Sectile hail from Dublin, Ireland, and pretty much do not sound like that at all. Well, what Dubliners do I actually know?! Boyzone, My Bloody Valentine, Thin Lizzy, U2, Westlife... Nope, Sectile do not sound like any of those! Well, let's begin again: Sectile from Dublin, Ireland sound like a modern progressive metal band. And the main reasons are:

Djent. It is a guitar playing style that got stale on the second djent album (first heard on a Meshuggah release). Why? Because it all sounds seriously similar! If there's a bit of variety in guitar tone, I simply cannot find lots of memorable patterns in doing Djent. And basically that's what djenting is: doing rhythmic patterns, not melodious and memorable riffing. Djent is one of the biggest curses of modern metal. At its best, it can be interesting pulsing to feel. And here, it sometimes is; this has rather slowly mutating parts, and very good at times, but also forgettable throbbing.

Post-metal tremolo-picking... which so often sounds more like a balalaika to me, than anything stemming from black metal, because it always sounds so sweet and lame! And I find it a totally common stylishly, too. And often it goes in one ear and comes out the other, leaving no memory marks. However, composition itself can affect this thing more than djent, I think. Another massive curse of modern metal, and definitely nothing else to me. Here, it is not that much a balalaika-type thingy, but again, mutating and at times totally fitting. But then again, some other time, not so good.

Pop music leanings. They do not exist on this album, after all. Nor do typical faceless female vocals. At least Sectile kept away from two ah-so-typical curses of the modern metal music. * Note below *

Back to 'Falls Apart', then... And the band name, Sectile, which means image contructed from pieces of wood or stone. And as they play progressive metal, things may get a tad... sectile-y?! As mentioned, things are slowly mutating and building, very much far from pop-style songcraft. And if one can get into the throb, this album can be an excellent journey. The best way to experience it is with headphones, because it is quite layered, instrument- and vocals-wise.

It's nothing new for prog metal to fluctuate between heavier (often groove-laden) riffing and more open, airy open-string guitars, or non-distorted stuff. This is what happens a lot on this album. The band likes to play a riff and mutate it around quite a bit, too. Discordant guitars also play a big role. The atmosphere from the beginning is manic, panic and neurotic; it is mental to the point that I do not find easy or inviting, even though the final track has lighter, relieving vibes. When math-style tempos are thrown into the formula (Tool, anyone?), it makes all make this music really niche. 'Falls Apart' is not a fast-food type album at all. Or how do added twisted night club guitar and dramatic piano work sound like?

The vocals I find great. They remind me of two bands I like: Eldritch (Italy) and Vanishing oint (Australia). The rather high-pitched voice heard is both fragile and strong, at times even raspy (not extreme metal way, mind you). There's no problem for the vocalist to find the notes. He also seems to have quite a set of pipes. To comment the insrumentalists' performances: They are good and skilled.

All in all, Sectile include many building blocks to create that uneasy mental atmosphere. There are loads of interesting elements on the album (and a fine vocalist), but it is also is one freaking labyrinthine work. Despite all the modern bits I do not enjoy, I find it a good album; it managed to grow on me a bit after all. It's art: Something one finds amazing, something just doesn't click.

* Note: There's well-crafted and very much worthwhile progressive metal with catchy pop music leanings and fantastic female vocals, just try Australian Divine Ascension, who also mght have some djent in their songs, but definitely not post-metal... So I am not generalizing it. But my views on those modern metal curses certainly do affect my review. After all, it's just an opinion. *

Rating: 7 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
08/28/2020 19:48