OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW: FRAME TALK NEW ALBUM ‘INCIPIT’

Few transitions in rock music are ever clean, but progressive rock outfit FRAME are proving that momentum doesn’t wait for anyone to catch up. Coming off the release of their highly anticipated new album Incipit, the band finds itself standing at a pivotal crossroads—fresh off a crucial lineup change that saw founding drummer Ettore part ways with the group, making room for new dynamic force, Rick, behind the kit.

We sat down with lead guitarist Giulio and bassist Enea to discuss the creation of Incipit, navigating intra-band friction, and how a brutal last-minute shift redefined their sound.

Reporter : Incipit is finally out in the wild. Given everything surrounding its release, how are you both feeling about the reception so far?

Giulio (Lead Guitar): Honestly? Relief mixed with a massive adrenaline rush. Incipit means "beginning," and that wasn’t just a catchy title—it was literally what we were going through while making it. We threw everything we had into the songwriting, every technical boundary we wanted to push, and seeing people connect with that vision immediately makes every tense hour in the studio worth it.

Enea (Bass): Yeah, the energy right now is electric. When you put out a record this complex, you always worry whether the nuances are going to land, but the response has been insane. It feels like a statement piece for us.

Reporter: Speaking of tense hours in the studio, we have to address the elephant in the room. Right around the time the album cycle was kicking into gear, Ettore was let go from the band. What led to that decision?

Enea: It came down to vision and commitment, point blank. When you're making a record like Incipit, everybody in the room needs to be locked into the exact same frequency. As we progressed into writing, the gap between where Ettore wanted to take things and where the rest of us were heading just kept widening. It reached a point where the tension was starting to drag down the creative process.

Giulio: Exactly. Ettore is a great guy, but musically, we hit a wall. We couldn’t compromise on the musical direction of this album—it’s too important to us. Parting ways wasn't comfortable or easy, but it was necessary to save the record and keep FRAME moving forward.

Reporter : Enter Rick. How did he end up in the picture, and what was that transition like during such a critical moment?

Giulio: Rick was like a lightning bolt when he stepped in. We needed someone who could not only handle the rhythmic complexities of Incipit right out of the gate, but someone who brought a new burst of energy into the rehearsal space. The minute Rick sat behind the kit, the chemistry clicked. He picked up the material ridiculously fast.

Enea: The dynamic shifted immediately. Rick’s playing brings a really tight, aggressive backbone to the low end. It forced Giulio and me to level up our own rhythm section play. The album locked together in a way it hadn't before. It went from feeling like a struggle to feeling like a machine firing on all cylinders.

Reporter: Incipit feels raw, ambitious, and noticeably unified despite the lineup turbulence. Do you think the lineup shake-up ultimately strengthened the record?

Giulio: Without a doubt. Adversity forces you to decide who you are as a band. We had to fight for this record to sound the way it does. Incipit isn't just our new album—it’s the definitive start of FRAME’s next era.

Enea: If anything, the title says it all. We cleared out the noise, brought Rick into the fold, and made the exact album we were meant to make. Now, we’re just ready to take these tracks on the road and blow the doors off every venue we play.

‘Incipit’, the new album by FRAME, is available now on all streaming platforms.