After 2 impressive albums (plus a re-recording of their debut) and over ten years in existence, vocalist Nicoletta Rosellini (also recently known for her work in triple-vocal band The Erinyes) along with former bandmates Paolo Campitelli (guitars) and Dario Gozzi (drums) decided it was time to call it a day on Symphonic Metal band Kalidia and embrace a new challenge. They are joined by Draconicon guitarist Alessandro Mammola and Altair bassist Luca Scalabrin, in a new venture that leans quite a lot more towards Power Metal than Kalidia ever did.
There’s certainly a lot more energy and urgency about Alterium than there was with Kalidia, and whilst keeping plenty of Symphonic Metal tendencies, the rhythms and song structures lean a lot more towards bands like Frozen Crown or Unleash The Archers, though Alterium in the main stop short of the galloping speed that you would associate with some of those band’s songs. Anyone familiar with Kalidia, Walk In Darkness and The Erinyes, will also be familiar with Rosellini’s smooth, professional vocal style. And here once more she never sounds at the edge of her range, every vocal line is delivered with effervescence and confidence, lifting every melody and given even more validity by the strong powerful music.
Drummer Dario Gozzi sounds like a guy unleashed, full of power and urgency, whilst skipping effortlessly between tempos, varying each song so that, along with the bass, each arrangement has the perfect basis. This allows the twin guitar assault to paint the sonic picture you would hope. There’s some great riffs and sparkling lead-work, but they also give the vocal lines a great platform to work with, leaving plenty of room for the melodies to shine. The orchestration is kept to a minimum, filling out the band’s sound but not enveloping the other musicians or vocals.
Only a single heartfelt piano-led power-ballad breaks the full-on Metal attack, and this doesn’t happen until track 7, so there’s plenty of pounding, driving Metal to get your teeth into before this. Two more tracks re-raise tempo before the band throw in a cover of Sabaton’s ‘Bismarck’, which thankfully receives a similar treatment to the rest of the album and means it rounds the album out well with a song familiar to more people. This is a very impressive debut, packed with memorable melodies and great musicianship, which, given the people involved, you might expect. But Alterium already sound like they work well as a unit and with the news that the band is so brimming with ideas that they’re already working on the follow-up, Italian Symphonic Power Metal has another shining star for now and the future.
(8.5/10 Andy Barker)
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