This is the second album from A Secret Revealed, a post-metal band from Germany.

The band’s debut album – 2015’s The Bleakness – was an album that I thoroughly enjoyed and stuck out with its vision of heavy, emotive modern post-metal.

Fast forward to 2019, and we have Sacrifices, which is the sound of a band that have developed and progressed; although they’re still recognisable as the band they once were, Sacrifices is a considerable step forward for A Secret Revealed. Still taking influence from a mix of modern metal, post-metal/hardcore, doom, shoegaze, and black metal sources, Sacrifices is the sound of a band managing and interpret these sometimes conflicting influences in a more coherent and effective way than previously.

I’ll note here that the band’s post-black metal/blackgaze influences are stronger for a start, and these provide a good place to approach Sacrifices from stylistically. Combine this with other post-metal/hardcore elements, and you should start to see what the band have produced here. Put differently, think of a mix of Cult of Luna, Alcest, and Downfall of Gaia. A simplistic comparison, maybe, but an intoxicating one.

One of the more obvious changes between old and new incarnations of the band is the fact that they have a new singer these days. His voice is interesting in the sense that he manages to easily assimilate into the band’s highly emotive sound by providing a performance that simultaneously covers similar stylistic ground as his predecessor, while also definitely providing his own direction and talents. His voice is one of the, (various), reasons that in 2019 A Secret Revealed sound more professional and accomplished than ever.

Varied, rich, and multifaceted, A Secret Revealed have improved on the promise of their debut album notably. Although I really enjoyed The Bleakness, now that Sacrifices has been unleashed, it outshines the band’s previous work considerably.

Although it certainly does benefit from some obvious and instantly gratifying charms, Sacrifices is a definitely the kind of album that you need to spend some time with to fully appreciate. This is a strength of the record for sure, and A Secret Revealed are to be commended for their depth of songwriting and delivery.

A textured, satisfying, and highly enjoyable album, Sacrifices is the sound of a band boldly striding into the big leagues. I can’t wait to see where they go from here.