Alterium is a power metal band from Italy formed in 2022 by former Kalidia singer Nicoletta Rosellini (The Erinyes, Walk In Darkness) releasing the band’s debut album ‘Of War And Flames’ in 2024…
…featuring former Kalidia bandmates, guitarist Paolo Campitelli (ScreaMachine) and drummer Dario Gozzi, along with guitarist Alessandro Mammola (Draconicon) and bass player Luca Scalabrin (Altair). The new album is nine songs and thirty-six minutes of bombastic power metal, all coming to life with the barnstorming ‘Drag Me To Hell’ – and a speed synonymous with that of classic European power metal! The urgency, purpose and pace of ‘Drag Me To Hell’ is incredible, as are the faultless vocals of lead singer Rosellini – and rather than the band “dragging me to hell”, I’m well on my way to heavy metal heaven courtesy of the traditional “foot on the monitor” gallop of the albums glorious opening salvo! And heavying things up a little, ‘Siren’s Call’ hits much harder than ‘Drag Me To Hell’, adopting a symphonic metal swagger as it gets going proper – the band, even at this very early stage, stretching their musical horizons far and very wide. The appeal and pull of the (album) first two songs is phenomenal, attracting listeners like a magnetic attracts metal – the title song ‘Of War And Flames’ heavier than both the previous songs put together! And the bursts of blistering speed shown throughout ‘Of War And Flames’ (the song) is nothing short of stunning, Alterium catering for the headbangers of the world by creating an immensely head bang-able aura.
An aura that looks fucking formidable from where I’m standing, the album storming on with the aggression fuelled ‘Firebringer’, Rosellini’s metal roar commanding the airways, the band inviting every listener everywhere to vigorously rock their head back and forth. And why wouldn’t you – the music on the show is the kinda head-banging heavy metal that simply deserves to be headbanged to. So come on everyone, get those neck muscles moving and show your appreciation for some fucking great metal tunes! Metal tunes which just keep on coming, ‘Crossroads Inn’ portraying a folk metal feel – or is that pirate metal! Or even Celtic! Either way, the bounciness and sheer happiness oozing out of ‘Crossroads Inn’ has all the hallmarks of folk (pirate or Celtic) metal, Alterium continuing their meandering journey across a number of metal genres, breaking down borders and ignoring no entry signs!
As the album progresses, the diversity on offer just gets wider and wider, ‘Shadowsong’ melding melodic metal with a traditional, old-school heavy metal gallop – a gallop that’s fast, furious, and returns the urgency and purpose of the album’s opening gambit! Every song heard so far has paraded its own identity, Alterium not content to be pigeonholed into just one genre of metal, much preferring to run the metal gamut from power to symphonic to traditional metal and everything in between! Where we’re going next only the Italian five piece know – and me now too, for ‘Crystalline’ sets off deep in balladry, the soaring, soulful vocals of Rosellini setting pulses racing and hearts pounding! Yet the band aren’t ready to deliver a full-blown ballad yet, incorporating a huge hymn-like swagger and a heavy dose of mid-tempo thunder. Bet ya didn’t see that coming?
‘Heroine Of The Sea’ brings a more hustle and bustle feel to the album than everything heard so far, yet Alterium maintain the punch of power metal along with the sass of symphonic metal, the band throwing everything they have in their incredible arsenal at listeners, fans and followers! And I think I just saw the kitchen sink fly by too, Alterium not holding back in their quest to move forward with a stunning array of songs – ‘Of War And Flames’ (the album) coming to a close with the all out speedster ‘Chasing The Sun’. A speed that eclipses everything else on offer, ‘Chasing The Sun’ fuelled by elements of thrash metal, the band broadening their musical horizons to new widths – all nine songs on the album featuring a slightly different sound and feel, yet remaining steadfast in the realms of power, traditional, and symphonic metal.
Overall, a diverse range of metal songs, ‘Of War And Flames’ is incredibly attractive, majestically melodic, and infectious to the max.
TRACKLIST
Drag Me To Hell
Siren’s Call
Of War And Flames
Firebringer
Crossroads Inn
Shadowsong
Crystalline
Heroine Of The Sea
Chasing the Sun
Alterium: Facebook
Release Year: 2024
Label: AFM Records
Category: Album
Country: Italy
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
