Gold Coast (Queensland)-based metallic hardcore outfit A Secret Death are not the sort of band that rush into things. Sure, they’ve been clocking up the miles out on the highways of Australia touring with virtually every band under the sun (including Norma Jean, Every Time I Die and Parkway Drive), but they certainly haven’t been in any rush to head into the studio to follow up their Fear Is The Driving Force EP from three years ago.
But it has to be said that the three year wait for the band’s debut full-length effort has been well and truly worth the wait.
If there’s one thing that’s evident after one listen to A Secret Death, it’s the fact that the five-piece act (who comprises of vocalist Nathan, guitarists Jacob and Scott, bassist Alan drummer James Balderston) refuses to be pigeonholed into any one particular sound or genre, with the twelve track release covering anything from metallic to post-hardcore, and everything in-between.
Without so much as a break between numbers, “Peyote Ugly” continues to wreak havoc with its fast paced riffing, but suddenly breaks down around the middle to allow for what sounds like a bit of a Mr. Bungle influenced lounge interlude (But without the weird noises). While it was a little unexpected, it sounds completely natural, and really does take the song to a whole new level.
“Invitation… To A Party” is an up-tempo rocker that brings to mind Every Time I Die, while the schizophrenic chaotic/melodic mess of “Cowboy In Reverse” and “IDKFA” are clearly influenced by latter day The Dillinger Escape Plan.
From here, A Secret Death takes a step into the unexpected, with “Sticks And Stones,” “Far From The Tree,” “Cowboy Revisited,” “Depressed For Success” and “The Eternal Blink” sounding like a fusing together of Cult Of Luna (which is probably not all that surprising given that Cult Of Luna drummer Magnus Lindberg mixed and mastered the album), Refused and Converge, but without sounding exactly like any of them at any one time.
Sometimes a band can truly defy all genre tags, yet encompass so many at the same time. A Secret Death is definitely one of those bands, with their self titled album one of those releases that really doesn’t fit the standard preconceived mould. If you haven’t heard A Secret Death, then all I can honestly say is that you’re seriously missing out.-Justin Donnelly-
Genre: Hardcore
Year: 2008
Tracklist:
sorry don't have tracklist
download
No comments:
Post a Comment