REVIEW: “X” by Secret Rule

Oct 25, 2025

I admit, I was eagerly awaiting this album… I’ve been a fan from the very beginning of what I consider to be one of the best Italian metal bands around.
They are Secret Rule, a band from Rome formed by Angela Di Vincenzo and Andy Menario in 2014.
This is, as the title suggests, the band’s tenth album, and when I was asked to review it, I gladly accepted.
This album features two important new additions: Sofia Basili on bass and Andrea Miazzetto on drums, who give the band a rock-solid rhythm section.
Recorded for Rockshots Records and entirely self-produced, “X” won me over from the first listen because I found the Secret Rule I always knew, but also a decisive step forward in songwriting and production, a mature album where the band not only maintains its characteristic sound identity but amplifies it, taking the band’s sound to the highest levels.
Developed on a symphonic structure but with influences ranging from metalcore to new metal and even some vaguely rap passages, the album is a real punch in the stomach. Eleven tracks that leave their mark, no drop in tension, and songs like ‘Lost in Paradise‘, featuring Marco Pastorino of Temperance, the opening song ‘The Answer‘, ‘Eternal Symphony‘ and my favourite ‘The Storm‘, which offer intense emotions.
Angela’s voice is unmistakable, powerful, gritty and emotionally engaging, elevating her to the world elite of female metal voices.
Andy’s guitar, together with impeccable production, gives this work a technical sophistication befitting a band of absolute world class.
If you love bands like Amaranthe, Whitin Temptation or Beyond the Black, this work is an absolute must.
Not only is it a tribute to ten years of career, but also an album that will be the progenitor of this band’s new direction…
The band is currently on tour in England… if you’re in the area, don’t miss them!