A Secret Revealed - When the Day Yearns For Light

Angry Metal Guy

Contrary to popular belief, we adhere to some concrete rules around these parts. You always put the toilet seat back down when you’re finished. You never, ever speak to the whereabouts of former writers once their bodies are properly disposed of they move on to greener pastures. Finally, you don’t swipe another reviewer’s band unless you get permission first. Long story short, I nabbed When the Day Years For Light by German post-metallers A Secret Revealed without realizing that Cherd tackled their last one, Sacrifices, just two years ago. That said, after profusely apologizing to the sagely-bearded one, not once did he fight me for reviewing rights. This could either mean that because their prior release didn’t connect with him that maybe it could with me, or they’re competent at what they do, but that’s the extent of their reach.

Given the amount of time I spent with When the Day, it veers hard into the latter instance. That’s not to say there aren’t any surprises. Opener “As I Watch You Perish” injects some black metal ferocity into their metalcore/Neurosis blend, and the results, while a bit overlong and drawn out, give an interesting peek at the potential of diving head-first into a sound that fellow countrymates Praise the Plague spat at us venomously just a short while ago. Also, the airy ending to “With Blind Apathy” makes a beautiful contrast to the brutality beforehand, even if this song too stretches too thin for my liking.

And that’s a strange thing to say for an album that’s barely over a half-hour in length, but here we are. Granted, looking over Cherd‘s review of their last one being over 56 minutes, I realize this newfound brevity is a blessing. Even then, there’s just not enough variety here to keep me involved, entertained, or even awake. In the case of the second half of the album, where the shortest songs dwell, it’s even more baffling, as the lack of compelling riffs, not to mention the adherence to ‘core structures and post-tropes or Michael Heim’s always-at-13-and-not-lower screaming, makes each song feel like an eternity. Other than the two tracks above, precious little grabs you, and even less of that stands out from the endless sea of post-y/’core bands glutting the market.

Also, that mix doesn’t do anyone who plays an instrument in the band any favors. The tremolo melodies exhibited on “As I Watch You Perish” and “With Blind Apathy” are a bit too piercing, so when the band bounces between all the pretty portions and the non-stop build-ups and teardowns (of which there are a metric fuck-ton), the transitions become painful to endure. The drums sound too compressed, with the cymbals taking the brunt of all the compression, especially on the bog-standard ride-cymbal accents. The vocals, one-note and loud as they are, take front-and-center throughout When the Light‘s entirety, so if that’s your thing, enjoy your early Christmas gift of anger and throat polyps.

I should know better these days that when someone doesn’t fight me for a review that it’s never a good sign, and When the Day Yearns For Light confirmed my deepest fears and suspicions. While not a terrible album by any stretch, it’s not an interesting one that screams for repeated plays, with the added pain of an overly compressed, dynamically-challenged mix that further hampers any enjoyment. Sure, A Secret Revealed can play their asses off, but it’s gonna take more than just being present and “there” with your songwriting to make an impact. When that day comes, maybe then they’ll see the light.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Lifeforce Records
Websites: asecretrevealed.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/asecretrevealed
Releases Worldwide: October 29th, 2021

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