Artist: Francesco Fereri
   Title: Secrets Within
   Label: Lion Music

Another guitar maestro to grace the books at Lion Music is the highly talented Francesco Fareri.  With this new album Francesco has split the album into two parts, each containing contrasting sides of his musical spectrum.  First there is 'Into The Dark Line', the more heavier side of his guitar playing showing both a shred fest of ideas mixed with a more sedate but as effective, heavy progressive melodic approach.

'Into The Dark Line' is where Fareri really goes to town with some intricate and spellbinding fret work as the opener and title track 'Secrets Within' clearly shows. Things carry on in a similar vein with the eight minute speed fest that is 'Circle'.  Although this album isn’t all about guitars as Fareri brings into the mix the very capable talents of Kyle Honea on bass guitar and Lucrezio de Seta on drums, this talented trio are also joined by the cream of the keyboard world with Vitalij Kuprij and Bob Katsionis adding their unquestionable skills to the album.

The more progressive elements of the album are shown to great effect on the likes of ‘Lies’ and the meandering ‘Sonic Garden’, a track that merges nicely into the hypnotic shred fest that is ‘The Waves’.

Things slow down just a touch for one of my favourite tracks from the 'Into The Dark Line' part of the album with the majestic tones of ‘Liquid World’.  This track sweeps you away on a tidal wave of guitar and keys and leaves you shipwrecked on the remote island of melody and tempo change.  The first part of the album closes with the progressive sounds of ‘Scenes’ and at 8.46 minutes long, is the longest track on the album, but one worth every second as it meanders and twists between both the heavier side and prog side. 

The second part of the album entitled ‘Out Of The Dark Line’ is more of an acoustic sound with Fareri concentrating only on guitar and keyboards for this portion of the album.

Things get underway with ‘Parallel Lives’ and instantly the change in format is met with some quite sublime keyboards and Spanish guitar.

The sedate mood is continued with the haunting ‘Woods of Silence’ and the equally spiritual ‘Masquerade’.

Fareri then brings a little more Spanish guitar into the mix with ‘Undefined’ before bringing back the keyboards for the mesmerizing ‘Seasons’, then finishing off with the moving tones of ‘Secret World’, which rounds off a quite superlative mix of speed, intricacy, grace and splendour.

Tracklisting:

Into The Dark Line


1. Secrets Within
2. Circle
3. Lies
4. Sonic Garden 
5. The Waves 
6. Destiny
7. Liquid World 
8. Present Glow
9. Scenes 

Out Of The Dark Line


10. Parallel Lives
11. Wood Of Silence
12. Masquerade
13. Undefined
14. Seasons
15. Secret World

 

                  

 

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