Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Secret Tales - L'Antico Regno CD (album) cover

L'ANTICO REGNO

Secret Tales

 

Rock Progressivo Italiano

3.94 | 11 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

memowakeman
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars A gothic RPI album.

Secret Tales is a new concept from a talented Italian trio who has reinvented themselves to produce a mystical, dark and gothic progressive rock album entitled "L'Antico Regno" which features 13 short songs that make a total time of 48 minutes. This is an album released in 2014 via Black Widow Records, an Italian label that has released several gothic-like albums in recent years.

The album has a clear guide, she is Tiziana Radis, the girl who sings and tells the story; she is complemented by Roby Tav on keyboards and Giancarlo Gabbanella on strings. The trio has also invited some other musicians to perform different instruments in some songs.

The album opens with "Stargate". The dark feeling appears since the very first seconds though later with guitar it becomes a bit friendlier; I imagine a film about a new planet or galaxy which is being discovered and has to tell its own story. After that introductory moment, "Il Menestrello" appears. It is a short song with beautiful female vocals and acoustic guitar that leads to "L'Antico Regno"; where piano, a male voice speaking and the female singing appear in a soft and delicate way. But after a minute, the music changes, becoming darker and heavier so it is like a blend of diverse sounds that give as a result a symphonic gothic metal piece.

"Il Giullare" is a splendid track, the voices and laughter make it closer to reality, I mean, it is like reading a book and all of a sudden witness the characters in front of you, living the life and telling the story. I love the changes of time and mood, they go from dark passages to sweet hopeful ones, without harming not even a second of the music; in the last minute they delight us with a great guitar solo. "In-Faust-O Goblin" brings a wonderful vocal performance, because Tiziana's voice might be sweet but at the same time it shows sorrow and grievance.

"Ill Canto delle Sirene" is a beautiful instrumental track that has some vocals as background, but no lyrics. The music is peaceful, with acoustic and electric guitar and delicious percussion. A folky passage that in moments becomes rockier but that has a dark/gothic essence. "Rex Introduxit Puellam" has again a folky tune, but it has some strange voices that sound like a machine, I think it is the King of the story. As background we can enjoy violin and beautiful synths. "PrincElfa" has acoustic guitar and an ethereal sound, accompanied by disarming female vocals. The song is like a ballad, a beautiful one by the way.

"L'Unicornio Lucente" adds power and brings back that heavier and darker sound of Secret Tales. As you can imagine, the vocals are great, soft in moments, heavier in others, with an opera-like style; drums are constant but not superb, strings and keys are a great complement, the guitar makes a nice solo, but that's it. "Tornano le fate" is the longest composition, a pleasant piece of rock whose gothic essence prevails, however, it has some softer moments that make it catchier and truly enjoyable. The piano as background helps a lot, while a sorrowful guitar cries in a solo, and Tiziana's voice sounds with echoes, like a siren singing.

"Le Tred" continues with the dark ambient, with some metal hints due to the guitar, though the music itself is far from being metal. "An Ancient History" is the only song that features vocals in English; this is a piece that also adds flute and violin, providing variety to the elements, though the voice in English adds as well a poppier / catchier sound. The album finishes with "Saluto del Cantore", a sweet folky tune.

Maybe the songs are not memorable, maybe there are not pieces that surprise us, but in the end, the album is very well crafted so it gives a satisfying listening experience. Not the classic RPI album, not the classic gothic album, this is a different concept that I recommend you to listen, however, I could not say it is a super or unforgettable album.

Enjoy it!

memowakeman | 4/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this SECRET TALES review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.