Secret Rule – The 7 Endless
Album Review By Rainer Kerber
For the first time I heard from the band Secret Rule from the Italian capital Rome at the beginning of 2016. Shortly before the release of the second album “Machination”. Already at that time the musicianship of the musicians convinced me. It was pleasant to hear that the musicians were able to use the keyboards discreetly. On the negative side, it made me a bit monotonous songwriting. After that, I lost sight of the Italians for a while. Then I saw her live at the FemME in Eindhoven and was pleasantly surprised. As a quartet and without keyboarder they presented straightforward and varied Hard Rock. At that time, they were working on a new album that was partly funded by crowdfunding. Meanwhile, “The 7 Endless” has been released. Let’s hear if they can confirm this positive live impression also in their studio production.
And the Italians start immediately relaxed and elated with the pop / rock song “The Endless”. Beautiful melodies loosened with epic choruses. And Angela’s voice has “matured”. Despite the length of almost five and a half minutes, the song is very radio-compatible. “Birth” is a bit harder then. The singer shows further nuances of her vocal abilities. And the guitarist fires riff on riff. In “Alone”, the singer proves that she can also sing higher notes easily and cleanly. A short guitar solo completes the song. In “Destiny”, the Italians put on the degree of heavyness, double bass and hard riffs provide metallic power. After so much driving rock songs, you can relax a little at the power-ballad “Delirium”. Here you can also hear best guitar solo of the album in my opinion. Towards the end, the tempo picks up and thus provides the appropriate transition to the straight rock song “Destruction”, for me the highlight of the album. And at the very end, Secret Rule brings folkloric elements into her songwriting. The grandiose ballad “The Awakening” is the icing on the cake of this release.
With “The 7 Endless” Secret Rule have released a very good album. In contrast to the already mentioned “Machination”, it is full of catchy but never cheesy melodies. The keyboard use has been reduced even further and is now extremely song-worthy. Even with the songwriting the Italians are clearly improved. The compositions are extremely varied. They thus confirm the positive impression that I had already gained during their live performance.
SECRET RULE – Destruction: https://youtu.be/HHXK7A7Xfig
Lineup:
Angela Di Vincenzo – Vocal
Andy Menario – Guitar & Loops
Michele Raspanti – Bass
Nicola “Nyk” Corrente – Drums
Label: Pride & Joy Music
Out: January 25th 2019
Playing time: 48:19
Track list:
- The Endless
- Birth
- Dream
- Desire
- Alone
- Destiny
- Hidden into a Dream
- Desperation
- Delirium
- Destruction
- The Awakening
Rating : 8/10
MHF Magazine/Rainer Kerber
