Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Secret Sphere > A Time Never Come > Reviews
Secret Sphere - A Time Never Come

A time never to return. - 98%

hells_unicorn, May 15th, 2016
Written based on this version: 2001, CD, Elevate Records

There is a bittersweet side of nostalgia, though its intensity tends to vary with the quality of the object of one's trip down memory lane. For most intense listeners, music will often elicit an emotion response due to association with the past, be it the circumstances that existed when the song/album was first heard, or in a more general sense where the elements of the music that are indicative of that time period will stimulate a parallel reminiscence. For the truly great power metal albums that came to pass at or soon after the turn of the millennium, many tend to recount the genre saturation that coincided with that time, thus perhaps spelling the inevitable end of a golden age, but there was a good bit more going on at that time than a simple changing of the guard in terms of musical development, such as all of the individual experiences of those that discovered this music at that time, to speak nothing for all of the significant interpersonal events scattered upon the lives of each person in question. Thus came the sophomore LP and magnum opus of Italian power/prog trailblazers Secret Sphere A Time Never Come, a full out plunge into a fantastical world that could never be, set in a place only realized in a dream.

The perhaps overly verbose introduction of this review serves a purpose in that it seeks to do justice to an album that was overshadowed by contemporary efforts by the likes of Labyrinth and Rhapsody Of Fire. Coincidentally enough, the two bands that this album emulates are the very same ones, in a near equal amalgamation, no less. There is a slight edge on the prog side of the coin musically speaking, not to mention a similarity in vocal style between Robert Messina and Labyrinth's front man with the same first name, though to be fair the similarities are far less pronounced at this juncture as Messina still possesses a bit more of a gravely edge to his voice and a slightly higher tinge, drifting perhaps a bit closer to that Ray Adler imitation that both seemed to be seeking. Then again, this album is chock full of either overtly symphonic and otherwise dense keyboard layers that is a bit more cinematic in demeanor than what Labyrinth would ever do, and even the quirky, saxophone infused instrumental "Emotions" and the stylistically mixed bag "Lady Of Silence" tends to take a backseat to the Malmsteen infused Neo-classicism that runs rampant through "Paganini's Nightmare" and "Hamelin", two songs that could almost have been on Rhapsody's Legendary Tales had the vocals been a bit more flamboyantly operatic.

But even more astounding than the genre-defying moments or the flashy displays out of each instrumentalist taking part in this highly ambitious work of art is the masterful musical storytelling that flows from one song to the next. A tone of vast landscapes and lands known only via twilight tales is accomplished with the brief ambient intro "Gates Of Wisdom", complete with a menacing sound bit from The Neverending Story's principle villain, which is given more of a poignant context. This stage setting prelude immediately segues into what is arguably the greatest musical accomplishment of this band in "Legend", a grand and fast paced journey through types and shadows of Helloween, Fates Warning, Angra and Malmsteen, managing to straddle the lines between power metal's hook-laden chorus emphasis and progressive metal's flashy virtuoso displays without skipping a beat. This song alone would cement this album as a force to be reckoned with, but Secret Sphere goes so far as to chase this one with two equally compelling epics in "Under The Flag Of Mary Read" and "The Brave", each one reaffirming the 2001 tendency of erring on the side of speed while still remaining quite nuanced and atmospheric when called for, which proves to be quite often.

The only real trap that an album this might have fallen into would have been the pitfall of over-ambitiousness, which has tended to plague a number of progressive acts, but Secret Sphere manages to buck this with a couple of well-placed middle length songs, right in the middle of the album no less. Having just mentioned "Legend" as a contender for best song out of the entire catalog of this band, a fairly close runner up or even an equal opponent is found in the shorter yet still quite killer "Oblivion", which has a bit more of a Gamma Ray feel to it, but still carries that duality of high octane melodic speed and serene balladry that this band has tended to share with Labyrinth. "Lady Of Silence", though as mentioned earlier as having containing some quirky elements not limited to a bluesy rocking middle section, some middle eastern themes and some slap-bass passes, provides an otherwise straightforward mid-paced song that's fairly catchy and even foreshadows the more stripped down character of sound that would rear its head on Scent Of Human Desire. Likewise, not withstanding the overt nods to Rhapsody and Malmsteen, "Hamelin" is less an epic in the long sense and more a lofty, fast-paced excursion into something that could pass for a single from either of the two aforementioned influences.

While this is not a wholly unknown quantity in the metal world, it tends to be overlooked in favor of a number of other offerings out of similarly oriented bands from Italy and a few other places, a hazard of putting out something in a style that has seen heavy saturation. The eventual change of direction of power metal that stripped away a lot of the extravagant elements that had been in play in the late 90s, albeit with less than stellar production quality, would arguably be spearheaded by this same band even before Edguy would start on the road to decline, though they would only do so as a passing experiment. Nevertheless, the majestic wonder that was achieved here would never quite be realized again, and not for any want of trying when looking at this band's recent couple of studio outings. It even manages to outclass Labyrinth's magnum opus Return To Heaven Denied despite having a slightly less pristine mixing job, largely by pushing the ambition button a bit more often and mixing things up a bit more while still keeping the power metal elements front and center. Grasp your Orin pendants tightly fellow wayfarers, another nostalgic and fantastical tale awaits ye.

Great concept and a powerful album - 89%

Observer, September 23rd, 2006

Granted. This isn't Therion or Blind Guardian but these guys' second release is just incredibly good and it absolutley surpasses their first attempt, Mistress of the Shadowlight.

For those who don't know this italian band, Secret Sphere started playing the usual cheesy fantasy power metal with a lot of speed, catchy songs and keyboards but without reaching the level of Rhapsody in terms of ridiculous storytelling. Moreover, this album is amazing in terms of concept/story.

The entire album is a fusion between the music and the intrincate story, they both run to create an unique aura I couldn't find in too many albums. From the beautiful and superb cover art to the mystical feeling of several songs -the two instrumentals of the middle and probably the last pair. Everything, including the band members with their (in my opinion, ridiculous) poses, achieved a dream-like effect. It's a huge contrast with the excessive lameness of their next album...

Divided in four chapters (each one featuring songs), "A Time Never Come" tells the story of Aurienne, a girl that finds a strange magical sphere when she's affected by a mortal illness. Hide behind a viking shield and seek for another shore if the excentric fantasy isn't your taste. Each song represents the "voyages" she has with The Sphere, who is also a vital part as it acts as the guide and storyteller through the lyrics.

As the songs start to play you notice that Aurienne is assimilated to several characters, like she's seeing things from their point of view or travelling through time, amplifying that dream-like effect that is helped by the keyboards and bombastic choruses/arrangements. As an example, Aurienne turns to witness (or to be) William Wallace in the second chapter (The Brave) and the whole song has the proper heroic tone.

So the music here goes to the usual heavy riffs and solos of the genre to the massive keyboard explosions and instruments that are a bit odd in the metal scene, like the saxophone in the song "Emotions". Roberto Messina (the vocalist) got better at singing (and speaking english) so you never notice anything out of place from him. Ergo, the musical side earns a 100% despite we are talking about power metal [with all the prejudices this implies ;) ]. These guys did their job pretty well. Hell, even in terms of length the album doesn't last more than the necessary! The only long song is the last one so you don't have to tolerate one boring mega-long tank after the other.

So after all that praise and good comments you start wondering what made me lower the score a bit?
Well, I am not sure if this was their fault or a problem of the record label but someone screwed it up bad in the booklet and the part that should be as important as the music/lyrics (I'm talking about the story behind these "Chapters") is written in some sort of new way of corrupted english. Scary as it sounds, the spelling and grammar used in the small part that acts as intro (and it's ridiculously placed at the end) is so bad written that will make you laugh, especially if you are english (I'm not but still I know it has a bunch of mistakes!) Despite this little issue that can be easily forgivable, we are talking about music here and everything has been brilliantly done. The last track stands out as it's perfect to close thi strange voyage and the chorus is damn catchy (damn you, Secret Sphere and your catchiness...!)

You don't usually see this type of complexity and weirdness, both musically and lyrically. Give it a chance.