About two and a half decades ago, Athena’s ‘A New Religion?’ was one of my favorite progressive metal albums of the era. The album was an irresistable blend of progressive metal, power metal and even some pop tendencies, and displayed a better grasp of songwriting than most prog bands did at the time. Athena released one more album before calling it quits, so imagine my surprise when the return of the full ‘A New Religion?’ line-up was introduced under a slightly altered name. The first Athena XIX album ‘Everflow Part 1: Frames of Humanity’ is notably heavier, but every bit as compelling.

While the album sounds very little like ‘A New Religion?’, there is a very similar songwriting philosophy at the heart of ‘Frames of Humanity’. Although the riffing of Simone Pellegrini is more traditionally prog metal here, the material is generally characterized by a creativity that often pops up in prog bands with significant songwriting input from their keyboard players. There are no light-hearted power metallers like ‘Soul Sailor’, or breezy, jumpy rockers like ‘My Silence’, but there are plenty of rhythmical experiments and highly original sonic choices by keyboard player Gabriele Guidi, despite the songs being relatively compact.

Ultimately, that is what makes ‘Frames of Humanity’ the refreshing listening experience that it is. Athena XIX is clearly a band that puts songwriting first, and everything else is in service of that, no matter how complex it gets. It would not surprise me at all if the album’s most accessible moments, such as the bouncy, quasi-electronic ‘Calm Before the Storm’ and the gorgeously structured ‘The Conscience of Everything’, were constructed around their amazing choruses. The band also makes sure there always is room for Fabio Lione to lay down some of the best vocal melodies he has done outside of Angra in years.

Though I like ‘Frames of Humanity’ in its entirity, some of its highlights don’t appear until the tail-end of the album. Especially ‘Idle Mind’, which nimbly combines melodic accessibility and knotty complexity, is one of the best songs the album has to offer. ‘Synchrolife’ keeps you on your toes with its many unexpected twists, while closing track ‘Inception’ is an extremely dynamic song that evolves from ominous piano-led sections to a theatrical chorus and back again. Elsewhere, I really enjoy the choppy guitar and distorted Hammond theme in ‘I Wish’, the relative aggression of ‘The Seed’ and the powerful title track.

During their original run, Athena found a new balance between progressive metal and power metal with each album. ‘Frames of Humanity’ basically does the same, settling for a creative sound that actually puts the “progressive” back in the genre. Athena XIX proves that you don’t need twenty-minute epics to create a dynamic listening experience, and that a strong, memorable melody does not detract from the complexity and unpredictability of the music. Given the fact that the album title suggests it’s the first chapter in a long-term plan, I cannot wait to hear what else Athena XIX has in store.

Recommended tracks: ‘Idle Mind’, ‘The Conscience of Everything’, ‘I Wish’