Athena
A New Religion?

''Athena, daughter of Zeus, in Greek mythology was the goddess of Wisdom -particularly of Prudence-, the Arts, and the solemn aspects of War. Her wisdom is represented by the technical knowledge known in weaving and the art of working metals''.

Art of working metals. In all probability, there could not have been a more fitting definition to describe this Tuscan ensemble that, with ''A New Religion?'', places their second album on the shelves, following the meritorious debut ''Inside, The Moon''. Specifically, the metals from which Gabriele Giudi (keyboards), Simone Pellegrini (guitar), Alessio Sabella (bass), and Matteo Amoroso (drums) draw heavily are mainly two: progressive and power, forging them in their own image and likeness—except for a few dashes of Dream Theater and Queensryche here and there—until achieving the perfect product: a gem forgotten by time (which then—in the end—only 12 years have passed but seem like an eternity), one of the highest peaks ever reached in the Belpaese in the classical field.

Decisive, in this sense, was the decision to bet everything, behind the microphone, on Fabio Lione (the name sounds familiar to you... doesn't it?) a frontman on the rise at the time who, within 2 years, had built a decent reputation—first with Labyrinth's ''No Limits'' (1996), then with the boom of Rhapsody's ''Legendary Tales'' (1997). The good Fabio is the exclusive author of the splendid sociological-religious-themed lyrics present here but, more than anything else, of an unparalleled vocal performance, in my opinion one of his best, undoubtedly the most versatile (the mood variations that start from the almost growl of ''Apocalypse'' up to the melancholy of the concluding ballad ''Not Too Far'' are highly illustrative) ever heard.

But claiming that the brilliance of ''A New Religion?'' is solely attributable to Lione would be quite unfair and reductive; the work of the other guys should also be appreciated and highlighted, especially when there is a need to shed the role of supporting actors and don that of protagonists: the pleasant diversions now on keyboards now on guitars - even the bass takes the lead in ''Secret Vision''  that embellish pieces such as, for instance, the enchanting ''My Silence'', the Andrian ''Soul Sailor'' or ''Twisted Feel'' and the heterogeneous title track, document the state of grace the combo was experiencing, but are far from boring the average listener since they are never prolix and indelicate. All tracks are on the same wavelength in terms of quality; a really rare compositional level nowadays. It remains a fact that (unfortunately) after the release of the platter in question, Fabio Lione left the group pressed by countless commitments and Athena first published - in 2001 - the graceless ''Twilight Of Days'', which veered towards a bland bargain-bin power, only to disband soon after and return to the shadow of the leaning tower.

If you have had the will to reach this point in the reading, I believe you have grasped the intrinsic beauty of ''A New Religion?''; therefore, all that remains for you is to get it and see for yourself, if you still have doubts, the actual goodness of what I'm telling you; prog lovers have known for more than a decade: here lies a little piece of Italian metal history.

Here lies the art of working the Metal.