Sectarian - The Fallen One (Mini-CD) REVIEW
by frank from Lords Of Metal issue 25

When you drive down the A2-motorway to the most southern point of The Netherlands, far beyond Eindhoven-Rockcity, you’ll see motorway exits to Sittard, Geleen, Beek and Geulle show up. Out of the deep inlands of our marsh on the North Sea the 6 members of Sectarian originate. Somewhere, in 1995, the band began their career as a cover band (back then under the name of Kickshaw). They developed, due to some line-up changes, into a mature branch on the Limburgian metal-tree.

With this mini-cd ‘The Fallen One’ the band, excisting of Raoul Pinxt (vocals), Kevin Firing (guitar), Bart Alders (guitar), Rick Bouman (drums), Jeroen Gelissen (bas) en, last but not least, Rob Besselink (keyboard) produce their second cd. The production, this time, was in hands of a good old acquaintance of the Dutch metal-scene; Hans Reinders, formal singer of Speedica and Form, and nowadays singer of Boondoggle. Although the runner up to the first cd ‘When Darkness Draws Near’ (1999) is just a taste (5 songs) of a complete album, ‘Fallen One’ gives a good impression of the progress Sectarian has made in the past few years, according to the band. And this impression is not bad at all.

The album opens with the epic ‘In Sight of the Seraphim’. With a great guitar solo, great drums and energetic vocals the track has everything to be a trash metal jewel, but still the spark won’t jump. The reason for this is that, at some moments, the connection between the vocals and the instruments is a bit untidy. With the second track ‘Prelude’ the band gets even, while bringing an instrumental song, where Besselink shows to be an excellent keyboard player. After two minutes the introvert ‘Prelude’ seamlessly explodes in a trash metal riff and a pounding rythm to start ‘Hopefully no longer’. On this track Sectarian combines trash-, power- en prog-metalinfluences into a spicy soup that should be eaten as hot as I gets served here for you! (sorry guys,..just trying to translate these dutch sayings, RP). Especially the unique sounding guitar solo’s in the middle of the song make the song worth listening to. ‘Thy thousand names’ is striking because of the ambiance of the intro that would suit ‘Operation Mindcrime’ or ‘Empire’ of Queensryche. But it’s the calmth before the storm. Quickly the band continues their trash and the memories of the moderate opening track is permanently blown out of your ears. For those who needed to be convinced of the qualities of Raoul Pinxt: he impresses with a flawless voice. His tone of voice reminds of bands like Queensryche, Nevermore and VandenPlas. The title-track and last song of the mini-album has the same ambiance and because of its slow passages it’s looks, even more so than the past tracks, like a revival of the good old Queensryche. Without sounding to much like ‘m.

Concluding Sectarian gives a verry good impression with this indepented CD. It’s just a matter of waiting to get marked by a label.

Solid metal of Dutch soil. 72/100

Sectarian is a Dutch that was formed in 1995 and their debut cd "When darkness draws near" came out in 2000. After some line-up changes and a new vocalist these gentlemen produced a mini-album called "Fallen one".

Sectarian reminds me a bit of Whispering Gallery, but without grunts and more speed. Sectarian has more elements of death- and trash metal, but quiet doomy now and then is. The vocals are high (uhh Really? RP), clean and melodramatic.

I think we are dealing with a serious band according to the quality of the songs and the way they handle their promotion. Except of some minor details it all sounds very good.
The drums on he first track sound very digital. They sound like they have been triggered or programmed. On the tracks that follow up the drums sound better, more organic. The guitarsound on the tracks is nice and fat. Because of that the riffs sound great. The keyboards add something very subtile and they support the tracks mainly in atmosphere.

Personally I think the compositions are strong but a bit flat, there are still some dynamics that are missing. If you consider it’s a six-pieced band, I’ve expected more surprises.

That doesn’t take away the fact that we’re dealing with a band that leaves a very good impression. They have a great singer whose clearly defines the atmosphere of the songs because of his sound and the exceptional high level of the lyrics. Beautiful. Concluding: again something great of Dutch soil.

Review “Fallen One” Aardschok nr.5, Mei 2003. By Robbie Woning.

The Limburgian band Sectarian plays a well-done mix of quick trash and threatening progressive metal, which in some moments refers to quality bands such as Nevermore, Crimson Glory and Flotsam and Jetsam. The four tracks on the independent released Cdemo “Fallen one” contain un-Dutch pretentious guitar melodies and equal clean vocals. Sectarian carefully built up their compositions, taking a My Dying bride resembling solemnize and remembers of traditional bands like Iron Maiden in the melodic guitar parts. Great roots, which are accessible arranged in a modern way by these Limburgians.

The Best track on the album is “Hopefully No Longer” that, with its strong chorus, is a very catchy song for progressive standards. However the transparent mix is still missing some low frequencies and one of the guitars player is noticeable walking the edge during the solo, Sectarian delivers a fine piece of work with “Fallen One”. That band surely needs to send this disk to record companies.

‘Fallen one’  Sectarian  - Limburgs Dagblad 10-4-2003.posted bij ERIC SEUREN.

During the second preliminary rounds of the Limburgian talent festival ‘Nu of Nooit’ in Horst I got acquainted with Sectarian. There this south Limburgian metal band fought a great battle, but they came undone because of the superiority of Nu-metalband Liftid and because of the fact that the music of Sectarian (a mix van trash‑, black‑ en heavy me­tal) is inaccessible to a big crowd. These comments are still in force after listening to the second mini-album ‘Fallen one’.

The compositions, in which several musical styles are recognisable, are sometimes hard to comprehend. This immediately happens in the first song ‘In sight of the seraphim’. Right from the beginning it seems that the vocals and the music don’t blend very well. Some moments later the band unifies the song, but the confusion goes in the following tracks. It looks as though every band member is going a different musical direction.

Despite this there is more to Sectarian than meets the eye. The band members are very talented, and the track ‘Hopefully no longer’ sounds very good. Maybe the band needs to grow al little further.

Posted bij andy read of DPRP, Sectarian - The Fallen One (Mini-CD) REVIEW

Sectarian is a Dutch metal band, clearly settled in the darker and heavier fringes of the Progressive Metal jungle. Formed in the summer of '95 under the name of Kickshaw they were initially a cover band with a heavy repertoire of Maiden and Metallica. By the time they got the chance to record their debut-album in 1999 they'd changed their name but When Darkness Draws Near still had its roots firmly in the thrash/death metal scene.

Since then Sectarian have taken a slight change in direction with a few new musical influences added in the shape of keyboardist Rob Besselink and a new frontman Raoul Pinxt. And with The Fallen One it's immediately clear that the band's sound has matured greatly. There's still a heavy thrash and doom influence but the keyboards have added another dimension - broadening the sound greatly. The band states its main reference points as Testament, The Haunted, Crimson Glory and Nevermore. I can't see the Crimson Glory connection, but latter-day Angel Dust sprang to my mind throughout - especially the way Besselink's keys coast over the dark, thrashy metal riffs.

The disc opens with the doom-laden In Sight of the Seraphim. This has the basis of a good idea but the band doesn't really allow it to develop very far and the keys are way too low in the mix.

Prelude does exactly what it says on the tin - a keyboard-led instrumental leading into the riff explosion that opens up Hopefully No Longer. The best track on offer, here Sectarian combines thrash, power and Prog-Metal influences into a fairly intense musical package. The vocals are strong but again musically the band sticks to a fairly basic recipe. I feel that a few dynamic twists and turns, a few surprises are always just around the corner - but they never come.

Despite a quiet intro, Thy Thousand Names is probably the heaviest and certainly the track that comes closest to Angel Dust with a healthy dose of Savatage thrown in. And we finish with the title track which is the most ambitious and progressive on offer and I must admit, is slowly growing on me.

If the band wishes to continue to develop in a more progressive direction then I think a greater use of Besselink's keys is needed and there needs to be a lot more dynamics to the overall sound. Despite having two guitarists, the sound can be awfully flat at times. However Sectarian have an eye for a decent melody and if you like your Metal with plenty of dark aggression, then they are worth checking out.

Conclusion: 7 out of 10

CD-REVIEW "FALLEN ONE" POSTED BY EMILIO FROM MUSKETEER OF DEATH.

Sectarian stands for powerful progressive thrash. The 6 catchy songs have great structures and are fulfilled with mouth-watering riffs, flesh creeping solos, capacious guitars, fast thundering drums and very strong clean vocals bathed in an all-consuming passion. The discrete, still competent use of the keyboards gives the sound a dejected touch. The band reminds me a lot of fellow countrymen Paralysis. They also dally with bands as Nevermore, Dream theater, Queensrÿche and Crimson Glory. Still they rock with an own face. No more words are needed for this fantastic 2nd demo, because it's quality in the purest.
One tip for the labels: sign this band before it’s too late!!!

CD-REVIEW "FALLEN ONE"POSTED BY CURSED WITH OBLIVIAN

Sectarian from Limburg play high-skilled metal. There are no easy-listening songs on this mini-CD Most important ingredients are the Slayer-type guitar riffs (which is not strange, since the band names The Haunted as one of their influences), and the tight drums by Rick Bouwman, who should be mentioned, since he shows that he is a very capable drummer. The music is very well performed, like the band has already recorded many albums. In fact, before this recording they made only one other cd; "When Darkness draws near" (1999).

Singer Raoul Pinxt plays also an important role. He has a strong voice, though his singing is not that varied. I know he can use his voice in more different ways since sometimes e.g. we can hear a high scream or lower vocals (in "Thy thousand names"). If he would do this more often, then the result would be nicer to listen to.

The promo features five songs, of which the second could be seen as a nicely built-up intro to the next track. The mood of this piece, which is simply called "Prelude," reminds me of Iced Earth. One of the best songs is "Hopefully no longer," with a good chorus and nice vocal harmonies. It also features a very interesting middle part, with cool rhythm guitars and an Arabic sounding solo. The other is "Thy thousand names", beginning with a cool intro and containing a lot of double bass drumming. An advice for the next recordings is to put the solos louder in the mix. Now they are pretty much in the background. Also in the background are the keyboards. However, this fits the music, and they seem to play a less important part than the guitars (except in "Prelude"). The song that appeals to me least is, strangely enough, the title track "Fallen one", which I find a bit repetitive.