ALITHEIA

Pretty nice debut album from the US outfit.

Their chosen musical style resides somewhere in between progressive rock and progressive metal; with the guitar as the dominating and driving instrument. The band utilize relatively complex patterns as an effect throughout, first and foremost witnessed by the drums and aforementioned guitar; and aren't afraid to throw in the odd disharmonic element at times either.

Going back and forth between undistorted electric guitar licks and slick but heavy guitar riffs, with swirlign echoing explorations as a variety on the former and slow riff patterns, drawn out riffs and quirky riff patterns with distorted and disharmonic elements as variations on the latter, the mood and atmosphere created is a peculiar one - albeit one first and foremost giving off associations towards the darker aspects of life.

Peculiar vocals is the odd element out here though, a strong, melodic voice often used in a non-melodic fashion - most times by following a different melody line than the composition - and will be probably be regarded as an alienating feature by some listeners. Still, worthwhile investigating if you'd like to investigate an act exploring musical landscapes not overly populated by other bands.

Hailing from Miami, Florida comes a promising new talent in prog rock/metal. Alitheia (from the Greek for ''not forgetting'' and ''truth'') is one of the more unique bands I've ever listened to. In their lyrics, an ethereal subject matter is explored making for the entire concept of their album ''Chthonick'', an inner journey to find oneself (the album title references that if you know the definition of it.)

The musicianship is worthy of my praise too. The bass has a very driving groove to it, very much inspired by Justin Chancellor of Tool. The drums show much variety in beats and rhythms, and refreshingly does not overdo (in my opinion) the double-kick theatrics of many other prog metal bands. The guitar, for most of the album, is clean and of a ''docile'' nature, and at other times a forceful blasting riff will come out of nowhere. And last but not least, the factor that contributes to the uniqueness of Alitheia, the vocals. The frontman's unorthodox vocal style bring to mind, (dare I say it?) rapper Sean Paul, in my case. He adds an exotic element to the music and does the profound lyrical content justice, making ''Chthonick'' a very mystic 45 minutes indeed.

The first song ''Sanctum of the Symbol'' is perhaps my favorite right off the start, with a nice bass line and a mild guitar passage before wandering into heavier realms. ''Solid of Revolution'' is about alchemy and is another good song, showing all members showing their best. ''Root of Infinity'' is much more mellow and subdued number before giving way to the album's heaviest and shortest song ''Penumbra''. ''The Empty Set'' opens with the same melody as ''Root of Infinity'' and has the most mystic and ethereal feel of all the songs on the album. The closing track ''Potamos'' is about death and is one of the heavier tracks on the album, beginning and ending with a distorted bass line and steaming through with pounding drums, heavy guitars, and dreamy vocals for 9 minutes.

An excellent debut album from this Floridian band. All the musicians are top-notch, and the vocals may be unwieldy to some, but it definitely adds a unique and mystical exotic flavor to the music. For an independently released album, the production really kicks ass. You won't be ripped off, it's good music.

Definitely recommended for Tool fans, and anybody who is very open-minded.

Melodic prog metal from Miami/Florida with significant interfaces to Fates Warning and Tool. Not meant as they are plagiarizing with the sound but you all know - comparisons are coming up automatically when listening to new stuff. Here we have a relatively young band which started in 2001 and it took some years until they formed a solid line-up to produce their first album. ALITHEIA's uniqueness is reasoned with Alfredo Vicente's vocals and first of all with an excellent varied guitar work by Raul Valentine alternating between heavy rocking, psychedelic and metal riffing of course within the elaborated recordings. The band's rhythm section is also doing a very good job what I don't want to forget to mention.

The songs are worked out with a blend of dynamic eruptive and atmospheric melodic sentiments which becomes clear immediately when listening to the album opener Sanctum Of The Symbol. This sounds really flawless and doesn't rank behind their paragons. Besides the following lesser heavy rocking tune Solid Of Revolution the band offers Root Of Infinity which is surprisingly supplied with guitar echoes remembering me at Pink Floyd (yes!) for the first minutes. And this provides the song with a special melancholy - wow - my highlight of the album! The gripping Penumbra is another song processed by the band as a special unity with excellent guitar work. The Empty Set shows them starting relaxed with a nice flow until bass and drums are suddenly initiating a more powerful mood. A psychedelic guitar interlude is also given later. Potamos finally makes sure to have some growling moments on the other hand.

I can attest ALITHEIA to be successful with 'Chthonick' as for the start. Yes, I like this album very much after hearing it for several times because of its special easy-going mood and I'm prognosting them a hopeful future with more matured albums by improving their style. A recommended addition for melodic prog metal and even art rock fans who are feeling comfortable on the heavier side - 3.5 stars really with a trend upwards!

"A complex ebb-and-flow of uncompromising experimentation blends atmospheric dreamscapes with eruptive onslaught and rounds it all out with thought-provoking prose, resulting in an emotive and penetrating progressive rock sound." was the blurb that got me interested in trying out these guys without giving a listen first. A lot of that bears out and I'd have a hard time saying it better.

I wasn't expecting something so metal from that blurb. Not being a big fan of metal in prog, probably due to liking other things and a lack of too much exploration there, I've still given it a good hearing. I've been more impressed with other progressive releases in 2008, still these guys are an excellent band musically with many elements to appeal to the fellow prog fans who aren't all that metally inclined. On the fence about this album.