In the 90’s I was not a fan of Earth Crisis. Their vegan straight edge stance really didn’t speak to a sixteen-year-old kid that loved drinking and eating cheeseburgers. Their music was also a bit to metallic-tough-guy for my nerdy hardcore, and pop-punk tastes; I liked bands like The Get Up Kids, Charles Bronson, Jawbreaker, and Reversal of Man. As I’ve gotten older and less jaded (if that’s possible), I’ve come to appreciate a lot of music that I had initially written off in my youth. I still don’t care for Earth Crisis, but a lot of metal and other hardcore bands I’ve dismissed, have made their way around again. SECT is the band that blends all aspects of hardcore, punk, and metal I’ve come to love throughout my life. If you would have told my teenage self that at the age of thirty-seven I’d be listening to a band that has members of The Swarm, Catharsis, Earth Crisis, and a future super cheeseball pop-punk band (Fall Out Boy), I would’ve told you to fuck off. But here we are, the future, and I’m very much into SECT and their second full-length, No Cure for Death.
No Cure for Death is a ten song seventeen-minute exercise in musical, and lyrical brutality. If you were a fan of any of the members other projects, except maybe Fall Out Boy, No Cure for Death is screaming your name. The lyrics Chris Colohan has penned for the ten tracks deal with everything from big pharma’s grip on North America, religion, political discontent, systematic racism, and the bands vegan straight edge beliefs; something that would’ve turned me off in the past, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve began to care a lot about my physical and mental health. That’s not to say if you don’t hold strong beliefs in straight edge or veganism you’ll hate the record. In fact, anyone that is a fan of relentless, punishing hardcore will love No Cure for Death.
SECT is a group that spans two states and two countries so when they come together to create music, there is no time to fuck around. Recorded by Kurt Ballou at his God City Studios, the album sounds like a freight train hitting you in the face, over and over again. The feedback from the guitars fills every empty second the record, and their sheer heaviness is enough to bring down walls. The rhythm section of Steve Hart and Andrew Hurley, is tough as nails and keeps things hard and focused. The never stray from the task at hand, which is to crush all that stand in the way. The guitar playing of James Chang and Scott Crouse is reminiscent of both guitarists previous bands, but when put together with the brutal rhythm section, it takes on a new form. The band is tight and determined to give a solid platform for the caustically growled vocals of Chris Colohan.
Every song on No Cure for Death is an urgent plea to the world at large. The time for change is now, and it’s time for humanity to start owning up to its’ own shit. SECT want you to pay attention to the world around you, and they want you to take action. SECT wants us to join them in the fight against oppression not just for humans, but animals as well. No Cure for Death is more than just a rad hardcore record, it is a call to arms. It would be hard to only casually listen to No Cure for Death, you have to sit down with the lyrics and read along with Colohan’s pissed off declarations. This is hardcore for the hardcore, and No Cure for Death is for those who are sick and tired of watching the world around them slowly crumble to dust.