Alterium – “Of War and Flames” | Progressive Rock Central.com

Alterium is an Italian power metal quintet that will release their debut album, Of War and Flames, on March 8th, 2024, through AFM Records.

Alterium’s members have years of experience in the music industry. The band is led by Nicoletta Rosellini, (ex. Kalidia and Walk in Darkness), and also includes veterans and former bandmates: Paolo Campitelli, on guitars; Dario Gozzi, on drums, from Kalidia; Alessandro Mammola, on guitars, from Draconicon; and Luca Scalabrin, on bass, from Altair.

Alterium started in late 2022, under the guidance of producer Lars Rettkowitz, (Freedom Call), and they will soon release their debut album, featuring a cover of the Sabaton classic “Bismarck”. In May 2023, the band signed a deal with German label AFM Records. They began releasing singles, with supporting videos to stimulate interest, starting in September 2023. Their strategy worked well, netting a wider audience, and around half a million views. Their singles were featured in various editorial playlists, (Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, Apple Music), leading the band to more than 20,000 monthly listeners on Spotify without having a full album out.

They received invitations to perform at various festivals, including Killerz Fest (Germany), Epic Fest (Denmark), on 01/13/2024, and Milady Metal Fest (Italy), 01/20/2024.

This album is on fire! It opens quickly, with drums, heavy metal guitars and bass, rushing at you at full speed; on the album opener “Drag Me to Hell”. It is a frightening title to kick off an album with; but the album name is Of War and Flames; so it does fit. Nicoletta Rosellini sings, “Fighting fire, I haven’t burnt my soul. Light awaited me, my final breath. When my destiny changed. I saw my heaven denied. I will sit on this throne forever. Death’s not the end I believed it to be. A new beginning, my reign of lies. With the crown upon my head. Jailer of the Damned I’ll be”. The video supporting the song, is full of candle-lit stairways, red lights and Rosellini donning red and black dresses to fit the occasion. A hard rocker to open the album and get everything underway. This will be a great show opener for the band as well.

“Siren’s Call”, opens with a familiar melody that I remember from a progressive song from the 1970s, but I just can’t place it right now. Anyway, it is not a cover, of that song. This one keeps the same pace of the opener; however, Rosellini’s vocals are delivered more calculated and sweetly. She sings, “Echoes from the sea. Deeper and deeper. Through the waves, you’ll hear my song. A melody enshrined in space and time forevermore. Enchanting notes. Amazing voice. Straight to the heart, you’ll hear my song. Beautiful yet deadly, in my arms. You’ll find your peace”. The ancient story of the sirens of the sea, who enchant with their voices, and take sailors to their death in the sea. This time delivered with a full force metal sound, and a cool supporting video, which takes place at times within a white filled dance hall and also in front of a powerful waterfall. Another potential show opener, with powerful guitar riffs and solos.

Then, they hit you with the album’s title song, “Of War And Flames”. There is another great location film video, supporting this momentous song. It looks like it could be set in the Italian Alps or Dolomites. Rosellini sings, and the band plays through falling snow and rain, to bring home the power of the message. The video is amazing for sure! The song opens with beautiful piano and strings, but soon the music is back to the fast pace of the previous two songs. Choirs support Rosellini as she sings, “Lady dressed in red. And silken flames. With scorching desert winds. And burning breath. She slays the mortals. Goddess of the war. And raging flames. Emblem of the solar rays. With deadly warmth. And power. Her bloodlust never ends. Not even after the revenge. Surrender to her rage”. She is dressed in black and the background does not reflect the fiery look of the lyrics. But this is another powerful metal track full of heavy metal guitar, bass and drums. Best song of the first three, especially with the choirs and piano sections.

“Firebringer”, opens as you may have guessed, back on a fast pace run to the edge. Rushing heavy metal guitars, bass and punching drums, rock on! Rosellini sings, “In the age of Old Gods. The men were left alone. No light to guide us. In the darkest night. From the highest mountain. The fire has been stolen. We are not gonna die. We will stand up and fight. Free from the Tyrant and broken are the chains. Far from the cold days. A new flame will arise. Divine heat that turns into life…A new life”. The discovery of fire and how it changed Man and Woman’s existence. Another powerful metal rocker.

“Crossroads Inn”, also has a supporting video. This time they are moving through the Middle Ages. The Crossroads Inn, is a pub, where all the band members are dressed in medieval costumes. It looks like they are having a great time. Especially playing games and drinking the ales. It seems like a warm place to stay, that each small town probably had, as a meeting place during the Middle Ages. The music is much lighter and geared towards the style of the age. Rosellini sings, “Near the city of Crossroads. There’s a humble young man. Working in an old tavern. Dreaming of fame. Satisfying the wandering hearts. Was his aim, being careful. Not to get caught in political fights – in the fire. Sinners or saints. All are welcome here. All the roads lead here. A home for all the wanderers. Crossroads Inn. The place where all the quests begin. A glass of wine and a song of heroes. Crossroads Inn. The place where all the adventures end”. The end of the video is a surprise that I will not reveal. A good song to break up the metal song race pace, and show us their talents beyond grinding heavy songs.

“Shadowsong”, picks the pace back up, with riffing guitars, and pounding drums. Rosellini sings, “Empty shell of herself. She became a Jailer. Arcane would lead. The world to damnation. Hollow inside, bound to hunt. But the Land was safe. A thousand years behind the door. Hunting master, hand of Justice. Anger, vengeance were her fate”. Yet another, pounding metal offering.

“Crystalline”, is probably the best song on the album. The piano and soft keyboards that open the song are distinctive and enrapturing. The video supporting this song is absolutely out of this world. The Icelandic frozen ice lands and cold water is beautiful and stellar. Rosellini sings so warm and calmly as the snow falls and the land of eternal winter, fills the screen. Absolutely the best song on the album, and like “Crossroads Inn”, shows the ability of the band to push themselves beyond the typical metal speed rock of the first three songs on the album.

“Heroine Of The Sea”, is another favorite. It opens with choirs and powerful drums, percussion, and those heavy metal guitars and bass. However, this time with more keyboards. Rosellini sings “Fiery hair and deep, green eyes. Fruit of forbidden love. Secret daughter of a lawyer. Irish soul. She’s born in County Cork. Disowned and faithless, she became. She got married to a pirate. A fancy Captain. Caught her eye. Her true love she met in Nassau. Sailing on, to a new adventure. Time to fight, time to die. May her legend go on and on and shine…” A sailor/pirate sea and romance adventure. Great guitar solos with a good story behind it.

“Chasing the Sun”, is the last of the original songs, since the next song is a cover song. This song is full of more of the speed metal race to the end, type of sound, we heard at the beginning of the album. Rosellini sings, “Sick of love, sick of her. Princess on the Earth. A pure maiden of kindness and beauty. All the jealousy and rage. Of the water nymph. Made her go crazy. For his love, she will die. Buried by the King alive. Nine long days, betrayed by her Sun. Forevermore”. Another wonderful fairy tale set to metal mayhem.

“Bismarck”, is a classic cover song from the band Sabaton; about the story of the famous German battleship of World War II. The song also has a supporting video of a live performance by Alterium. I have never heard the Sabaton version, but watched it on YouTube, so I’d say, Alterium stayed pretty close to the original in sound and feel. It is a stirring anthem, from another age. An age and time, from World War II, that I’d much rather forget, than re-create an anthem to remember.

Well, Alterium – Of War and Flames, is absolutely well titled. This album deals with a lot of war and flames. The “Bismark” cover is an anthemic accomplishment and a great cover of the original. The highlights for me were, “Crystalline” and “Crossroads Inn”, which were the least warlike songs on the album. I generally enjoyed the album. The band was savvy enough to know when to interject songs like the two above and “Heroine of the Sea”, to break up the metal speed rock that filled the rest of the album. I like the album and would recommend it to anyone interested in history, which they cover a lot of in this album, and fast-paced metal music. There are signs of brilliance throughout.