabid scream breaks that beauty and his wonderfully abstract piano riffs are the frosting on this warped sonic cupcake. Once again, the vocal variance is a pleasant surprise and required to adequately span a full pallet of moods. From Shakespearian to carnage in one stroke, the fury that is summoned is like a head-butting match with Craig from Slipknot. A graceful solo piano ushers out the piece but did anybody notice the blood spots on the piano carnation?

After the sound of a page turning, the second half of the record is introduced by a brief instrumental track. The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body is a thoroughly exciting track with a terrific vocal by Lopez. The song is expertly constructed with bursts of chronic mean-ness (musically speaking) interwoven with pastel strokes of beauty as though a mental patient, bobbing and weaving between madness and lucidity, was putting together his own perceived Dorian Gray.

Summoning all the best elements of System of a Down, Takeover has an urgency behind it like the fury of two clients (read: homeless people) fighting over the last empty bunk at a local mission. Awesome track, this one. Both ends of the globe gets Lopez's poison pen turned on them as the Iraq war is referenced, although he points out that this is also about American wars in general. Out in the oil fields, the bodies are burning…, Out in the oil fields, we lost our humanity… You get the idea.

Chapter III is a sonic jihad that sounds like a pit bull off the leash. Defiant We Stand is all bluster (with the muscle to back it up). Weird juxtaposition moment: the drunken, hooligan soccer crowd celebrating at their fav pub with a punk sing-along chorus pops up towards the end of the song, cozying up against the rest of the song. Unexpected, yet it fits.

Possibly my favorite track is next: The Orchid. Another tranquil intro piano moment belies the fury that awaits. Once the guitars and drums kick in, it's like the Crusades. You can almost hear the clashing swords. Lopez saves his best vocals of the record for this song. The song is more straight-forward than the other cuts but just as powerful.

The last chapter (IV if you're counting), a droning instrumental, clears the tracks for a bonus track; a cover of Rollins Band's Step Back. If he was looking for someone to match the anger behind his vocal delivery, Lopez is in fine company with My Ruin's Tairrie B. Together the pair out-muscle Henry's pissed off demeanor even when they are just reading the lines --- no small achievement. The inimitable Ms. Murphy was definitely an inspired choice as duet partner. Warning to any and all listeners; take several steps from the speakers because Mick Murphy blazes through a solo that receded my hair line by several inches. Proceed with caution.

If you're looking for a record to sink your teeth into, look no further. Whether you agree with their manifesto or not, they must be commended for putting together a project that has some weight to it. There is too much fluffery in the world and Ana Kefr is the antidote to that. Musically it is adventurous. Lyrically, confrontational and thought-provoking. Lofty goals that have been met by a band that is still wet behind the ears, collectively speaking. Most impressive indeed!

Recommendations: Musicians are to be included on the Must Observe list.