Secrets of the Moon
Antithesis

Here we are discussing the Secrets Of The Moon, a German black metal band formed in 1995 at the start of the genre's second wave. After two excellent full-length albums, in 2006 the band released their third album: "Antithesis", which brought a shift in the sound of the German band. The blackish roots of the early '90s style were largely abandoned in favor of an even darker, more esoteric, and heavier sound. Moreover, concerning the lyrics, there is significant maturation in terms of complexity and intricacy, without abandoning the band's classic themes, namely: the occult and esotericism.

We now arrive at the actual review of the aforementioned work, which opens with the intro "Nowhere 11.18"; which immediately immerses the listener in the dark and suffocating sound of the SOTM and prepares them for the impact with this formidable record. The subsequent track is titled "Versus", which makes it immediately clear that the classic black metal rhythms have been partially set aside in favor of, let me say, more "death metal" rhythms. The song nonetheless proceeds at a fairly brisk pace, occasionally punctuated by some mid-tempos and clean guitar breaks.

Next, we proceed with one of the masterpieces of Antithesis, the song "Ordinace". In my opinion, it is one of the best tracks on the full-length album, especially thanks to its chorus, repeatedly placed during the performance, which embeds itself in the listener's mind where it will remain for a long time. In this song, in my opinion, the band's new sound is perfectly represented, composed of fast parts, mid-tempos, dissonant clean arpeggios, and infinitely repeated guitar riffs, without ever tiring the listener.

The next track, "Confession", maintains the same wavelength as the previous two songs, while a new twist is instead provided by "Metamorphoses", which proves to be one of the most original and innovative pieces on the record, thanks to its "crazy" lyrics, entirely written in Latin, and the vocal lines adopted by the vocalist and guitarist sG.

We then continue with the last three tracks of the work, namely: "Ghost", "Seraphim is Dead" and "Lucifer Speaks"; all highly successful songs (except partly for "Ghost", which in my opinion is the least effective piece of Antithesis) that perfectly fit the work done up until then throughout the full-length.

The album ends with the outro "Exit" whose title strongly conveys the idea of "exit" and "finale" of this album which, in my opinion, remains one of the best releases of the German band.

In conclusion, the album presents as very intricate and original; indeed, several listens are necessary to fully grasp it; this full-length certainly hasn't changed the fate of black metal, but at least it has brought a breath of fresh air in these recent years, where the great bands of the early '90s have practically perished in a cauldron of commercial gimmicks and albums that are nothing short of ridiculous.

My final score is: 8