adg211288 Gerra is the second studio album by Swedish death metal act Sectu, released almost exactly a year after their 2011 debut Inundate (just a few days over). The three piece band has had a small line-up change between albums, with guitarist Anders Ericson Kragh replacing Angel Dominguez. Anders is perhaps most known for playing with the progressive metal act Beyond Twilight and as such is a welcome addition to the Sectu line-up given the already technical and slightly progressive direction that the band took on Inundate.

Gerra is most definitely a more of the same album for Sectu, although saying that since they had a lot going for them with the excellent Inundate that’s most definitely not a bad thing. The instrumentation, particularly the guitar riffs, shows a marked improvement when considering the technical nature of Sectu’s brand of death metal. Although they can’t seem to hold on a full time bassist, it’s clear that between the three of them Sectu has a winning line-up as of the release of Gerra.

Of course saying it’s more of the same is only well and good if you’re already acquainted with Inundate, so for the newcomers to Sectu’s music the formula is one of using technical playing and occasional progressive influences to flavour their death metal sound rather than control and dominate it. The songs are typically short, with only one passing the five minute mark, and to the point compositions that don’t wane in their death metal brutality to accommodate technicality for the sake of it. Basically Sectu writes killer tracks that cater well to both fans of old school death metal and those who enjoy the more challenging material of technical death metal. The biggest difference is Stefan Lundgren’s growl, which sounds a bit different to how he performed on Inundate. As for as growling vocals go I think he’s achieved a bit more unique tone on Gerra.

Gerra is also of a more substantial length compared to Inundate, clocking in at 41:56 rather that 33:02, making it a much more fulfilling album for quantity even if ultimately the release doesn’t see the band producing an album that is that much better than their debut. I think that Gerra is just about the superior record of the two, mostly because of the noted improvement in their riffs, but at the end of the day there isn’t much to separate the two quality wise. However when you’re talking albums that are of the exceptional quality of Inundate and Gerra, there isn’t really anything to complain about and I really do think there’ll be a top quality masterpiece down the line for these guys, hopefully more than one.

9.4/10

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))

UMUR "Inundate" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish technical death metal act Sectu. The album was released through ViciSolum Records in May 2011.

The music on the album is technical death metal with a slight progressive edge. The kind of technical death metal also played by acts like Augury, Beyond Creation and Vale of Pnath. High level musicianship, clear and powerful sound production and challenging song material. Sectu are slightly more "old school" in their delivery than many of their peers and I hear quite a few Morbid Angel influences in the band´s music. It´s not an overshadowing influence but it´s certainly there. At 33:02 minutes the album is pretty compact and I think a lot of artists can learn from that. My attention never wanders and the album is entertaining all the way through. While the band certainly play some really technically challenging riffs/rythms, I think one of the assets of "Inundate" is that Sectu write memorable songs that are allowed to breathe when that is needed. The technical playing is a means to an end, not mindless wankery.

Quite frankly I think it´s amazing how many quality acts Sweden produces and Sectu is another act you can add to that amazing list. Not only are the band technically well playing, the sound production on the album is also powerful and the material well written. "Inundate" is through and through a quality release deserving a 4 star (80%) rating.

Diogenes Technical death metal isn’t a genre I’m normally big on. To me, the majority of the bands focus more on the technical part than the death, electing to noodle around for 50 minutes instead of really dishing out the aggression that the genre was founded on. This is what makes Sectu’s debut album Inundate such an impressive listen; finally, a band that can play with the dizzying technicality that’s become expected of Swedish death metal, while showing some restraint and actually writing songs too! Hallelujah!

While Inundate is loosely based on your typical technical death metal styles, there’s plenty of room for everything to breathe, so much that you might not even consider this technical death metal at all. Make no mistake about it; these guys can obviously play (they’re Swedes, duh), but there’s a considerable amount of groove and, more importantly, melody in this music. In a way, you could say this is a best-of-both-worlds scenario; Sectu take the same approach as your Obscuras or Neuraxises (Neuraxes?), but wear the influences of fellow kinsmen such as Grave on their sleeves all the same.

What I’m trying to say is that there are plenty of awesome riffs here-yes, RIFFS! Not dual-guitar wanking. Tracks such as Incantation of the Lost Continent and Dream Vessel demonstrate the band’s riffing ability as well as any, while maintaining that small aspect of technicality with a few seconds of shredding here and there. The key to this whole thing is moderation; for a debut, Sectu strike a surprising balance in their influences, showing a level of maturity that I don’t see in a lot of modern death metal bands.

Obviously, guitarists Angel Dominguez and Stefan Lundgren are at the front of this death metal assault, but I’d like to address how good the drumming of Calle Backstrom is on this album. He can blast, sure, but at the same time shows the versatility needed to mesh with all of the tempo changes. His fills in particular are very good, shifting between each groove and blast pattern seamlessly. Remember that having a good drummer is key to success numero uno, and Sectu sure have a good one in Backstrom.

One of Inundate’s greatest strengths is also its biggest weakness. The song are, for the most part, short; if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s bands playing mindlessly for extended periods of time. This doesn’t happen here, both because Sectu keeps their music interesting and because there isn’t really enough time for wankfests anyway. Since the tracks are short, the band is able to throw in the instrumental Ceremonial March without disrupting the flow of the album, and that’s cool. But as much as I appreciate Sectu staying concise with their music, I’d like the album to be a little longer than 33 minutes, whether that be through longer songs or just more of them. If you have something working for you, keep exploiting it!

One more thing! The production of Inundate is absolutely outstanding. The guitars are thick and dirty, a welcome contrast to the shiny and polished sound that seems to be the hot setup nowadays. Really, this works perfectly with what the band is doing: you can hear everything, but not in a way that takes away from the heaviness of the album.

Yes, it’s true that most of this stuff has already been done before. But really, it’s hard to expect a newer band to come up with things that are 100% original, especially in the repetitive realm of modern death metal. What Sectu lack in originality, they make up for with sheer execution of their ideas, and that’s what makes Inundate one hell of a debut album. Not bad at all!

adg211288 Inundate is the debut album from Sweden’s Sectu, which was released in 2011. The band plays the technical variant of the death metal genre, and does so pretty well on this debut offering, which contains eight tracks, lasting just over half an hour of music.

The musicianship is very well done here, as is the production. The guitar riffs are intense and the vocals are spot on, working well with the band’s technical aspects. They open the album with a real beast in the form of Age of Splendour, which is one of the clear highlights of the album. The quality just keeps coming and it’s almost a shame when, about half an hour later the album comes to a close. Quite often I find that shorter album lengths for death metal records is actually quite fitting, but here I can safely say I really wish the album lasted a bit longer. That’s because although the music has all the required elements of extremity (or brutality if you prefer), it isn’t just about being extreme. I live the way the riffs have a grove to them and things aren’t all about speed and intensity on that front, although Inundate certainly has its strengths in that department as well, therefore showcasing a perfect balance between the two. There are few progressive shades to the music as well, which always goes down well with me. Lead guitar is also used to great effect in the music, something showcased particularly well in the solo section of the second track, Storms.

There are many death metal acts that I just can’t give the time of day due to seeming to be all about just being as pummelling as humanly possible and having heard some of those Sectu’s debut makes an even better impact on me. Strong even from the first listen, Inundate also manages to do a fair bit of growing on me after subsequent listens. It is very clear to me that Inundate is a cracker of a debut album with many stand out tracks such as Dominion and Dream Vessel, along with the aforementioned Age of Splendour and Storms. Although to be fair there is a consistent quality about all the tracks on the album, bearing in mind that fifth track Ceremonial March is an instrumental and despite it’s near three minute length serves as something of an interlude.

Overall Sectu has certainly set the bar high on this first album, and I eagerly await them giving the world their second effort. If they can keep up this sort of quality then I can only expect big things for Sectu. My only hope is that next time they make a longer album than what Inundate is; based on this alone they certainly have both the writing and playing skills to pull it off without getting stale.

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven, scoring 9.2/10)

Time Signature Age of splendour...

Genre: technical death metal

This has been a good year for tech/prog metal and has already seen releases by Obscura and Neuraxis, and now the Swedish band Sectu as well.

Swedish band, you say? Melodeath, you say?

No, unlike their fellow countrymen from Gothenburg, this Stockholm-based do not have a shred of melodeath to their sound (not that there is anything wrong with melodeath), but instead deliver technical and semi-progressive death metal with lots of twists and turns in the form of, for instance, loads of changes, quirky riffage, and unusual and often jazzy-sounding chords and harmonies. The tracks on this album, while technical, also have an aspect of brutality to them in the form of more aggressive riffage and tremolo-picking accompanied by blastbeats every now and then, and then there is a considerable injection of thrash metal as well, which contributes further energy to the overall picture. Moreover, Sectu have a knack for combining aggressive uptempo sections with crushingly heavy sections, adding their own twisted groove (just check the opening track "Age of Splendour").

"Indundate" is a very strong debut, and with its technical and semi-progressive death metal with thrash metal influences, it should appeal to fans of the likes of Atheist, Obscura, Neuraxis, Nocturnus, and Death.