The first thing you notice on Agnus Dei is the guitar tone. It's heavy and sounds really Swedish (are they using a Boss HM-2?). The beginning of "May God Damn All of Us" sounds like it could be on a Dismember or General Surgery record. The problem I find with the Swedish sound, though, is that the heaviness kinda dulls some of the tone. The Secret makes up for this by taking a fairly black metal approach to riffing. The first track on the album, "Agnus Dei," showcases this nicely. The heavy tone easily dances off into black metal dynamics. The beefy, almost drony guitar is showcased well on "Vermin of Dust" and "Heretic Temple." These are the slowest numbers on the album, but do not take away from the fury of the others. They add a nice sense of darkness. The drums on Agnus Dei are very solid, too. Other than the slower songs listed above, they are fast and furious. While most go for the grinding blast beat approach, songs like "Geometric Power" and "Obscure Dogma" take a more standard hardcore approach. The vocals are rough and evil and fit the songs really well.
 

Agnus Dei is great for those looking for some black metal flavor without wanting to go headlong into the goofy theatrics, synthesizers, and corpse paint. It's straight forward, nut stomping grind seasoned with interesting black metal and Swedish spices. The songs flow well together (enough that you won't know when one ends and another begins, generally) and make for a very solid album. Plus, with a religious title like Agnus Dei, your grandmother could pick it up, smile, pinch your cheeks, and tell you, "You are a nice boy." Thanks, nana!!