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.