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Lifeblood
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Lifeblood |
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| Secret Sphere are a power metal band from Italy formed in 1997 by guitarist Aldo Lonobile, releasing their debut album 'Mistress Of The Shadowlight' in 1999. The band released a further eight albums - seven studio and one live (2016's One Night In Tokyo) - over the next twenty years, releasing their tenth album 'Lifeblood' in 2021. | ||||||
| 'Lifeblood' sees the return of vocalist Roberto Messina to the line-up, who fronted the band from 1997 to 2012. Over the years, Secret Sphere has performed at festivals all across Europe, and toured with many bands, bands such as King Diamond and Gamma Ray. The new album 'Lifeblood' is eleven songs of high energy, highly bombastic, and overly infectious power metal - all coming to life with the two minutes and twenty two seconds instrumental intro 'Shaping Reality'. A highly entertaining and crescendo building intro, 'Shaping Reality' creates a huge atmosphere of anticipative excitement - as the band career headlong into the opening song, the title song, the fast and furious 'Lifeblood'. Screaming by at high velocity, the classic sound of European power metal is in full swing, highly infectious and one hundred percent sing a long able. Keeping the pace going, 'The End Of An Ego' is a more melodic gallop, just as infectious, and with an almighty chorus of catchiness. And right there, is the signature sound of Secret Sphere - "a catchy and infectious melodic gallop". | ||||||
| The album cracks on with the heavier, and more mid tempo, 'Life Survivors'. Full of power and a thumping rhythm, 'Life Survivors' shows a small amount of the progressive nature of metal, thumping and kicking its way to a finish. Picking up the ace 'Alive' sprints off at high velocity, scorching the Earth as it sizzles and fizzles with pure energy. An all out balls out thundering romp of power metal, 'Alive' is quite simply a scorcher. The album moves toward a hard rock/AOR sound with the majestic pomp of 'Against All The Odds'. Featuring a swagger the likes of Journey, Firehouse, and Tyketto revel in, Secret Sphere open their sound up to a whole new audience with 'Against All The Odds'. Bustling into view, 'Thank You' maintains the albums recent hard rock flavour, adding a much more anthemic edge, and one helluva sing a long style chorus. | ||||||
| Upping the energy and oomph, 'The Violent Ones' floats effortlessly into the melodic power metal genre - adrenaline, fists, and hearts all pumping with excitement. 'The Violent Ones' is an up tempo gallop, bringing the album back towards its power metal roots. Electrifying pace comes to the fore with the blistering 'Solitary Fight', finally landing the album firmly and squarely back in power metal territory - and time for the head bangers of the world to start head banging again. It's amazing how quickly the album changes direction, darting this way and that, and in the shape of 'Skywards', we find ourselves ensconced in power ballad territory. Raise your lighters high and sway from side to side, as we ride the mellow roller coaster skywards! At over eight minutes in length, album closer 'The Lie We Love' is by far and away the longest song on offer, and opens in a gloriously tension filled and atmospheric way. Becoming a mid tempo thunder stomp, 'The Lie We Love' rides gallantly through the epic, glory, and anthemic genres of metal. | ||||||
| Overall, a melodic gallop of mid to high tempo power metal, one hundred percent infectious and highly addictive. | ||||||
| Review by Iron Mathew Collins | ||||||
| Reviewed for Metal Gods TV | ||||||
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| Blackened Heartbeat | ||||||
| "a fast paced gallop of infectious melodic power metal, featuring a sky high energy level with tonnes of head bang ability" Read Review | ||||||
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