Style : Prog/Power Metal

Rating : 3-1/2 out of 5

Summary : Some will love the vocals - other's won't. A good listen If you can focus on the instrumentation.

A Moment Of Insanity is - and it isn’t. At just 49 minutes it’s over in a moment, but there’s not much insanity here. Instead it’s song-oriented progressive / power metal in the standard formula.

The vocals are the most evident aspect of this music. There's no metal-esque falsetto wailing in Marco Magiapia’s voice - his singing is in the low ranges and sounds ballsy in the vein of an Andy Franck. They are also omnipresent, leaving very little room for all-instrumental sections - so if Magiapia’s limited-range mono-tonal timbre doesn't agree with you, you're in trouble. There are occasional grunts for contrast and effect - but no, it isn't a cookie-monster death metal record. The vocals are basically clean, with just the high notes sounding like a range-restricted James Labrie.

The instrumentation is solid, with a basic metal lineup of clearly talented musicians, among whom guitarist Claudio Acampora is the apparent leader. The elegant piano lines and frequent guitar solos provide welcome relief from the standard metal vocals over crunchy power chords, and the loose song structures will help keep your attention. There are occasional break-outs into unusual sounds - like outro to the title track which features a brief section of mine-dance whistles and ethnic percussion fronted by vocal chants and an odd-sounding lyric rapped in a half-falsetto voice.

Apparently Axiom is a new project including members of Landguard, and Italian prog-metal outfit. Per the standard power-metal format A Moment Of Insanity is generally upbeat, and the Italian sextet delivers 9 melodic, well-executed songs with strong hooks and good head-nodding rhythms. "Out of Control" is too controlled and borders on monotony, while "Oniric Comedy" is as close as Axiom gets to a power ballad and is a pleasing listen with very pleasing guitar solos and a slow, powerful flow.

Very good - but anything special? You decide...