Review RELIQA “Secrets of the Future”

Reliqa is one of the more recent representatives of the Australian metal scene. With the release of a self-released album in 2018, the band was the focus of attention for the first time. Now, with the signing of a new deal with Nuclear Blast, a new chapter has begun for the Australian metal band.

“Secrets of the Future” is the title of the band’s new longplayer, a twelve-track release that has a lot of power. A lot of the energy comes from the production, which is excellent. This is certainly one of the album’s positives.

Musically, the four-piece is rooted in modern metal. With a few shouts and screams, the sound of Reliqa can also touch a bit of metalcore at times, but since the clean vocals are the dominant feature, the album could be an interesting release for fans of bands such as The Pretty Reckless, Lacuna Coil and others.

Unfortunately, the songs on “Secrets of the Future” are less exciting. This has less to do with the technical abilities than with the songs following a standard approach. You get the feeling that the world of metal has already seen a lot of this kind of music. “The Flowers”, for example, with its angry rap-like vocal parts interacting with very melodic clean vocals, is nothing new. And although it’s done with passion and dedication, the result still feels like “been there, done that”.

The same goes for the following song called “Sariah”. It is the emotional highlight of the album. Wrapped up in a black blanket, the song has a lot of calmer moments that build up towards the chorus. It’s not that it’s a bad song. It is just that there is a lot of this kind of music out there.

People who appreciate a mixture of pop, electro and metal might give this album a chance. Again, what Reliqa bring to the table isn’t bad stuff. But it lacks the final punch that would make it stand out from many other releases.