SECRETS

To fans(amateurs) powerful, beautiful and very melodious, even supermelodious Noprogressive to pay attention to Swedish group Cross. As well as in overwhelming majority неопрогрессивных groups Cross lets out(releases) disks from the worse, to the best that is late works it is always better, than the first For fans(amateurs) Marillion, Genesis and Pink Floyd it is the present(true) pearl of the art of fate However on the majority of sites the group goes as симфопроговая

Disk Secrets is the best

5 Stars

3.5 stars. I was surprised at how heavy this album was, reminding me a little of ARENA. The mellotron is a nice touch, as it appears on all but the two instrumentals.

"Bleeding In Silence" is a great way to start the record, lots of time changes, and as i mentioned earlier quite heavy with some good riffs and guitar melodies.There is some cool drum/cello interplay(bet you don't hear that often) and a lighter keyboard solo. "Little One" is a short guitar instrumental. "The Core" is one of my favourites, with beautiful guitar melodies and also a drum/piano melody.The extended guitar solo is great. "Awakening" is another instrumental with guitar and keyboards leading the way. "Changed Reality" opens with cello, this song has a GENESIS feel to it, i think it's the sound of the keyboards. Another extended guitar solo is a real treat.

"Pall Of Illusion" is another favourite of mine. I call this the magic song because for some unknown reason it takes me back to one of the special times in my life, over 20 years ago, obviously way before this record came out. There is a keyboard melody throughout this very intoxicating song. "Welcome To Utopia" features tempo changes galore, it opens with a mellotron, synth combination, then the drums come in, followed by two minutes of gently soaring guitar. I haven't mentioned the vocals yet, but they work well with this album although they're average at best. This song also features a too short wave of beautiful mellotron(it's always too short). The highlight of the whole record for me is the last 3 minutes or so of this song where Mr.Cross gives us an emotional, uplifting guitar solo that is hard to put into words.

The most recent album from Swedish proggers Cross is easily the best of theirs that I have heard to date. Intricate and sometimes quite menacing (check out opener "Bleeding In Silence") with good musical interplay, all fans of modern prog will enjoy this album. A few guests add some extra touches (such as cello), but for the most part this trio rock on quite nicely with no outside help. Hansi Cross provides guitars/synths/vocals while Lollo Andersson is on bass/Taurus and Tomas Hjort is on drums.

It is very accessible album, one that can be listened to and enjoyed immediately. I nearly didn't hear the 'hidden' piece of music as the first time I played the album I turned it off when the last song ended. The next time I was too far away from the player, and after a while I heard some keyboard chords and wondered where it was coming from. I didn't see much point of this unless it was to see if reviewers were listening to the album all of the way through!! They move through one style to another very comfortably and while this may not be groundbreaking progressive music, it is very nice all the same and I for one enjoyed it.

Feedback #60, Oct 2000