Secret Rule - Machination

Secret Rule, a group of three Italians, a Dutchman and a Finn, came to my attention trough previously mentioned Finn, who is one of my favorite musicians. Henrik Klingenberg of Sonata Arctica (did we expect anything else?)

Famous Dutch person on this line up is Sander Zoer (Ex-Delain), and it’s up to those well known names, along with the characteristic vocals of Angela Di Vincenzo to bring the still fairly unknown Secret Rule to new heights.  And also up tot their second album, that’s now awaiting to be played on my Itunes; Machination

Though I can probably name quite some bands that Secret Rule obviously draws their inspiration from, they are certainly not a copycat of anyone, and keep on doing their own thing. This is thanks to Angela, who has her own distinct style of singing. Notable though are the Amaranthe/Nemesea-ish ‘modern’ elements that continue to show up, and with that the genre of what is apparently now known and ‘modern female fronted metal’ gains a new addition to it’s list of top artists, but now one that actually knows how to make some real noise. Still they manage to apply those elements in quite a unique way. Like the quirky bits in Your Trap that – ironically enough – contain some trappy vibes. (for all you uncultured swine’s who never ventured beyond metal genre’s, trap is a sub genre of hiphop/rap.)

Talking about irony: I find it quite funny that a song called Foolish Daisy contains the darkest grunts we have heard with Secret Rule so far. Talking about contrast!

Throughout the album there is this dark vibe that I somehow cannot really place.  The first couple of songs have sort of a generic feel, but with the coming of the song Dolls this vibe takes more and more center stage (as well as – finally – Henkka’s characteristic style of playing)

There isn’t really a long epic song on this album, but The Image comes tantalizingly close to that epic feel that is required of such a song. Especially in this track, Angela shows of everything here voice has to offer and so this song is now marked as my favorite of the whole album. Though really interesting and entertaining, this album is one that you can’t and actually don’t have to say much about. A typical case of where the music speaks for itself and in all its down-to-earth feel still comes across as pretty damn sweet!

No song is the same and this rapidly makes Machination a rollercoaster of styles and makes the feeling as a whole a bit hard to grasp. Even more reason to replay this album quite more often and let everything pass my ears once more.

Still this is a pretty great album al together, but I do think that I do the songs more justice by listening to them individually. So I’ll put it in my playlist and then I let myself be surprised by all the hidden gems that Secret Rule has scattered across the album, because I’m sure to find quite some of those!