80%
As an ardent fan of this band since a random discovery on YouTube a few years back and then witnessing a tremendous opening set with Caligula’s Horse some time later, there was some anticipation for Reliqa’s first full length album.
That feeling turned to trepidation with the release of the lead-off single Terminal coming off as somewhat generic and the accompanying clip in which their active-wear and sneaker-sporting frontwoman Monique Pym had been apparently transformed into a dark Gothic seductress. Subsequent singles confirmed there’s definitely been some remodelling done to the band that issued the rambunctious I Don’t Know What I Am a couple of years back.
Noticably, Secrets of the Future seems less heavier overall, with blunted djent riffs in place of the EP’s bright crunch; the guitar work de-emphasised as the electronics and Pym’s vocals are pushed to the fore. What is still in play is their melting pot of musical influences and the embrace of variant styles they work with. Dying Light gives off Northlane vibes with its stuttering electronica opening and muted nu-groove riffing but Pym’s near-spoken vocal approach gives the track its own spark. Killstar (The Cold World) is suitably darker as it explores themes of political injustice and Sariah sparkles as Pym asserts her femininity.
The Flower is where some of the old Reliqa reasserts itself, the band loosening the reins with an unpredictable arrangement and Pym using every one of her vocal guises before Reliqa closes it out with some Meshuggah-style chug. This side of the band is unharnessed again at the end; Upside Down is the album’s heaviest song by far where the metal comes down and the singer unleashes her spitfire delivery.
Secrets of the Future doesn’t always hit those highs – the previously-mentioned Terminal, for example is standard modern metalcore – but for most of the journey Reliqa stomp their own personality on an album that’s difficult to pin down genre-wise. It’s a journey that’s wide and varied that shows off a band with a growing maturity and strong sense of being. They may not have known what they were before, but Reliqa is more than sorting it out now.
