FLOWING PORTRAITS

SOUL SECRET are a young Prog-Metal band from Italy and "Flowing Portraits" is their very impressive debut. When they went into the recording studio to record this album their singer was unable to perform for health reasons but they were very fortunate to get former MIND KEY singer Mark Basile to bail them out. Man this guy can flat out sing, in fact i'm so impressed that i'm on the hunt for some MIND KEY.This album was mastered by THRESHOLD guitarist Karl Groom. Tons of tempo and mood shifts on this one with plenty of fire power to go along with the amazing vocals makes this a must have for Metal fans out there. By the way the keyboardist would make Derek Sherinian proud i'm sure.

"Dance Of The Waves" opens with some cool samples and lots of spacey atmosphere. It kicks in around a minute and it does really kick in. Haha. Vocals follow as guitars grind away relentlesly.The calm with piano after 4 minutes is blown away quickly. Check out the vocals followed by a ripping guitar solo. Killer sound 7 minutes in. "First Creature" has a powerful intro with piano. Vocals come in quickly as it settles. Crunchy guitars and a heavy sound follows as contrasts continue. Plenty of guitar fire 3 minutes in. "Inner War" opens with piano as vocals join in. It kicks in before 1 1/2 minutes. Nice. A heavy, melodic soundscape is the result. Great section 2 1/2 minutes in with lots of crunch and incredible vocals. It settles with piano before 4 1/2 minutes but not for long. Hell yaaa ! Blistering guitar before 6 minutes. Check out the vocals a minute later.

"Learning To Lose" is a brighter more accessible tune. A fuller sound before 1 1/2 minutes. Scorching guitar 4 1/2 minutes in. Crazy synths late. "Regrets" is a cool song with acoustic guitar, synths and reserved vocals. It does get fuller but then settles back. I like the guitar on this one. "Tears Of Kalliroe" is the almost 17 minute closer. A dramatic and powerful start with some orchestration for over 3 minutes. Drums and synths take over. Here we go before 4 1/2 minutes ! They start to rampage ! Vocals after 5 minutes. Unbelieveable ! Check out the stampede 11 minutes in. All hell breaks loose after 13 minutes as he spits out the lyrics. We then get an emotional ending to this furious ride.

Highly recommended and a solid 4 stars.