Early Years (1997–2011)
Guitarist Aldo Lonobile formed Secret Sphere in July 1997. Early on, the band was influenced by hard rock, heavy metal, and classical music. After some lineup changes in December 1997, the band recorded their first demo, Between Story and Legend, in September 1998. The style of the demo was firmly in the symphonic power metal genre that was expanding in Italy at that time.
The demo caught the attention of the Italian progressive/power metal label Elevate Records, who signed the band to a two-album deal. In June 1999, Secret Sphere recorded the first full-length album, Mistress of the Shadowlight. The album continued in the stylistic direction shown on Between Story and Legend, and included re-recordings of a few songs from that demo.
In October 2001, the band returned to New Sin studios (where the first album had been recorded) to record their second full-length album, A Time Never Come, also released on Elevate Records.
Secret Sphere recorded two promo CDs in 2002 while in search of a new recording deal. They caught the attention of major German heavy metal label Nuclear Blast, who would go on to release the band's third album, Scent of Human Desire, in May 2003. Scent of Human Desire presented a change in direction for the band, focusing less on fantasy themes and more on romantic, sexual themes. After the release of Scent of Human Desire, drummer Luca Cartasegna left the band, citing difference in musical tastes.
The band's fourth album, Heart & Anger, was released in May 2005 on Nuclear Blast. Daniel Flores (Mind's Eye) was brought on as a session drummer for the recordings. After the album was released, a full replacement drummer was found in Federico Pennazzato. That same year, the band planned to back up the Danish progressive metal band Royal Hunt, however, the tour was cancelled two days before it was set to begin. A 2006 Scandinavian tour backing King Diamond was more successful for the band.
In 2008, Secret Sphere released their fifth album, Sweet Blood Theory, on Avalon in Japan and the German label Dockyard 1 Records in Europe. The album was based on the short story "The Vampyre", written by John William Polidori, as well as the atmospheres of Tim Burton's cinematographic work. Longtime members Antonio Agate (keyboards) and Paolo "Paco" Gianotti (guitars) departed the band after the release of the album; both had been with the band since the recording of their demo a decade before.
Dockyard 1 Records folded in 2009, but the band was picked up by the Italian heavy metal label Scarlet Records in time for their sixth full-length album, Archetype, released in September 2010. This was the first recording with new keyboardist Gabriele Ciaccia and new guitarist Marco Pastorino.
Vocalist change, later years (2012–)
In 2012, the band began recording for their seventh album. However, part way through recording, vocalist and founding member Roberto Ramon Messina left the band due to differences in musical direction. Michele Luppi, former vocalist of the Italian progressive power metal band Vision Divine, was recruited as Roberto's replacement, and the album, entitled Portrait of a Dying Heart, was released in November of that year on Scarlet Records. Drummer Fredderico Pennazzato left shortly after; Marco Lazzarini was chosen as his replacement.
Secret Sphere returned to the studio in 2015 to re-record their second album, A Time Never Come, in commemoration of the fifteenth anniversary of its release. A Time Never Come – 2015 edition was released by Scarlet Records in April 2015.
The band signed a multi-album deal with Frontiers Records in April 2016. Later that year, Frontiers released the band's first official live recording, One Night in Tokyo, as a 2CD + DVD set. Following the release of One Night in Tokyo, guitarist Marco Pastorino left the band. The band's eighth album, The Nature of Time, was released in June 2017, with only Lonobile on guitars.
The band released their most recent album, Lifeblood, on 12 March 2021. This album features the return of vocalist Roberto Messina for the first time since 2012.
Archetype
Secret Sphere Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Straight to the unmaterial dimension
We are all there as nakes souls
Not alone, nothing useless lives there or it's wondered
She comes and takes me away
She says - I wanna show you something new
Oh, takes me away, takes me away
Leaving all that I need
To celebrate and expire on fire
Loosing all that I know
Praying all that I bleed
To celebrate and expire on fire
Loosing all that I know
It's old as earth and it's me, older than a stone
Purer than water that wets my body
Wash away all my material
Nothing useless lives there or it's wondered
She comes and takes me away
She says - I wanna show you something new
Oh, takes me away
Fear
Leaving all that I need
To celebrate and deny desire
The lyrics of Secret Sphere's song Archetype convey the idea of a path which leads to a new dimension, where one's soul can roam free without the material possessions and limitations of the physical world. The song suggests that everyone is present in this realm as nothing but a naked soul, in a place where everything holds meaning and nothing is considered redundant. The singer is then taken on a trip by a woman who wants to show him something new in this world, taking him away from everything he knows and needs, allowing him to be consumed by the fire of these new experiences.
The song's lyrics also touch on the concept of purity, emphasising how the unmaterial dimension is just like water that washes over one's body, having the ability to wash away all material possessions, leaving nothing but the soul. The singer is again taken away by the woman to this place of purity, to show him something new and to help him forget everything he needs or knows. The song ends with the word "Fear", before summarising the need to put aside both physical possessions and desires in order to truly experience the unmaterial world.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a path, it leads you from the world you know
There is a way to leave behind the familiar world and go to something new.
Straight to the unmaterial dimension
It's a way to enter an immaterial realm directly.
We are all there as nakes souls
Everyone who goes there does so without any physical possessions. It's just the soul.
Not alone, nothing useless lives there or it's wondered
There is a feeling of companionship there and everything that's there serves a purpose.
She comes and takes me away
Someone guides the artist to this new realm.
She says - I wanna show you something new
The guide wants to show the singer something they haven't seen before.
Leaving all that I need
The singer leaves behind everything important, but it's okay.
To celebrate and expire on fire
It's a form of celebration but also the end of something is drawing near, happening with great intensity.
Loosing all that I know
The artist gives up all their knowledge.
Praying all that I bleed
The artist offers up even their pain in the hopes of gaining something in return.
It's old as earth and it's me, older than a stone
This place is ancient, just like the earth, and something fundamental to the singer.
Purer than water that wets my body
It's something wholly pure and cleansing for the artist.
Wash away all my material
It cleanses the singer of worldly things.
Fear
This is likely just an expressive interjection.
Leaving all that I need
The singer abandons everything that they need to live, but it's for the sake of something greater.
To celebrate and deny desire
To be happy at the same time as removing desire from one's life.
Oh, takes me away
The artist is taken away from everything they've ever known.
Contributed by Jackson W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.