Long Island, New York-located progressive rock instrumental group IMITATOR are releasing their debut EP, Principles, today, August 27th. High-energy guitar melodies wrap around rumbling drums and a steady bass line, creating a solid rock backdrop that is sure to give the perfect excuse to headbang along to the record.

IMITATOR was formed by guitarists Vincent D’Eletto and Anto Gabriele, bassist Rich Albergo, and drummer Peter Koronios.

The bandmates had pursued other music-based interests, as well as touring and performing with other bands, before deciding to collaborate together in 2019. After a jam session between D’Eletto, Gabriele, and Koronios, IMITATOR was born.

According to the group, their name was chosen after a clever realization about the music industry. The name IMITATOR came about from a discussion D’Eletto and Koronios had one night at band practice concerning influences and originality.

The act state, “The idea is that nothing is truly original; no territory is wholly uncharted; there is nothing new under the Sun. The best anyone is doing is taking what impacted them most deeply from their collective influences and combining those ingredients in a way that sounds and feels good to them. We’re all imitators, without necessarily being plagiarizers. There’s a difference.”

The Principles EP was recorded in the spring of 2021 at VuDu Studios with engineers Mike Watts and Frank Mitaritonna. The band hopes their, “sound in some way transcends the influences it, like all art, is inevitably derived from.”

The seven tracks of the EP are based on 7 Hermetic Principles from a book called The Kybalion. The main psychological themes derive from the practice of hermeticism and the band apply these concepts to the musical sphere, using the tenets of mentalism, correspondence, rhythm, vibration, polarity, gender, and cause and effect in the compositions.

The tracks are aptly named, as each tackles a specific principle, with opener “Mentalism” slowly dawning like the light of a new day, or of having that ‘light bulb’ moment of thought in humans. The song rises brightly midway through, with the tempered blaze of guitars and an unhurried, but determined pace.

“Correspondence” is a driving heavy rock track that spirals out with metal-tinged progressive rock guitar interplay, while emphatic “Vibration” rocks out with metallic guitar riffage and kinetic drumming.

“Polarity” sways with weighty bass line undertow shadowing the see-sawing guitar pattern, backed by active drums ‘n’ cymbals strikes. “Rhythm” rings out with massive grinding guitar blasts, and zips along at an even quicker pace at times. A winding keyboard line snakes its way though the incendiary scintillation, adding starry sonics to the mix.

“Cause/Effect” is a more reflective number that spins out into the cosmos, still composed of similar instrumentation, but utilized in a dreamier manner, while mammoth EP closer “Gender” rocks out with cycling gritty riffage that sporadically speeds up with calculated abandon.

D’Eletto sheds some light on the EP, revealing, “Principles represents the culmination of 10 years of aspirations, two years of hard work, and a lifelong search for the right bandmates. This is the opening chapter of our story that sets the tone for what (we hope) will follow.”

Gabriele picks up the thread, discussing the creation of the EP, stating, “The recording process became like sculpting – the more we chipped away at the block that was the song, the more the finished product was revealed to us. It fits our vision of what we wanted to do together, and it’s also open to interpretation for the listener to make it their own.”

Koronios concludes with modesty, “This is a recording we didn’t necessarily assume would ever be released. I think it’s important to keep that in mind when listening to it. It’s the most authentic thing I think any of us have ever done musically.”

Just yesterday, August 26th the band livestreamed their performance of Principles in its entirety from VuDu studios in Long Island, New York, where the EP was recorded. The performance was streamed on Zoom via Facebook and YouTube Live. Visit the band’s social media pages for links.

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