Hello reader, today we bring you yet another interview – this time with Irish progressive metallers Sectile. Our own Stephen conducted this interview.

Sectile is one of the more interesting metal bands to be coming out of the Irish scene as of late – with some masterful licks and unique vocal flair. With a 2017 self-titled EP and a debut album, Falls Apart, to release next week at time of writing (Feb 25th 2020). We obtained an early listen of Falls Apart and it demonstrates great technical talent coupled with catchy melodies – expect a review in our February 2020 edition of Reports from the Underground. For now, though, you can listen to the two singles from the upcoming album, The Hunt, and Black Cloud, on all good streaming services!

In this interview, we talk to guitarist Mark O’ Reilly, who recorded many of the riffs and solos you’ll hear on Falls Apart alongside the work of their former guitarist Michael Sheridan. We dig into the band’s sound, influences and the Irish prog scene. Enjoy!

Thank you for taking the time to do this interview! First off, for our readers who haven’t heard Sectile before, what can they expect from the new album, Falls Apart?

Thank you for having us! I think since we started as a band in 2016 we always had a keen interest in making what we considered ‘balanced’ music. What we love the most about progressive metal is in any given song you can be treated to heavy, aggressive, riff-laden passages and then everything up to beautiful, soft, clean sections and we always wanted the best of that dichotomy from the genre. We really want to achieve that in our music, but we also never wanted to go too far with the technical stuff. So, we always make sure we balance the songs even further with a hook or a catchy chorus!

Sectile has a self titled EP that was released in 2017. What new challenges did the band face with the new album compared to the previous EP?

I think we attempted to upgrade pretty much every aspect of these songs when compared to the EP; from the songwriting all the way to recording. We spent considerably more time with the songs in the rehearsal room, going over all the details collectively and making sure we were completely happy with them. Then we wanted to greatly increase the recording quality too so that meant more sessions in a nicer studio and so on… We really wanted to do these songs justice!

Is there an overarching theme, concept, inspiration or idea behind Falls Apart?

‘Falls Apart’ is not a concept album, unfortunately. We’ll have to wait until we’ve really mastered our prog game!

But honestly, there are common themes permeating the lyrics. We tend to deal with the darker aspects of the human psyche, for example some songs will be about things like facing our own mortality, dealing with the past and how it affects your present life, breaking free from the oppression of religion etc. All that is mixed and matched with small sci-fi and occult references from books and movies we like, but those references are subtle, we like to keep things vague to a degree and let the audience fill in the blanks with their own life experience.

What types of instruments and equipment did the band use on the record?

As the band’s guitarist I’m afraid I am going to be totally ignorant to what our drummer Zachary used on the album. I’m assuming it was a series of high-quality pots and pans.

But, as for the guitars, we used a blend of a Peavey 5150 (as I use a 6505+ live) and Mesa Triple Crown. We got a great tone out of this for the heavy sections in our songs. As for the bass I believe what you will hear on the album is mostly an Ampeg SVT, mixed in with a bit of an ENGL Powerball for grit. We wanted the bass to really stand on its own in this album as Cormac has some great flair with it!

What are Sectile’s plans for live shows or tours after y’all release the new album?

We have our album launch gig in a venue called The Grand Social on February 28th, here in Dublin. We couldn’t be more excited about it! We’re playing the album in full and have recruited some support from some phenomenal local Irish talent. Anyone reading who happens to be in Dublin – please come and say hello! As for when the album is out, we are currently working on booking gigs around Ireland and the UK, but as that are all in the works I cannot divulge just yet!

On the band’s social media there was a post about beginning the writing process on a second album. How is the writing process going?

It’s going very, very well. We never stop writing as a band and now that we have our first full-length album under our belt I think we have a much stronger idea of how to craft a full, coherent record, and how to make songs compliment each other. We’re able to stick to simple ideas like “Ok, our last song was heavy and busy, that would look great next to a slow, emotive song on a record”, things like that!

Our approach to writing has also become a lot more streamlined. For example, we’ve started using notation software when we really need it in order to go through the details with a fine-toothed comb. It means we can get through the technical stuff efficiently and leave more time to explore the more emotional aspects of songwriting together as a group.

Has the band faced any challenges writing new material so quickly after finishing the first LP?

Not really! It’s honestly the most enjoyable aspect of being in a band, besides playing gigs of course. It’s the more “business” aspects of being in a band that tend to be the most challenging for us, like the logistics of social media, promotion, PR, online presence, merch orders, and so on… Still, it’s just as rewarding in the long run.

What bands or artists are Sectile’s biggest influences?

It really depends on who you ask in the band! Honestly, there are not a whole lot of bands we agree on but, ultimately, we think that’s a good thing. Just as long as the ideas that emerge from that mix don’t conflict with each other.

The bands we reference the most in discussions would be Leprous, Opeth, Pain of Salvation, Mastodon, Ihsahn, Intronaut, Symphony X, Black Peaks, and then sometimes even the grandpa ones like Genesis, King Crimson, Yes, you name it. All those guys really are major inspirations for us, and they are masters of that ‘balance’ I mentioned earlier.

What is the progressive rock/metal scene in Ireland like in 2020?

We are honestly one of the few progressive bands we know of here in Ireland. We’ve made friends (and plenty of nerdy jokes) with the few other prog bands and they are all fantastic at what they do, but it is true, there are not a lot of us. That can be both good and bad though, sometimes we can relish the sea of confused facial expressions at our local gigs.

Do y’all have any favorite bands that deserve more attention?

I can answer this one from a personal standpoint and say Hacride. I believe they get a criminal lack of attention, as their album “Back to Where you Never Been” from 2013 is a progressive metal masterpiece.

Anything else you would like to add in closing?

Thanks so much for chatting with us!

‘Falls Apart’ is out everywhere on February 25th and to anyone who manages to give it a listen we implore you to shoot us a message on Facebook or Instagram and just let us know what you think of it! We love nothing more than to hear from our listeners, and whether you liked or disliked it, let us know! At the very least we just enjoy talking about music!

Sectile’s social links:

Website: www.sectileofficial.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/sectile

YouTube: http://youtube.com/sectile

Instagram: http://instagram.com/sectileofficial

Twitter: http://twitter.com/sectileofficial

Spotify: http://sectileofficial.com/spotify

Bandcamp: http://sectileofficial.bandcamp.com