ATHENA XIX – Everflow Part I: Frames Of Humanity (2024)
Before vocalist Fabio Lione rose to prominence with Rhapsody of Fire and Angra, in the late Nineties, Athena – stylized now as ATHENA XIX – served as another potential vehicle into the growing European prog/power landscape. Rhapsody snatched Lione in 2001, then Athena hung up its spurs to ride another day.
And now, twenty-six years after Lione had debuted his only full-length recording with Athena, that same line-up has returned, rested and determined to show their chops.
ATHENA XIX, at core, emerges with ”Everflow Part 1: Frames of Humanity” as a revived relic of the late ’90s and early ’00s prog/power realm. Finding riffs that move with the low-end groove of classic Symphony X and an overblown narrative that flies due to the talent of a powerhouse vocalist—think Jørn Lande with Beyond Twilight—ATHENA XIX hasn’t made many attempts to live in the synth-forward lands of modern takes on the style.
That’s not to say that classic line-up keyboardist Gabriele Guidi strays entirely away from the dancing electronic works of a band like Voyager, with a pulsing wub and panning synth flutter adorning key intros to keep the total of Frames diverse (“Legacy of the World,” “The Calm Before the Storm”).
But ATHENA XIX always manages to find a way back to a driving stringed refrain, whether it be in the virtuosic thick-stringed pop of Alessio Sabella (“The Day We Obscured the Sun,” “The Conscience of Everything” among others) or the down-tuned axe clamor of Simone Pellegrini.
The pure prog metal feel is what makes ‘Frames of Humanity’ the refreshing listening experience that it is. Athena XIX is clearly a band that puts songwriting first, and everything else is in service of that, no matter how complex it gets. The band also makes sure there always is room for Fabio Lione to lay down some of the best vocal melodies he has done outside of Angra in years.
In ‘Frames of Humanity’, Athena XIX basically found a new balance between progressive metal and true power metal, settling for a creative sound that actually puts the “progressive” back in the genre. The band proves that you don’t need twenty-minute epics to create a dynamic listening experience, and that a strong, memorable melody does not detract from the complexity and unpredictability of the music.
Given the fact that the album title suggests it’s the first chapter in a long-term plan, let’s see what else Athena XIX has in store.
Highly Recommended
01 – Frames of Humanity
02 – Legacy of the World
03 – The Day We Obscured the Sun
04 – The Seed
05 – I Wish (feat. Roy Khan)
06 – The Calm Before the Storm
07 – What You Most Desire
08 – The Conscience of Everything
09 – Where Innocence Disappears
10 – Idle Mind
11 – Synchrolife
12 – Inception
13 – The Departure
Fabio Lione (ex-Rhapsody of Fire, ex-Vision Divine) – Vocals
Simone Pellegrini – Guitars
Alessio Sabella – Bass
Gabriele Guidi – Keyboards
Matteo Amoroso (ex-Vision Divine) – Drums
BUY
amazon.com/Everflow-Part-1-Frames-Humanity/dp/B0DC73ZDYM
