A tale of fighting and inviting demons

Of all genres, punk has a distinct connection to mystical stories and creatures of the underworld. From the witches in Rob Zombie’s “Dragula” to the eerie sound and video for Converge’s latest “Blood Moon,” hard rock often uses the occult to communicate darker themes. No album displays this better than B.U.S.’ The Unknown Secretary. 

The Greek band originally released this debut album in 2016, but Heavy Psych Sounds released a repress of the album on October 8th. The band released their second album, Never Decide, in 2019, which featured their more popular track “Moonchild” and “You Better Come In You Better Calm Down.” 

The supernatural tone of this latest repress is apparent in the first two tracks. Both “Fallen” and “Masteroid” contain lyrics about lucifer and witches, presenting a fascination with death still rooted in a fear of mortality. The accompanying hair metal instrumentation likewise makes these songs the soundtrack of concert headbanging. 

Although “New Black Volume” still contains such pagan themes in its lyrics, the opening bass shifts the album’s sound from heavy metal to almost pop-punk. The band continues to pull from a variety of genres in “Forever Grey,” which contains a rhythm and chord progression evocative of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.” And in the nearly-eight-minute “Rockerbus,” they utilize high theatrical vocals. which are characteristic of several ’80s rock groups. 

While doubtlessly creating an original sound, the band nonetheless pays tribute to the musicians of the past. In the final track, “Jimi,” the group appears to be nodding to Hendrix with an extensive and intricate guitar solo, with vocals only present in about the last minute of the song.

The music varies, but all of the lyrics appear to use images of a demon and witches and hell to comment on the real-life hell of modern society. “Forever Grey,” specifically, looks down on how society has devolved into chaos and technology makes people more disconnected from one another. Some of the tracks on The Unknown Secretary seem to take on a God complex regarding humanity, growing hateful towards their sins but, as in “Over The Hills,” hoping to see them in the heavens. Perhaps after nearly two years of global hardships, the band decided to re-release the album as a reminder that we are not alone in fighting these demons.