Alterium – Stormrage

Alterium
Stormrage
Out: July 25^th, 2025
Playing time: 20:13

The Italian Power Metal quintet Alterium was founded at the end of 2022 by singer Nicoletta Rosellini (ex Kalidia, Walk in Darkness). Shortly afterwards, her former bandmates Paolo Campitelli (guitar) and Dario Gozzi (drums) joined her. The band was completed by Alessandro Mammola (guitar) and Luca Scalabrin (bass). Alterium will continue to play together in this line-up in 2025. The debut album ‘Of War And Flames’, produced by Lars Rettkowitz (Freedom Call), was released in March 2024 via AFM Records. The AFM label closed down in March, forcing the Italians to release their current EP ‘Stormrage’ independently.

The EP kicks off with the title track ‘Stormrage’ with a good dose of bombast. But then the Power Metal sledgehammer strikes. The crowning glory, however, is the vocals of Nicoletta Rosellini, whom I have admired for years, mainly because of her pleasantly dark timbre. ‘Sui’, on the other hand, starts off more quietly with acoustic and electric guitars. Soon, however, the riffs gallop along at high speed. This contrasts with Nicoletta’s melodic vocals, which remain unruffled. The Symphony X cover ‘Paradise Lost’ starts like the original with piano sounds. But there are already some differences in the vocals. The vocals sound a little deeper than before and also deeper than in the original. And Nicoletta’s voice suits my taste a little better. Of course, Russel Allen is also a gifted singer. So I think both versions are equally good. The EP concludes with the orchestral version of the epic title track ‘Of War And Flames’ from the band’s debut album. As the description suggests, the current version features a lot of orchestral elements, while the original is dominated by twin guitars, driven by double bass. Despite the excellent musical rendition on this EP, my favourite is definitely the more powerful album version.

It’s not easy for me to give a rating with only two original songs. Ultimately, however, I am also impressed by the musical execution of the two ‘bonus’ tracks. I hope that Alterium will soon find a new label home. I would be very happy to see a new full-length album from the Italians.

Alterium – Stormrage: https://youtu.be/2s3xSf_Wj-A?si=-Ul-cG5PUIK94aMG

Lineup:

Nicoletta Rosellini – Vocals
Paolo Campitelli – Guitars, Keyboards
Alessandro Mammola – Guitars
Luca Scalabrin – Bass
Dario Gozzi – Drums

Track list:

• Stormrage
• Sui
• Paradise Lost (Symphony X cover)
• Of War And Flames (Orchestral version)