One of the key benefits of running a review site is you get to be challenged and excited by music that you might, otherwise, never have heard. One such band is the amazing Secrets of the sky, a band who play atmospheric black metal that sits somewhere between Blut Aus Nord, Dimmu Borgir and Isis. Theirs is a deeply atmospheric and icy blast of black metal based around coruscating riffs, grimly recited vocals (with occasional spells of melodic mournfulness unheard since ICS Vortex departed Dimmu) and intricately arranged guitar work that veers between the all-out assault of behemoth and the subtle instrumental work of Ulver. Such experimentation explains the lengthy run time of the record (four tracks at forty minutes) and the result is a record that will effortlessly become one of your favourite extreme metal releases.
Opening track ‘winter’ draws from the progressive school of black metal, with flourishes of Opeth at its heart and in its wailing guitar leads, albeit with a heavier bent than Opeth have opted for in many a year. In the band’s deeply inventive song-writing, echoes of De Profundis, Dimmu Borgir and Ulver are all represented, and the band weave these disparate artists together with a skill that is indisputable. It’s a blistering opening track – a wild statement of intent that will have you hooked from the off and the band’s ability to switch pace and style on a knife-edge demonstrates the obscene talent lurking at the heart of the band. ‘Decline’ segues directly from its predecessor on the back of a massive, discordant riff that chills the blood and freezes the bones. Unutterably ugly, Garrett Gazyay’s scabrous vocals slither over the songs blackened and oily surface only for the music to suddenly halt its irresistible march and a clean vocal to suddenly appear over doomy riffs that recall the sky-scraping majesty of Katatonia at their most epic in scope. It’s a stylistic shift that is handled well and by keeping it brief, before returning to the pounding brutality of the song’s earlier stages, the band don’t diminish the impact of the song. Epic in length (some twelve minutes), ‘decline’ cleverly traverses into post rock territory in its latter stages, all huge droning riffs and mid-tempo percussion, and the effect is magical, hypnotic and deeply unnerving, and it marks the band out as something special.
The third track of the record, ‘sunrise’ opens upon a subtle, filmic note before exploding into the sort of primitive blackened sludge that made Neurosis so enthralling. Cleverly incorporating enough melody to keep things both memorable and emotive, the band’s sound here is a draining experience that hints at a love for the post-punk desolation of Joy Division amidst Secrets of the sky’s genetic make-up, albeit with a celtic frost edge that keeps the track on the right side of brutal. Brutality alone, however, is only effective if employed sparingly, and Secrets of the sky clearly appreciate the fact that by introducing a progressive dynamic, when the music takes a more violent turn the effect is all the stronger for it. The final track is possibly the most beautifully complete example of the band’s eclectic tastes. ‘Black waters’ closes the record and it sees the band exploring the moody territory of post rock, combined with the neo-folk of Harvestman, before suddenly turning in a brutally defiant black metal assault that smashes the vibe into a thousand pieces with its furious riffs and acid-drenched vocals. This is extreme music at its best – pushing boundaries and rewriting the rule book as it goes – and there is no doubt that secrets of the sky are a band you should hold high on your list of artists to explore.
While the mainstream may be seeking to ever-dilute the shallow pool of inspiration from which it drinks, the underground is still demonstrating that inspiration and invention are far more important than familiarity. Secrets of the sky touch a number of bases – hints of Opeth, Dimmu, Pink Floyd and Neurosis are all present – but ultimately their skill is to weave the elements of their inspiration into something new and inspirational. One listen to the record and you’ll be hooked, but more than that, the music repays careful attention and repeated listens by slowly, but surely, giving up its secrets allowing the listener to hear something new in every spin of the disc. In these days of overcrowded music markets, this record will possibly not achieve the audience it deserves, but for those people lucky enough to indulge in the richness of the band’s creative skill an unforgettable experience awaits.
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