Wondrous natural landscapes encircle the earth at almost every latitude, but it seems that every one marked by the footprints of humankind has been marred by legacies of violence and shame. Beneath the ground, at depths both shallow and deep, the soil is salted with bitter graves and crumbling bones, and the recorded histories preserve chilling memories, both haunting and horrifying, no matter how much living peoples might wish to brush them away like annoying flies or permanently erase them.

Within the boundaries of New Mexico are many such wondrous landscapes; much of the State is so beautiful it takes your breath away. But it too, like most of the southwestern United States (and almost everywhere else in the world), has been defaced by the footprints of humankind and scarred by its own legacies of human abomination.

New Mexico’s Heretical Sect disclose almost nothing about themselves (though we’re told they’re also members of more prominent bands, and that they live in one of that State’s most stunning locales, Santa Fe), but we do have some insights into their musical vision, thanks to an introduction provided by the three labels who are jointly releasing their self-titled debut EP on March 1st (Redefining Darkness Records, Caligari Records, and Vendetta Records): Continue reading »