Hahaha, Blabbermouth. Trust that website to be flooded with comments like “who’d name a band after a shitty Slayer album?” True, the album is not their best, but listen to any one of the 13 (unlucky) tracks on this album and how you can come to the conclusion they are in any way, shape or form influenced by Slayer is beyond me. I mean, if Bonded By Blood came out and said they didn’t get their name from a certain classic thrash album I’d laugh, but that’s a different piranha filled water-boiling electrical appliance entirely.
So those expecting to hear a bunch of tenth-rate wannabes of Slayer at their worst can either turn away now or else breathe a sigh of relief. It’s not all that bad. But then, Secrets is not all that good either. Unless you foam at the mouth at the mention of Nightwish in which case this probably sounds alright. It promises to sound like a soundtrack to an epic movie, and to some extent it does deliver. ‘New Era’ comes pounding forth with real urgency; a heavy charged up riff beefed up with synths aplenty and a bombastic choir. It’s quite a strong track and the chorus definitely gives off a level of atmosphere. ‘St Michael’s Nightmare’ is another one that makes use of the choir and brings the album to an apocalyptic finish. It has some crunchy, powerful guitars – there is clearly a power metal backbone to this album and it’s easily going to appeal to fans of the more symphonic bands the genre has to offer. There are plenty of big catchy riffs and upbeat drum patterns and overall the production is great and has that Sasha Paeth sheen to it. There are some intriguing melodies to be found here too, such as on ‘Come To Paradise’ which has a bit of a Celtic vibe. The chorus, on the other hand, has me wondering if the guitarist mixed up his guitar strings with cheese strings and is what Stratovarius could well sound like if they pulled in a female singer (obviously they may have to make allowances for the lower vocal register that would likely bring).
This brings me neatly to the vocals of Zuberoa Aznárez, which are, at times, quite beguiling. This is true especially of ‘Nocturnal Flowers’ which begins with a mighty crunch mixing in some fluffy keyboards before dropping into a rather dreamy verse which does her vocals justice. That said, they are nothing to write home about either and while not unpleasant for the full duration, at times I find her helium-fuelled delivery just a little too screechy for comfort and also a bit on the thin side. The addition of the deathly male vocals on ‘Lies In Your Eyes’ works quite well and perhaps more of a “beauty and the beast” style balancing act would make future releases more appealing. Aznarez is not completely incapable as a vocalist, but just isn’t strong enough as a “frontwoman” to make this work. With its Eastern infusion together with rather thrashy guitars ‘Lies…’ is another recommended track, though ‘Lonely Soul’ is definitely one to avoid unless you appreciate over-sentimental mush, which has me on the verge of vomiting.
On the whole this isn’t bad for a debut album; it’s not a classic in the making by any means, not is it the best thing out there in the world of metal but it does have some strong tracks and there is potential for them to improve on future releases. Recommended if you like Nightwish.
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