CHTHONICK

Hailing from Miami, Florida comes a promising new talent in prog rock/metal. Alitheia (from the Greek for ''not forgetting'' and ''truth'') is one of the more unique bands I've ever listened to. In their lyrics, an ethereal subject matter is explored making for the entire concept of their album ''Chthonick'', an inner journey to find oneself (the album title references that if you know the definition of it.)

The musicianship is worthy of my praise too. The bass has a very driving groove to it, very much inspired by Justin Chancellor of Tool. The drums show much variety in beats and rhythms, and refreshingly does not overdo (in my opinion) the double-kick theatrics of many other prog metal bands. The guitar, for most of the album, is clean and of a ''docile'' nature, and at other times a forceful blasting riff will come out of nowhere. And last but not least, the factor that contributes to the uniqueness of Alitheia, the vocals. The frontman's unorthodox vocal style bring to mind, (dare I say it?) rapper Sean Paul, in my case. He adds an exotic element to the music and does the profound lyrical content justice, making ''Chthonick'' a very mystic 45 minutes indeed.

The first song ''Sanctum of the Symbol'' is perhaps my favorite right off the start, with a nice bass line and a mild guitar passage before wandering into heavier realms. ''Solid of Revolution'' is about alchemy and is another good song, showing all members showing their best. ''Root of Infinity'' is much more mellow and subdued number before giving way to the album's heaviest and shortest song ''Penumbra''. ''The Empty Set'' opens with the same melody as ''Root of Infinity'' and has the most mystic and ethereal feel of all the songs on the album. The closing track ''Potamos'' is about death and is one of the heavier tracks on the album, beginning and ending with a distorted bass line and steaming through with pounding drums, heavy guitars, and dreamy vocals for 9 minutes.

An excellent debut album from this Floridian band. All the musicians are top-notch, and the vocals may be unwieldy to some, but it definitely adds a unique and mystical exotic flavor to the music. For an independently released album, the production really kicks ass. You won't be ripped off, it's good music.

Definitely recommended for Tool fans, and anybody who is very open-minded.