This is the fourth album from international metallic hardcore band Sect.
Brought to us by experienced hands in the form of current/ex-members of bands such as Catharsis, Cursed, Earth Crisis, Enabler, Racetraitor, The Damned Things, Undying, and many others, Plagues upon Plagues showcases a leap in Sect’s musical journey when compared to their previous work, (such as 2017’s brutal No Cure for Death).
Each previous Sect album has been slightly longer than the last, but Plagues upon Plagues forges ahead of the others, offering a meaty 27 minutes of material to chew on. With this expanded running time comes an expanded set of flavours to savour. That the album opens with with an introspective musical landscape that underpins clean singing should be an indicator that this is not the same Sect we’ve seen before.
Fear not though, as the band are still heavy and ferocious, only now they’re more varied and textured. Shorter tracks still exist, like the scathing Drowning in Sorrow, but now these rub shoulders with others that are longer and more involved, like the opening cut No Uncertain Terms, or the grim #Foreverhome. A song like Inventory demonstrates a bridge of sorts between old and new Sect – the first part is blisteringly aggressive, while the second crawls along with a malevolent edge. The closing song – Six Black Lines (Plagues upon Plagues) – delivers a shot of controlled venom straight into the veins; it’s gloriously horrific, in the best of harrowing sludge-fuelled-ways.
Darker, slower, and more emotively affecting than ever, Plagues upon Plagues finds Sect spreading their gaze wider than just brutal hardcore fury, and they don’t like what they see, not one bit. The sense of hopelessness that’s given off in waves by Plagues upon Plagues is tangible, and this leads to an impactful mix of rage, despair, and acceptance. Sect’s music reflects the anguish and desperation of what it is to try to sound warning alarms about a swathe of coming horrors, only to end up living through them, and trying to deal with the aftermath of seeing them come about. The world may be burning, but at least Sect have provided us with a fitting soundtrack to the devastation.
Essential listening.
Wonderbox Metal 