Secret Society

The cd opens with the title track, Secret Society, which is probably the weakest song of the bunch (I have no idea why they chose to name the album after this song.) and it has just an awful intro, so it's a pretty rough start. So when you get this disc, do what I do: Start with track 2, Always the Pretenders. That's probably one of the best songs and you'll just have a more positive outlook on the rest of the cd that way. Honestly, I might have had my hopes too high for this album. I absolutely loved their last one, so I was really pumped for this cd ... Maybe a little too much. That is not to say this is not a great cd in it's own right; it is. It just starts badly and doesn't have one of those instant impact songs like Wake Up Call or In Flames from Start from the Dark, so the first time I played it I just kept waiting thinking, maybe it will be the next song, maybe it will be the next one ... and then it was over. Now none of the other songs were bad. On the contrary, I think they are actually almost all really good, but if you're looking for that Knock-out shot ... it's not really here. It is however a very consistent cd and it ends really strong. The last three tracks are really solid. So despite the bad begining and the over-hyped crappy cover design, I've really come to love this cd. It's very mature writing with a really good sound. And even if there isn't one knock-out song, the album will still get you as a whole. I definitely recommend this one. --Scott