Fishers of Men by A Secret Ending
Thoughts on the 2022 Album by A Secret Ending.
Hi there, hello.
Welcome to this review newsletter where I use you as a sounding board for my feelings on music releases. Today we’re looking at Fishers of Men by A Secret Ending.
Metal is one of the most diverse genres of music on the planet (don’t quote me, I have no evidence to prove this). The variety of sounds I have experienced as I explored different bands has made my dive into it an exciting experience. There is always one band somewhere that does this one thing you haven’t heard someone do before.
Initially, I found it hard to find such diversity in the Christian side of things, but that has definitely changed over the years. There are Progressive Metal bands, Technical Death Metal, Black (UnBlack) Metal and in the case of A Secret Ending, Symphonic/Melodic Death Metal.
A Secret Ending is a one-man project by Ed Casimir who hails from Lithuania. Though I am unsure of the exact day he started to make music, I do know Ed began releasing music in the year 2020 (way to put the worldwide lockdown to good use, man). While he has released music annually since 2020, 2022 was when A Secret Ending dropped the project’s debut album Fishers Of Men (if that title doesn’t scream “Christian Metal” I don’t know what will).
The album is a combination of two main styles — symphonic metal and melodic death metal. This isn’t the first time that a band or project has combined these two sub-genres, but it is always a welcome sound to my ears.
The symphonic elements as far as I can tell are mostly electronically generated, and not played by an actual orchestra. The symphonic elements are not just present in every track on the album but are key components of each song they are in. The production here is decent as well. It may not have been the best it could be, but all things considered, it is actually well done.
The lyrical themes are tales about different apostles in the Bible - Peter, John, James and Paul to name a few. Basically, each track is a Bible story and I am here for it.
The main weakness I believe this album has is its composition. Many songs felt really similar and didn’t stick out much despite repeated listens to the album. Another thing I would have loved was for the lead guitars to be more pronounced and have more shine; perhaps a few solos in-between to act as a highlight of different tracks. But sadly, there were none.
Still, there are two songs off this album that I enjoyed, I REALLY ENJOYED. I even recommended them to friends who don’t exclusively/hardly listen to Christian metal and they loved them too. They are “Christ to the Gauls” and “One in Christ”.
These songs are easily the highlights of the album and I am so glad that they came as the final tracks on the album. The chuggy riffs of “Christ to the Gauls” is highlighted by the orchestral elements that harmonize with said riffs while talking about Philips' evangelical efforts in Greece.
“One In Christ” speaks about Paul the Apostle and how he went from persecuting apostles to becoming one himself. The chorus of this song was what really hit me, drawn directly from Galatians 3:28, which is a short straightforward call to unity among all Christians, regardless of race, denomination or social status.
There is neither Jew nor Greek; all are one, all are one in Christ
There is neither bond nor free; all are one, all are one in Christ
There is neither male nor female
There is neither Jew nor Greek; all are one, all are one in Christ
All are one, all are one in Jesus Christ
Amen, my dude. Amen.
Genre(s): Symphonic/Melodic Death Metal
RATING: 3/5
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That’s it from me.
Bye for now.
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Low-key obsessed with “One in Christ”. It's a pretty solid album too.