AXIOM

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Italy

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Warranties and Disclaimers

"These Italian proponents of classic Prog-Metal have rather carefully labored at their first album, displaying solid erudition of composition, good musicianship and delicate sense of proportion. The latter quality is especially important for the genre's contemporary stalwarts, many of whom while tending to impart an epic feel to their works just make them sound overextended. Here we have nine quite compact songs, ranging from 4 to 7 minutes, with an approximately equal quantity of vocal-based and purely instrumental arrangements. The emotional opening track, which has given the title to the album, has some oriental flavor and reminds me in places of Stargazer from Ritchie Blackmore's "Rainbow Rising", though the music as such is more complicated and, with some exceptions (the Power-Metal-like Gone and Rising Shadows), is getting more and more interesting while the album unfolds. It's Too Late follows and is notable for the growing activity of a keyboardist, who brings the more symphonic feel to the music and gives more saturation to the sound. Starting with the third track, A New Begin, the complicated measures are becoming the integral part of the band's performance and are especially effective in the instrumental sections. Nevertheless, the central progressive force of the band would probably be Marco Mangiapia, an amazingly versatile chameleon singer with a wide voice diapason. Most of the vocal-based sections appear like there are at least three personages, very different from each other. The periodic introduction of brutal colors and overtones to the vocal palette is also of help. Among the further tracks the highlights are Oniric Comedy, with somewhat an autumn mood throughout, and the speedy Mirror of Life. The final song, Out of Control, is also impressive, though compositionally it has too much in common with its track list counterpart, at times sounding almost not unlike it, which becomes more and more obvious with each successive listen." - Progressor

"Axiom is a new project with members of Italian prog metal band Landguard, who wanted to create something with a different sound and different harmonies from their regular band. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Landguard, so I don't know how this new album compares to that band, but this debut album is, in all respects, a very fine effort.The approach to this “A Moment Of Sanity” reminds me of that other debut that was recently released, “Element V” by Australian band Voyager: an eclectic combination of different rock and metal styles, with lots of attention to melody. Bands that spring to mind when listening to this are Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, Pain Of Salvation, Royal Hunt, Kamelot, Symphony X and many others. Axiom has an excellent singer in Marco Magiapia, who sounds like a cross between Russell Allen, Phil Anselmo and Blaze Bayley. The powerful, but melodic singing contrasts well with the aggressive grunts that are thrown in pretty often. As for the other musicians: no complaints there either: great, very prominent keyboard work, pretty heavy guitar riffs & fast, melodic solos and a powerful rhythm section.The title track is a pretty heavy opener, with some hardcore metal bits and grunts thrown in. Still, it is very melodic. “It's Too Late” is another excellent, very diverse track, with a great piano tune that balances the heaviness of the track well. The bombastic melody of “A New Begin” reminds me a lot of Symphony X, which is good news. They slow things down on “Gone”; great guitars, beautiful synthesizer sounds and some very emotional vocals. Probably my favourite on the album, along with “Mirror Of Life”, which has an incredible chorus and terrific harmonies. The only track that doesn't really appeal to me is “Clear”; I can't say why, but somehow it doesn't grab me like the other songs do. “An Oniric Comedy” is something else again: another great keyboard-driven, slower tune. “Rising Shadows” (think Iron Maiden with lots of keyboards) and “Out Of Control” (with some very Malmsteen-like soloing) close off the album perfectly. Lyrically, “A Moment Of Insanity” is pretty dark, with the songs exploring the depths of the human mind. Maybe not the gr eatest poetry, and the English sounds a bit stilted at times, but don't let that worry you. Powerful, but ultra-melodic; that's the kind of metal I like. An excellent album." - Prog-Nose