[This submission has been channeled forth from a mysterious being once known as Peat. Its conjuring is almost complete, and its final form will emerge in time.]
We always salute ambition and innovation but sometimes, the hardest thing to do is the simple and well-known. There is no place for hiding poor decisions, no forgiveness for failure. This is a highly relevant point when listening to Secrets, the latest project of highly prolific musicians Swartadauþuz and Esoterica. This time they are paying unabashed homage to early 90s Norwegian black metal with debut album Towards the Nightside, so much so that I started adding ’Eclipse’ to the end of the title. I just couldn’t stop myself when Secrets’ brand of cold fury and brooding atmosphere is so very reminiscent of Emperor. And you know what? Good.
If you’re going to replicate a sound, early Emperor is a good choice. If you do it right, you’re going to make a good album, and Secrets do it really right. The core of the sound is the guitars, treading the fine and important line between spiteful and hooky. They’re well supported in their assault by Juhos’ pummeling drum work. The keyboards mostly lurk in the background like a scheming villain until there’s a break in the fury. These respites are used just right and that there is the secret of Secrets‘ success – superior songwriting. There is always a sense of purpose and building momentum to the songs here, not to mention a good amount of variety considering the constrained sonic palette. All of this comes across loud and clear due to a production that is thankfully evolved, although the vocals are perhaps a little buried at times. That’s not a bad thing for black metal though. It’s all part of the frostbitten charm. If I were searching for criticisms I’d argue that Towards the Nightside could have benefited from a tad more aggression but it works just fine as it is. There is probably a limit to how much love can be shown to a band that is so obviously reminiscent of those that came before but Secrets push at that limit. To give the highest praise I can in these situations, there was no point I wished I was listening to Emperor instead. For those longing for more of the black metal of yesteryear, turn Towards the Nightside.
Eclipse.
Damnit.
