Soul Secret - Flowing Portraits
Italy's Soul Secret delivers a progressive metal experience that sounds straight from the 90s boom of prog excellency. There are a multitude of ideas here on "Flowing Portraits", woven elegantly through each song. Instruments and vocals mesh with one another, and create a musically intricate album that bursts with energy and influence. Songs such as "Inner War" will sweep you up in the glory of the heydays of Eternity-X and Dream Theater's humble beginnings.
 
A distinct in-your-face, metal meltdown "Awake" sound prevails. Guitars are sharp and biting, synthesizers adding plush layers and a slick vocal from ex-Mind Key singer Mark Basile that sounds amazingly like a mix of James LaBrie and DC Cooper. "Flowing Portraits" is indeed a flowing album and you can spot bits of Dream Theater (they were once a DT cover band after all), Spock's Beard, Pain of Salvation, Liquid Tension Experiment and Symphony X. It's something better digested in pieces and picked apart.

It gets dark and heavy on "Dance of the Waves", frothing vocals, danger tipped keys, head spinning pace changes. This was how they used to make it, prog metal that has melody and imagination, that encompasses a huge range of sounds and emotions. "First Creature" features gorgeous melodic vocals set in a sea of symphonic metal bliss. Crunchy rolling guitars, dancing keyboard work that darts all around the atmosphere laid down and a sprinkle of that Symphony X feel.

 
Hints of Rush can be traced on "Learning to Lose", which is a melodic prog piece that boldly flirts with AOR styled music. After the assault of the first three songs, it makes for a nice transistion to prepare for the acoustic cut, and then the grand finisher (and highlight of the album) "Tears of Kalliroe".The light and flittery heart bleed of "Regrets" is the soulful calm in the midst of the metallic storm. Washed ashore with acoustic and vocal in hand, the tale here is one of opportunities gone by and things that seem of utmost importance, slipping right from your hands.
 
"Tears of Kalliroe" is the epic closer, and takes the listener through heaven, hell and back again. All of this accomplished in the span of nearly seventeen minutes. That's right, seventeen minutes. This is not just a song, it's an absolute monster. And while the running time seems excessive, every second is packed with fantastic instrumentation, beautiful vocals and fluid melodies. A movie-score like beginning opens the song up before the lead heavy guitars begin crunching in amongst the layered keys. Insane swapping between this rich orchestration and clawing heavy metal, it's a song of drama and virtuosity. A drowning pool of solos keeps the song clipping at an incredible pace, all while the vocals keep you grounded with their solidity and haughty sweeping majesty.
Mark's DC Cooper-like vocal command comes into play here, as the soul shredding conviction is absolutely unshakeable.  For those that cut their teeth on prog metal similiar to this, it will be like a spinning dizzy retro trip of bliss. However, you also get the feeling that if the six songs available here had been chopped up into perhaps eight, the disc would become much more accessible to the general audience. There are plenty of ideas running wild here, and Soul Secret has the talents to keep everything grounded and running smoothly throughout the six tracks.
 
"Flowing Portraits" is an appropriate title, referring to the songs and their melodies (perhaps?), and it must be said that all of their influences are handled deftly. Showing nothing but skill and respect for the peers that came before them and helped to create their shapeshifting sound. With bombast and sorrow, thunder and rainy downpour - Leviathan, Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Rush, Symphony X, Threshold and a baker's dozen others, all sharing, swapping and blending into each other for the spotlight, this is an album that is difficult to get into. It's not instant, as with any thought provoking prog metal, but a little time invested will reward you tenfold. There are some truly great songs of the genre here, and atleast this band is proving that you *can* make progmetal like it used to be. Bold, breathlessly intricate and completely fascinatingly beautiful.  Now only if the whole procession was a tad more streamlined... 

Written by Alanna
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Show all reviews by Alanna

Ratings

Alanna: 7/10

Members: No members have rated this album yet.


This article has been shown 3683 times. Go to the complete list.



RevelationZ Comments











Review by Alanna

Released by
ProgRock Records - 2008

Tracklisting
01. Dance Of The Waves
02. First Creature
03. Inner War
04. Learning to Lose
05. Regrets
06. Tears of Kalliroe


Supplied by Target


Style
Progressive metal

Related links
Visit the band page

Soul Secret - Official MySpace

Other articles


Z supported shopping






Ratings
1 - Horrifying
2 - Terrible
3 - Bad
4 - Below average
5 - Average
6 - Good
7 - Very good
8 - Outstanding
9 - Genius
10 - Masterpiece
666 - Unrated

More details...


Daily Spotlight
D:A:D - Riskin' It All
CoverThis was my first D:A:D album and in fact the first time I really started taking notice of Rock music back in the day. 1991 t....
Read full review















Retro Reviews

(Tommy)
Manowar - Sign Of The Hammer
CoverWhen it comes to Manowar, Sign Of The Hammer has always meant something special to me. It has this fascinating balance between epic features and raw, stripped down Heavy Metal. All Men Pla....
Read full review






(Steen)
Robby Valentine - The Magic Infinity (Japanese Edition)
CoverAs much as I relish in heavy metal with all its glory of powerful guitars, fast drumming and high pitched vocals, I am also in love with certain flavors of melodic rock where a passionate voice, piano....
Read full review








Archive
 · Albums of the month
 · Retro Reviews
































Back to the top - © 2002-2011 RevelationZ Magazine - Back to the top