Originally written by K. Scott Ross.
Heavy metal vocals are an odd beast, particularly when it comes to dirty vocal styles. A singer needs to balance between having aggression and comprehensibility, particularly if they actually have anything of substance to tell us. They should probably try not to permanently damage their vocal chords. Furthermore, they need to consider whether they’re going to conform to genre expectations or not—using a black metal rasp over what’s otherwise techy melodeath is enough to get Arsis shoved under the “blackened death metal” designator. But perhaps most importantly of all, a metal vocalist should strive to avoid monotony.
By most metrics, German post-metal quintet A Secret Revealed do not have particularly good vocals. Paul Motz basically just yells continually at the top of his voice in what could be considered a hardcore style, and it’s pretty much just that. Yet, somehow it works. Maybe it’s the fact that Motz just goes full out on every utterance, but it sounds both passionate and exhausting. And that attitude of “I’ve cared so much that I can barely continue” is exactly what brings this critic back to The Bleakness.
A Secret Revealed have managed to avoid the common trap of overplaying everything, which is particularly astonishing considering that their influence list includes Neurosis, The Ocean, and Cult of Luna. It’s hardly speaking ill of those bands to say that the vast majority of the work they’ve inspired has been overblown, self-indulgent nonsense. The ability to put together a forty-nine minute, ten track album like The Bleakness in this style is itself remarkable.
Motz’s vocals aren’t the only hardcore sound on the album. “Until Grief Disappears” uses a chugga-chugga breakdown quite efficiently; the way it’s layered and slotted into the song makes it a moment of physical tension and distress rather than a mosh-pit bro-down. “To Have A Dream Is To Be Cursed” uses the technique to even better effect. The songs tend to play with dynamics quite a bit, as one would expect in a post-metal work, but generally not an Isis- or Explosions In the Sky-esque buildup. Rather, a song might just transition suddenly into a downtempo section with clean guitars where a moment before it had bass drum rolls and heavy palm muting, and then swing back into a blast beat, as in “Avoid the Light.”
Guitarists Lukas Brückner and Ralf Ungermann work closely with each other and bassist Julian Langguth to keep the soundscape dense, since there are no keyboards used on The Bleakness. Having density and dynamics is essential to a good post-metal song, and doing it with just the normal quartet of two guitars, a bass, and drums isn’t the easiest way to accomplish that. That A Secret Revealed relies on the strength of their songwriting rather than a multiplicity of instruments is to their credit.
I’ve already spoken harshly about the vocals on the album, but we don’t have to wonder whether a more dynamic would improve the band; we know it because they bring in a couple of guest vocalists. Nikita Kamprad from Der Weg Einer Freiheit adds powerful black metal rasps to “Drowning,” helping make it one of the best songs on the album, while David Schneiker, formerly of Path of Devestation, brings some extra gutturals to “Until Grief Disappears.” Having this vocal variation helps greatly just by putting Motz’s unrelenting howls in perspective. Still, despite the apparent weakness, The Bleakness has managed to stay in my rotation for over three months. If you consider yourself a fan of post-metal or post-hardcore, seek this one out. You won’t be disappointed.
