Secret

...and I'll even go so far as proclaim this sleeve one of my all-time East-Euro favourites! <-- That would be a pretty fitting ending to any review but in SECRET's case it's constantly the first thing that comes to mind however I approach the record. Those amazing anti-colors, the framing, the horrendous uggglyness of that frog-insect-wtf!-creature-thing. "Secret" indeed... And they're an all-girl Metal band. From Romania. Why even bother with a review of the actual music when you're dead-set on hunting down the record anyway by now??

No, let's analyze some: The best thing about this album is that it doesn't suck, and that's quite a feat considering how many cool-looking albums out there that blow fermented yak-member. The 2nd best thing would be the brilliant and thoroughly unique Acoustic Power Metal(!) anthem "Terapie De Soc" - this darkened, atmospheric tune is the perfect antidote to all those shitty ballad fillers you've had to endure for at least the last 6 months and an exceptionally rare example of how you can create True Steel without distorted guitars. Well, you can't of course, but SECRET could. Once.

Further goodness is found in solid 80's Metal numbers like the Pretty Maids-style uptempo opener "Ura", the very Aria-sounding "4 La Purtare" and "Strict Secret", blending late 80's Queensrÿche with Maiden harmonies quite well. While there's no absolute disasters among the rest of their originals, they do check all the boxes of the filler-form: a few mainstream rockers, the 'groovy' track, the slightly too long power ballad etc... but yay diversity, right?

And then there are of course the covers. The choices are a bit of a forehead slap I'm sure you'll all agree, but to SECRET's credit they do manage to put their own flavour to them and on "Smoke.." they're actually quite successful, so much to the degree that I can't really say when I last heard a version this enjoyable. Unsurprisingly, "In A Gad'da Da Vida" doesn't work out quite as well. 60's psych rock in an 80's Hard Rock pot will always fail. No matter how hard you try to spice it up, it'll taste like chocolate sauce on steak.

Conclusion? Far better than the awful Metrock, but not quite as good as Conexiuni.