One of the latest releases from Southern Lord is the third disc, Solve et Coagula, from Italian black metalers The Secret. The disc wallows in darkness, filth and aggressive rage and its twelve tracks of cavernous, atonal cacophony blast by in about 35 minutes. The band describes this disc as their sonic interpretation of a total loss of faith in social system, religion, personal redemption and every institution.

The disc starts with one of the longer tracks, “Cross Builder”, which is an atmospheric drone piece with creepy, whispered vocals buried beneath the music. Based on this first track, I mistakenly assumed that The Secret were heading down an ambient black metal path similar to musicians like Xasthur. The unearthly shrieking vocals, blast beats and pummeling de-tuned, grindcore riffs kick in on track two and don’t let up until the end of the disc. Unlike Xasthur, who seems to like lurking in the darkness, the demons that The Secret are channeling have no interest in hiding and come running toward you like a full-on freight train.

In a recent interview with Brooklyn Vegan, guitarist Michael Bertoldini described the songs as “Fast, dark, straightforward heavy songs”. This quote doesn’t quite do the songs on Solve et Coagula justice – comparing The Secret to bands like Emtombed, Botch or Converge should provide a better frame of reference for anyone not familiar with the band.

The new disc was produced by Kurt Ballou at his Godcity Studio in Salem, MA and features cover art by art by Justin Bartlett (VBERKVLT).

The Secret had originally planned to tour the States late in the year with Early Graves but the tour was canceled after Early Graves’ vocalist Makh Daniels’ death in August. The Secret is now planning on touring the States in early ’11.

Links:
The Secret