He is, without a doubt one of the leading pillars of the Maltese metal scene, a veteran musician whose musical journey took a new turn when, in 2014, he unveiled his solo project. Essentially influenced by a good number of the metal bands he grew up listening to, Albert Bell's Sacro Sanctus is rather unique in the way it brings together its diverse components; an amalgam of old school epic doom and blackened metal, and if that sounds heavy, rest assured that it is.
Released last month, once again on Italian label Metal-On-Metal Records, this sophomore album, titled Ad Aeternum offers up a barrage of savage riffs that reflect Bell's proven immersion in Doom as much as they do his Thrash roots. By his own admission, his solo work conjures references from a rich tapestry of hallowed sources, among them Venom, Nemesis and Celtic Frost as well as Sabbat, Bathory, Ancient Rites and Saint Vitus to name but a few. "I've become much more confident as a vocalist since the first album", Bell said, commenting that he's been exploring various styles of expression. In terms of lyrics, Ad Aeternum picks up where its predecessor trailed off, charting the last crusades, the Templars' discovery of ancient hermetic texts, their persecution and executions, the curse of de Molay, and the infiltration into several secret societies by the surviving ones.
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