Cross - Secrets (2000)

.I was surprised at how heavy this album was,reminding me a little of ARENA.The mellotron is a nice touch,as it appears on all but the two instrumentals."Bleeding In Silence" is a great way to start the record,lots of time changes,and as i mentioned earlier quite heavy with some good riffs and guitar melodies.There is some cool drum and cello interplay(bet you don't hear that often) and a lighter keyboard solo."Little One" is a short guitar instrumental."The Core" is one of my favourites,with wonderful guitar melodies and also a drum,piano melody.The extended guitar solo is great. "Awakening" is another instrumental with guitar and keyboards leading the way."Changed Reality" opens with cello,this song has a GENESIS feel to it, i think it's the sound of the keyboards.Another extended guitar solo is a real treat."Pall Of Illusion" is another favourite of mine.I call this the magic song because for some unknown reason it takes me back to one of the special times in my life,over 20 years ago,obviously way before this record came out.There is a keyboard melody throughout this very intoxicating song."Welcome To Utopia" features tempo changes galore,it opens with a mellotron,synth combination,then the drums come in,followed by two minutes of gently soaring guitar.I haven't mentioned the vocals yet,but they work well with this album although they're average at best.This song also features a too short wave of beautiful mellotron(it's always too short).The highlight of the whole record for me is the last 3 minutes or so of this song where Mr.Cross gives us an emotional,uplifting guitar solo that is hard to put into words.