With years and years of listening to heavy metal religiously, one has a tendency to become desensitized to heaviness on an album. It’s something that is expected to be there, and when it isn’t, boy do we get mad. This is precisely why Secret Cutter have laid the groundwork for some serious “wow” factor with their self titled debut. You don’t need to listen to opener “Mirror Mirror” for more than 10 seconds before you are hit with some seriously heavy guitars. Sludgy and thick as mud, the feedback on these guitar riffs can be ‘snap you out of a coma’ heavy at times.
Anyone can make something heavy, but there needs to be something behind it in order for it to be of any real value. Thankfully, Secret Cutter employ an enviable mix of sludge/grind/doom/hardcore (yes, it’s probably easier to leave it unclassified but we’re all guilty of it from time to time) that works better than it appears on paper. There’s slow, sludgy crawls like “Craving the Silence” that punish the listener with monstrous riffs, while songs like “Shake the Malevolent” usher in more speed and violence. Add some acidic screams on top of it all, and you have a formula that is sure to win fans over, especially in the live setting. One can only imagine how some of those riffs sound in an intimate venue.
Secret Cutter establishes the band as a force to be reckoned with in the future. A bit short, it does make one wish the album were a tad longer. But on the other hand, perhaps there will be that much more left in the tank for the anticipated follow-up. If you are looking for something heavy and filthy, this one’s for you!