Gerra

'Gerra' is the sophomore album from Swedish death metallers Sectu. If you wonder what the title means, here's the explanation: Gerra is the name of Babylonian and Akkadian god of fire. The debut album 'Inundate' from 2011 features watery artwork and lyricism, and 'Gerra' includes, of course, the element fire.

When compared to fire, water is a slower, less aggressive element. The music on 'Gerra' is faster than the debut album's. It is a tad more airy, so to speak. Well, fire needs air to burn... Plus, it is somewhat more twisting, even though the debut's songs aren't "1-2-3-4" material. It can be said, that more weird parts still remind me of Morbid Angel and Immolation. However, this is leaning more towards Suffocation and such bands. I also must mention Meshuggah, as here's some influences from them, in solo guitars and rhythms. Technical death metal meets the otherworldly atmospheres.

Playings-wise, this has gotten more accurate compared to the debut, so it also sounds more technical. It surely is great to listen to all guitar playing and drumming, as it is not too clinical, but bloody tight and well... Able. Mostly gone are those truly monstrous, roaring guitars, that made 'Inundate' so bloody heavy. There are guitar walls to be heard here, but they are less thick and low-ended. A perfect example of this is 'Court of the Sloths'. There's a lot of trebly guitar playing on this album. Fast, finger-bending riffs dominate this album, but there's hammering rhythm guitars and some open stringed guitar work to be heard, too. The bass rumbles its way underneath there, but is still left in the shadows, sadly, as this generally sounds a bit thin to tell the truth. The drums seem to offer new beats throughout the album, not to forget, new playing tricks.

The production job is very clean, and as mentioned, lacks of lower end. It is definitely detailed, no doubt about that. Well, something gained, something lost. We can't get everything we want at the same time. The cover artwork looks stylish, but I hate to read lyrics printed in caps. The lyrics are about fire and its cleansing force, in various meanings. Plus, some anti-religious stuff, as well as war themes, of course. The vocals are all too similar throaty growling, if powerful at it. Could be far worse, though.

Sectu's debut 'Inundate' didn't initially strike me very hard, but it began to grew on me during months after I reviewed it. I think it beats this second album in the song writing stakes. It is hard to say, if 'Gerra' will grown on me later on, but many months have passed since I got it and got delved into it, so I doubt it. However, it's not a carbon copy of the debut, so that is a good thing, and still, it's nowhere near of being a failure. It's just somewhat different. More twisted, less heavy, and definitely not an easy one. Fans of semi-technical death metal should inspect this one.

(Originally written for ArchaicMetallurgy.com)