The Secret     

Agnus Dei

Southern Lord 2012

Italy's storm of violence, The Secret, have grown more venomous, more vicious since their last album.  Agnus Dei has incorporated more black metal and a higher rate of speed into their potent blend of crusty hardcore and full-on grind.  A bit of Entombed-ish downtuning and filthy black tinged hardcore explodes out of your speakers as the album's title-track sets events in motion.  The song at last collapses into a few, futile riffs that are tall and lumbering.  However, the respite is short-lived as May God Damn All Of Us rips all life from any witness within earshot of the grindy blasts of the guitars.  This song too drifts towards monolithic and slow riffs as the music draws towards its segue way into the next track, Violent Infection.  If it were even possible, this track is even faster and melodic black metal accents can be found on the fringes of the song's movements.  Tumbling bursts of speed and drums ravage your ears on Geometric Power.  Death metal riffs merge with bits of darkened near-melodies, but the song never relents.  It is focused aggression from start to finish.  Buzzing drone unsettles your mind before a hammering drum line and gurgling bass rupture your organs on Love Your Enemy.  After leaping to an attacking pace, the track drops into a dread inducing set of cyclopean riffs.  However, this is short-lived and the track picks up steam again.  Despite using raspy, black metal style voice, a total hardcore vocal command ushers in the repetitive and monotonous opening segment of Seven Billion Graves.  There is a very hypnotic quality to the main riff as it continues on towards a fade out.  After over 4 minutes of silence a melodic, Nordic black metal riff calls out from the darkness before a wall of slowly strummed guitars, singular drum hits and buried, washed out vocals washes over the listener like the echoes of a distant supernova.  The Secret's fourth full-length is a hyper-intense blast of blackened hardcore.  Perhaps not as moving and captivating as Solve Et Coagula, but still a blood-pumping, savage assault that leaves your body quaking with horrific intensity and blackened terror.