Napoli, Italy's Progressive Metal band SOUL SECRET formed in 2004. They have previously released three full-length albums starting in 2008. "Babel" is their fourth, and contains ten new tracks; a concept album. Italy is really becoming a hot bed for Metal lately. Not that they don't have a rich tradition already, but lately it seems a lot of promos and news releases that come across my desk are from Italy. Let's get to the album and see what we have!

"Prologue" is a very short, one-minute intro track. Soft acoustical guitar notes and spoken word combine with humming. The subject matter concerns a man who is assigned the "greatest mission of all time" by his government; the search for God. "What We're all About" leads in with staccato guitar strikes and a hard driving rhythm, with lead guitar notes over the top. Lino's tenor vocals are almost androgynous in nature, and they lead well the somewhat playful sound of the instrumentation, which is on the softer side of the genre for the most part. At the end is the sound of a countdown to liftoff. "A Shadow on the Surface" resonates with a subdued beauty. You have the distinct feeling that they could let loose at any time but prefer to let the music shine over any mega-jammed prowess. Everything just works very well together.

"Will They?" has a darker sound out of the gates. "Keep your voice down...someone might apprehend us" leads me to think their mission is covert at this point. The vocal harmonies are wonderful and the Progressive elements are bright here...reminding me of country-mates DGM at times. "logOS" involves the CPU taking over the spacecraft while the occupants rest. It's a short, two-and-a-half minute track with piano and keys and background ambiance that sounds like the hum you might hear in space. They have arrived at their destination but the CPU warns that the mission with result in nothing. He promises to lead them out of the darkness. "Awakened by the Light" opens with acapella vocal harmonies in triplicate. From there some stronger rhythms come into the fold, but do not overtake the wonderful melodies presented here. You also have the feeling that there could be some foreshadowing from some of the darker passages. Key and guitar solos put a nice stamp of musicianship here as well.

"Entering the City of the Gods" begins with the notation that the travelers notice the city is, in fact, empty. This eleven-minute opus tells the heart of the story. The keyboards pulse with the energy of a traveling craft. "Is there somebody here" echoes the sentiment of the mission. Once again, a great synergy is present among the vocals and guitar in particular. It's a very pretty and dreamy piece but ends with a punch. "The Cuckoo's Nest" has a shadowy and murky sound...at the discovery that the City of the Gods is empty and what is to follow. The instrumentation is really quite beautiful. "Newton's Law" has some great piano presence to go along with the earnest vocal performance. The second half of the track oozes with a heavy riff and spacey keys but the alluring piano notes are still there as well. At the end of the track, the traveling subjects realize that the familiar voice at their base is gone.

How does the story conclude? The Fifteen minute "In the Hardest Times" provides the answer. The subjects are despondent that they could not find what they were looking for. But, during the process, did they come to the realization that their faith must be in one another, in fellow man?  With the closing statement that "God is love" I believe they have. There is a lot going on in this conclusory song, including groovy passages, always with a high dose of melody, and some more aggressive and dark passages, possibly reflective of the feelings that they subjects went through on their journey. "Babel" is the name in the Hebrew bible for the city of Babylon. You can then see the tie-in to the concept and theme of the search for God, which is probably the greatest bane of man-kind. "Babel" tells the story of the search with tender emotions, textured layers of beauty, honest musicianship and an ear for the flair of Progressive music.