Athena XIX – Everflow Part 1: Frames of Humanity Review

By Dolphin Whisperer

Before Fabio Lione rose to prominence with [(Luca) Turilli(/Lione)’s] Rhapsody [of Fire] and Angra, Athena—stylized now as Athena XIX1—served as another potential vehicle into the growing European prog/power landscape. Wielding an of-the-time histrionic Dream Theater guitar-driven drama alongside the lightness of chorus-driven power metal, the low-fanfare Italian outfit never quite topped any charts despite respectable musicianship and Lione’s formative pipes on 1998’s A New Religion?. And after another swing at success, sans the Rhapsody-snatched Lione, with 2001’s equally unreceived Twilight of Days, 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 age like a fine Parmigiano-Reggiano.

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 or Vasilis Georgiou from Sunburst—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.

Despite the instrumental prowess at play throughout Frames, its true power rests in the piped-prowess that Lione imbues into every verse and chorus. Neither as operatic as his time with any of the Rhapsodys (especially Turilli / Lione Rhapsody) nor as aggressive as in his continued charge with Angra, Lione uses Athena XIX to play around with different, more subtle techniques. Though morose and haunting vocal harmonies are standard in the darker tones of prog/power, Lione’s wide range serves him well in creating a unique eeriness between his capable heady highs, smooth mid-range croons, ghastly counterpoint lows, and reckless nasal lashings (“Legacy…,” “The Conscience…,” “Where Innocence Disappears”). Given the number of layers that live within each phrase for these captivating runs, it’d be easy for Lione to get lost in the art of tracking. But as Frames progresses Lione reveals consistently that he still possesses the pure diaphragmatic might to sear gigantic choruses and gritty wails deep into ears that crave his dramatic expression with late player “Synchrolife” seeing every cranny of his voice play out against a wild-and-whipping sonic clash.

Though just about everything that Athena XIX has put to tape produces a gentle bob of a closed-eye groove or delightful and resonant harmony, Frames doesn’t build a strong scaffold for its cinematic scope. A few moments from a tonal perspective do feel like they belong side-by-side—the riff reprisal of “The Day…” into “The Seed,” the piano refrain morphing to modulated synth backing from “Where Innocence Disappears to “Idle Mind.” But these kinds of related happenings often occur regardless of whether an album’s connected ideas build a greater thematic whole. And with a continued reliance on huge choruses to propel interest, Frames’ fifty-plus minute stretch enters the realm of crescendo fatigue without a tightly woven plot to catch it. By the time we arrive at the dramatic closing segue that presumably builds for part two’s introduction, I have a hard time believing more is necessary.

Twenty-three years in the making, Everflow Part 1: Frames of Humanity does more right than wrong for a band who never got much of a chance to prove themselves to the greater metalverse. Athena XIX may find comfort in a sound long removed from the popular paradigm, but its members, many of whom also have assisted in the engineering and recording of this comeback album, have kept an ear to enough production trends and tonal constructions to give Frames a full and engaging platform to display their talents. And, perchance, its implied sequel will deliver to us a package further refined to turn gentle smiles into screaming fans.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Reigning Phoenix Music
Website: facebook.com/Athena.Band.Italy
Releases Worldwide: December 6th, 2024

#LucaTurilliSLioneRhapsodyOfFire_ #2024 #30 #Angra #AthenaXIX #BeyondTwilight #Dec24 #DreamTheater #ItalianMetal #PowerMetal #ProgPower #ProgressiveMetal #ReigningPhoenixMusic #Review #Reviews #Rhapsody #RhapsodyOfFire #Sunburst #SymphonyX #TurilliLioneRhapsody

Sleepless – Through Endless Black Review

By Dolphin Whisperer

Bands who seek to echo heavy metal’s past walk a fine line between regressive repetition and studied homage. Consequently, in a world where source material for these sounds spans the course of decades, the tag indicating this new wave of traditional heavy metal remains wide in scope. Motorcycles? Loin cloths? Swords and dragons? What shall the recipe of hairy-chested riffs and wailing mic blowouts spell? In examining Oregon-based Sleepless’ sophomore outing, Through Endless Black, it’s at least clear that two things are true: the power of riffs indeed compels this collection to rock, and an urgent vocal identity fills its chest proudly. But the question still looms around what brand of traditional showmanship Sleepless displays.

Whether Sleepless knows it or not, their sound on Through Endless Black plays close to the weird power-leaning doom of the ’90s Swedish underground in its manner of rockin’ trad riffs that swing to crawling, soaring choruses. We talk about a lot of things around the water cooler at Casa AMG1, and though many of us don’t see eye-to-eye on the world at large, at least the great Steel and I can agree on one thing: too many bands ignore the potential to copy peak Tad Morose. Determined to set my heart aflutter, melodic leads that drop into heavyweight drags scattered throughout Through Endless Black recalls both the slower cuts of Tad Morose or the more traditional gallop of the similar-minded Memory Garden. Main mind Kevin Hahn, holding chops both in the grip of a traditional axe and tastefully reverbed mic, has spent a lot of time both on the cover band circuit2 and at the engineer’s seat, so I’m not sure that exactly his aim with Sleepless. But different paths can always lead to similar results.

Except not every track across Through Endless Black reeks of that same stench of doomy power, with Hahn’s vocal prowess serving equally as blight and boon. Simple and fluffy rock riffs, the kind that present themselves in the AOR-assisted jams of cruise groove like Fifth Angel, already pull attention away from muscular crushes at the least effective moments (“Cult of the Narcissist,” “Lessons in Tongues”). And in these same gentler excursions, Hahn’s clear and breathy tenor aids further in distancing his performance from the subtle grit and chesty bellow that he displays in horn-raising, fist-pumping amp-shakers (“Consumed by Vengeance,” “Dreams of Mortal Ruin”). Hahn has amazing range, and an incredible ability to lay down harmonized solos in a big Scorpions way, but it really does feel like he’s packing too many contrasting ideas into Sleepless.

However, many of Sleepless’ ’80s and ’90s traditional genre worship excursions come across in a more flattering manner. The best cuts across Through Endless Black lead with refrains drenched in guitar drama, dark synth play, and full volume chord swells, all resolving in well-framed choruses (“Call to the Void,” “Where Fear Lives,” “Dreams…”). And slipping well into the sleaze and heavy metal fervor of the grand and gruff W.A.S.P., Hahn loads an extra venom and swagger into his barking verse work and sliding wails (“Exist Another Day,” “Transcending the Obsidian Throne”), even landing in a ripe pseudo-ballad cheese with the opening chime and croon of “Lost Star.” The supporting rhythm tones aren’t quite what one would expect in this lane, relying less on spacious chords and reverb, and more on compressed guitar crackle and a low-end lurch, but that at least helps pull Sleepless away from pure homage and into foraging a sound in reverence.

Despite the success that Sleepless finds throughout Through Endless Black, a certain lack of wildness—of rugged bravado—holds it back from turning its glory into grandiosity. Steeped in studied sounds, Sleepless never feels wanting in execution. Though some of that same polish leads Through Endless Black to engorge with a textbook battlefield vigor, that same educational approach does not lead to many surprises and allows the lesser sputters present to pull down the total experience. I do have high hopes for Sleepless though, as a sophomore cobbling of this quality shows, potential, promise, and perhaps a sword simply too deep in its sheath.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Metal Warrior Records
Websites: sleeplessmetal.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/sleepless
Releases Worldwide: October 31st, 2024

#25 #2024 #AmericanMetal #FifthAngel #HeavyMetal #MemoryGarden #Oct24 #ProgPower #ProgressiveMetal #Review #Reviews #Scorpions #Sleepless #TadMorose #ThroughEndlessBlack #WASP_

Inner Strength – Daydreaming in Moonlight Review

By Dolphin Whisperer

The face of progressive metal has warped and splintered and mutated since its origins in divergence from heavy metal. From the theatrical and rifftastical charm of Savatage to the pomp and groove of Psychotic Waltz to the emotional and shifting tug of Fates Warning, progressive music holds roots in complex narrative structures that range in tone from whimsical fantasy to deeply and painfully human. In the American arena, technicality flourished through Watchtower—and eventually Dream Theater—virtuosic elements, and intrinsic thrash pedigrees to give rise to a 90s and 00s movement that birthed bands like Zero Hour, Control Denied, and Nevermore, each ranging between these extremities of noodle-noting and tear-jerking. But before them all, Inner Strength stood at the cusp of these advents with their lone 1993 full-length Shallow Reflections making an underground splash,1 which contained all the aforementioned elements laced together with an of-the-time funk metal groove. And now, another thirty years later, that smorgasbord of influences has crested into this newest Daydreaming in Moonlight.

From Scott Oliva’s (The Nightmare Stage, ex-Wind Wraith) vocal rasp and strained harmonies to guitarist Joe Marselle’s slightly down-tuned and dry twang, every bit of Daydreaming sounds unearthed from a 1995 time capsule. With a focus on open-stringed chiming, melodic chord-driven passages (“Daydreaming in Moonlight,” “Dearly Departed”) find a hypnotic legato that recalls aggressive later-era Rush or King’s X works. Whereas bluesy, pull-off riff tension that explodes into snappy and slinky solo work pushes the Rainbow-on-thrash energy that you can hear in the still developing muscular sound of The Damnation Game-era Symphony X. And when it’s not Marselle’s winding fretwork leading the charge, drummer Joe Kirsch in his Zonderful (ex-Fates Warning, Warlord)2 and classy, hi-hat accented approach provides all the rhythmic shuffle necessary to power the progtrain. Forward motion defines Inner Strength’s approach.

But where Daydreaming really finds its secret, aged sauce is in the application of varied sonic hooks in each song. Early album cut “Face Another Hero,” and the later “Truth and Lies,” Inner Strength finds a switch-up to its groove in Voivodian chord stabs that set up a need to resolve with later soaring, melodic capriciousness. And late album romp “War Song” in contrast to its muscle-forward name marches in a constant stumble guided by a sliding nasal bass line that finds a steady thump only during the closing solo and reprise. In Daydreaming’s most modern move, Inner Strength ties up the curtains with the mammoth “The Strength Within – Part II” which pulses a few tones lower—never djent, rather Train of Thought-era Dream Theater—to tie off a journey started so long ago, an aggressive and hammer-headed in contrast to its origins.

To the ears of a prog-head reared in a post-Meshuggah world, though, Daydreaming’s exact studio playbook may not land as quickly as bass-loaded contemporary production does. Choosing to highlight instead the play and intricacy of a ghost note bolstered rhythm section, and a rise and fall guitar aesthetic, its intricacy resides mostly in higher frequencies. Mid-album anchor (and song o’ the year contender) “Dearly Departed” showcases Inner Strength’s mission best with its smoky, extended guitar intro that crashes against Olivia’s time-worn snarl and full riff contraction, only to find a histrionic charm again as choruses expand with chiming guitar resolutions and reaching vocal harmonies. Steeped in technicality without ever being overbearingly so (have fun counting “Compelled” or following the snare and cymbal dance in the closer), this choice to remain in Daydreaming’s chosen sound pocket keeps the listening experience focused while exposing its many layers.

Being the product of thirty years of planning, living, loving, listening, and losing, Daydreaming in Moonlight could be a product of these name-drops here or none of them at all—a missing link in the prog annals that never was. Inner Strength in 2024 is just as much a reimagining of their own sound as they are a refinement and iteration of learned and borrowed tricks.3 With careful devotion to mastering their works for studio bolstering—multi-tracked guitar and vocal pieces that sum to an astounding whole—Daydreaming in Moonlight soars as the opus the band always knew they could create. Any lover of idiosyncratic and fully realized progressive missions, should take notice, as Inner Strength does not have wash away again in the footnotes of emergent sounds.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: Stream
Label: Divebomb Records | Tribunal Records4
Website: facebook.com/innerstrengthny
Releases Worldwide: July 19th, 2024

#2024 #40 #AmericanMetal #ControlDenied #DaydreamingInMoonlight #DivebombRecords #DreamTheater #FatesWarning #InnerStrength #Jul24 #KingsX #LongIsland #Nevermore #ProgPower #ProgressiveMetal #ProgressiveThrashMetal #PsychoticWaltz #Review #Reviews #Rush #Savatage #SunriseDreamer #SymphonyX #TribunalRecords #Voivod #Warlord #Watchtower #ZeroHour