Awaken Secrets: Never…Say Never (EP – Demo 2010)

Awaken Secrets are a progressive rock/metal band hailing from the United States and formed in 2007. Never…Say Never is the band's demo EP featuring four songs which will appear on a full length release of the same name which will hopefully be out sometime in 2010. In the band are Marcelo Menne (guitars), Sean Noir (vocals), Scott Mayfield (piano, synths) and Derek Febo (drums). Derek F. played bass on this recording but is not a permanent member of the band.

They are very good players and although I hear bits of bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X this is a band that is clearly trying to find their own voice. These guys are not Dream Theater clones which is a good thing as there are enough of those in the world of progressive metal. There is no doubting the skill of these players and the musicianship is top notch throughout these four songs. That being said I had a little trouble getting into this demo as their the songs lack a certain something that is hard to put my finger on. Perhaps there were not enough compelling hooks to draw me in.

The album begins with "Brain Meltage", a progressive metal tune with nice interplay between drums, bass and synths. This one has a bit of a psychedelic vibe and the bass player really rips it up. "A New Day" has the band going from a softer ballad style to tight progressive rock with heavy riffs, all under five minutes. Again the musicianship is superb and I thought the singing was a little better on this song than the first. "Natural Anesthesia" provides one of the more interesting moments with a hint of Sabbath in the riffs and some wild guitar pyrotechnics that will undoubtedly impress guitar aficionados.

The album's best song is the beautifully poignant "El Ultimo Adios (The Last Goodbye)" a touching tribute to Marcelo Menne's father who passed away in 2009. His acoustic guitar playing is absolutely off the charts as he combines melody with lightning fast leads and Spanish flavoured fills.

Awaken Secrets are a talented group of musicians as the skill is definitely there. Now if only they could muster up a few more melodies to go along with their considerable chops they have the ability to put out a really great record. Only time will tell…

Track Listing:
1. Brain Meltage (8:15)
2. A New Day (4:55)
3. Natural Anesthesia (4:20)
4. El Ultimo Adios (The Last Goodbye) (6:55)

Added: May 6th 2010
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's MySpace Page
Hits: 2022
Language: english

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