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Lifeblood is the tenth full-length from Italy's Secret Sphere and it is a tasty slice of early millennium power metal. Considering my love for that time and style, it is strange that this is my first time hearing anything by them, but on to the review. "Lifeblood" and "Solitary Flight" are going to be right in the wheelhouse of anyone who still spins Ecliptica or Sign of the Winner regularly (guilty) as they are full of double-kick drumming, huge, hooky choruses and sustained major chords. There is a bit of variety on Lifeblood, and you have songs the touch on the uber-melodic sound of '80s bands like TNT ("The Violent Ones") and Y&T ("Against All the Odds"). They also have a folky vocal and guitar opening on "Skywards" (and I love the bass sound on this one) that would fit well on a Blind Guardian album and a piano riff straight from Marillion's songbook on "The Lie We Love." All that adds up to some slick power metal and yes, we've heard stuff like this before many times, but it is all done so right, I hardly cared. Check it out if you count Sonata Arctica, Blind Guardian, Heavenly, etc. among your favorites.