Album Review: Noveria - Becoming After (Scarlet Records, 2026)
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Written: 13th August 2026
Italian progressive power metal band Noveria return with their fifth studio album, Becoming After. The record marks a significant shift in personnel, with vocalist Francesco Marino, keyboardist Paolo Campitelli and drummer Paolo Conte joining founder and guitarist Francesco Mattei and bassist Andrea Arcangeli in the band's current line-up. Speaking about the changes, Mattei states, "Every evolution demands courage. Today, we embrace change and step into a new era of Noveria. New faces, same fire and ready to push beyond every limit we've ever known."
Becoming After opens with The Only Way which initially hints at Eastern musical influences before reverting to more typical prog-power metal rhythms and structures. Melodic and polished, Noveria ramp up drama from the outset. A statement of intent from the new line-up, it throbs with a pulsating energy that aims to capture our attention. Lyrically, the album focuses on resilience and personal growth and The Only Way serves as a criticism of social media obsession and digital overload, while encouraging us to reconnect with real experiences. Run far away from this ephemeral world / Touching life with hands / Dreaming reality / Don’t waste your time with these never-ending reels. Throwing everything they have to offer into the first track, there is room for soaring vocals and both keyboard and guitar solos. A muscular opener that offers a strong indication of what listeners can expect from both the album and the band.
Convicted To Rise – albeit through the use of some heavier riffs – continues with this blueprint. Noveria do play with the dynamics a little; however, it is clear they are at their happiest when they are on the attack. Throughout the album’s fifty-five minutes, there is barely a let-up in power. Some of the most interesting keyboard work on Convicted To Rise occurs in the passage leading into the first verse, where Paolo Campitelli brings a more cinematic quality to proceedings. Darker and more adventurous, the mid-tempo Echoes From The Abyss - which explores confronting our fears instead of running from them - adds yet more to the sense of scale and highlights the musical dexterity of Mattei in regard to both his playing and his song writing.
As Becoming After progresses, Noveria continue to play to their strengths while adding the occasional surprise. Cold Flames – which features Bruce Dickinson’s keyboardist Mistheria - is an uplifting anthem about resilience that centres on turning hardship into strength. Storms are raging in my veins / Shadows crawling through my mind / Every scar becomes a weapon / Forged in darkest nights. Some genuinely weighty moments – including some growled vocals – add a slightly different dimension. The Viper’s Nest begins with a synth-heaven introduction that for a moment is reminiscent of action films of the eighties. Crunchier riffs and Arcangeli’s prominent bass add some bite as the song’s introduction changes in atmosphere. On one of the strongest tracks here, Marino gives a commanding performance, showing how effortlessly he has slotted into the line-up. He delivers the song’s message of overcoming people who try to undermine you with assurance. You shaped the silence into doubt / Let the venom bleed throughout / I traced the fracture / In your breath, watched you seal your death.
Following Infinite Horizons, which finds Campitelli and Mattei trading solos in familiar power metal fashion, Through Your Light and Heavenfall bring an element of poignancy. Exploring themes of companionship and finding reassurance in another person, Through Your Light adopts a broader, more panoramic character, occasionally brushing against the symphonic before building towards a towering finale. Guest pianist Mike Moran, whose credits include work with Freddie Mercury and Ozzy Osbourne, adds additional colour to the arrangement. Heavenfall opens with some of the album's most bombastic sequences before settling into a more measured tempo. Centred on themes of self-acceptance and confronting uncomfortable truths, it effectively fulfils the role of the album's ballad, although vibrant melodies and periodic bursts of energy ensure it retains momentum.
Radiance – another contender for my favourite track – blends some of the album’s earlier heaviness with shimmering keyboards and a driving rhythm that demands attention. A quieter central section adds a little variety and although the album could probably have accommodated a few more such interludes, it is used effectively here. String arrangements and performances across Becoming After are handled by Abigail Stahlschmidt and cellist Luca Basile and it is on the title track where these are most apparent. A two-and-a-half minute instrumental, featuring some truly gorgeous female vocalisations, Becoming After rounds off the album in an elegant fashion. Following the most symphonic segment of everything we have heard so far, all other instruments fall away, leaving only a piano to bring proceedings to a reflective close.
Becoming After finds Noveria sounding reinvigorated following the recent line-up changes. While there is relatively little in the way of experimentation, the album's consistency means those who connect with one song are likely to find much to enjoy elsewhere. Produced, mixed and mastered by Francesco Mattei, the record benefits from a well-balanced sound that allows each element of the music sufficient room to breathe, while themes of resilience, self-discovery and personal growth provide an effective thread between the songs. Becoming After does not redefine the parameters of progressive power metal but it is a solid addition to the band's catalogue and, for me, a more satisfying release than The Gates Of The Underworld. Perhaps most importantly, it leaves the impression that this version of Noveria is only just getting started.
Becoming After is released on 21st August
FFO: Kamelot, Evergrey, DGM, Nevermore
Noveria online
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