One of the biggest struggles of Metal music has always been to be accepted by its peers as a kind of art. To be accepted as art, and therefore, music by musicians took Metal music a lot of years. Little by little our warriors fought bravely inch by inch their positions into the kingdom of real players not without a huge share of blood and tears. Now Metal musicians are respected for what they are. It’s not only noise, it’s art noise, if I may.
I’m saying all this because I’ve got Athena XIX with “Everflow Part 1: Frames of Humanity” an album that deserves that tittle art noise I mentioned before. Not only because of that, but also because they kind of have a trip around the progression of the mastery of Metal music. Their songs incorporate many elements that have been added to Metal music in order to make it more musical, if you know what I mean. There are many elements incorporated here as some dashes of disco – meh! – Jazz, some Art Rock and some electronic music. The band incorporated them into their eclectic Prog Metal to spice things up. Well, the outcome is an album that stands out from the crowd in terms of prowness and diversity. If I may, it’s a bold album searching for its own musical boundaries and those boundaries seem to be very thin as “The Day We Obscured the Sun” proves my dear child of the night having small samples of techno, Prog Rock – via 1970’s keyboards, and the movement of Prog Metal.
“Everflow Part 1: Frames of Humanity” is an album to open up the mouth and say Ah!. Rhapsody of Fire and Angra’s Fabio Lione, the mastermind, did a great job here. I really mean it even though I almost took it off my player when the electro intro of “Legacy of the World” started. The thing is I learned soon this is Athena XIX‘s way opf making music. Let’s say Lione is trying to prove the amount of influences he can throw in a songas it can be seen by “The Seed” and its nervous piano plus the insane rhythm of the guitars. The 1970’s Uriah Heep keyboards are back again with “I Wish” and its sudden slow down in tempo. I was wondering if Athena XIX have more to do with Rhapsody of Fire or Angra, but I guess the best answer is neither of them. Even though I guess Angra takes a small lead here. I find it interesting how the band is able to mix together so many electronic effects into “The Calm Before the Storm” in order to make it sound a little discoish – Have I ever said I dislike disco totally? – and, in fact, to be totally frank, make it work fine.
Long story short because “Everflow Part 1: Frames of Humanity” is a long album with 13 tracks and its impossible to write about them in details. I have to say it again that this is album is bold because Lione mixes the impossible here. All the electronic effects and electronic music elements he melts with other is certainly an abuse, but, the thing is, it certainly works. Athena XIX produced one of the best Prog Metal albums of this year. One thing is for sure, nobody is going to feel bored by it.
Athena XIX “Everflow Part 1: Frames of Humanity” was released on December 06th via Reigning Phoenix Music.
Track Listing:
1. Frames of Humanity
2. Legacy of the World
3. The Day We Obscured the Sun
4. The Seed
5. I Wish
6. The Calm Before the Storm
7. What You Most Desire
8. The Conscience of Everything
9. Where Innocence Disappears
10. Idle Mind
11. Synchrolife
12. Inception
13. The Departure
Watch “Frames of Humanity” official music video here:
I’m just a lucky guy who has chosen metal to live with for a long time. Metal changed my life for good. It made me more confident and stronger. Metalheads are naturally far away from the mass mediocrity and don’t accept impostures from anybody else. Metal is more than music, it’s a life changing oportunity!