DGM released their seventh album, FrAme earlier this year and it's the first time I've given their music a proper chance. Not something I've regretted. DGM play their own kind of progressive power metal. Their music is very compact as the band manage to cram a ton of details into the, for the genre, pretty short and well arranged songs. The relatively short songs keep the album entertaining and on the edge. FrAme has a superb sound. Powerful and intense is a good way to describe the production. Especially the drum sound is excellent and every other instrument is clearly audible which brings a feeling of clarity to the complex music.
The 11 songs have focus on the melodic element, resulting in memorable chorus lines alongside challenging instrumental passages. The band is impressively tight and every instrument shines in its own way. It takes time to take in all the layers and it's worth investing some time in the album. The majority of songs grow and various passages take turns standing out. Only Not in Need and Rest in Peace fail to keep up my interest in the long run while the power ballad Fading and Falling has the album running out of steam near the end. Beside those everything is absolutely spiffing.
New singer Mark Basile joined the band in 2008 and he delivers a convincing performance. His voice is powerful with an emotional edge and strong enough to take the focus away from his thick accent. Instead it ends up as rather charming. In Heartache he has a brilliant line leading to the chorus which enhances the song greatly. Just one of many examples.
Guitarist Simone Mularoni and Emanuelle Casali on keyboard are highly capable and trade solos in a transparent way. Fortunately the keyboard is perfectly incorporated in the sound. Heartache, again, is a good example of how the keyboard is used to build intensity as the song nears the chorus section. The keyboard enhances without taking control. Drummer Fabio Costantino is awesome too and he keeps the music together.
The chorus sections is one area where the band nails it. Pretty much every song has a strong chorus. Add that on top of strong foundations and you have some great songs. Hereafter and Enhancement are a couple of great openers and from then on the album rolls out the red carpet with one melodic gem after another. Brand New Blood in particular has a fantastic uplifting chorus, an intense solo section and the speed to make it an instant favorite.
The lyrics struggle with the English language and several songs contain some quite unfortunate wordings. But with music as good as this I found it possible to look past this element and just enjoy the music for what it is; High quality prog-power.
Though not on the same level as Redemption , Symphony X or Dream Theater , DGM is an excellent blend of these bands, added a special compact songwriting ability. DGM is something to check out for anyone into heavy, power or progressive metal. They have the melody and complexity to appeal to a wide crowd.
Check out the video for Hereafter below or visit the band's Myspace page to get a taste of what to expect.
Favorite songs: Hereafter, Enhancement, No looking back, Brand new blood, Heartache.
I really liked this CD. For the most part I have to agree with your review. I do have to give it a slightly higher rating though on the basis that the songs are consistently compact for the norm within the progressive metal scene. Add that with the strong melodies I find myself being able to simply listen to selective tracks more readily since they are not overtly epic. It is something that is found more in the 70's progressive rock scene which allowed acceptability with radio play.
But then again where I live it is so commercial driven (a certain lack of variety...CRTC blows) I have learned to hate the radio with the over killing of "3 chord bands", the Nickleback "got-to-be" bands and all that damn so called R'nB hip-hop.
Thank the gods for my favorite metal import store and this site.
Released by Scarlet Records - 2008 Tracklisting 01. Hereafter
02. Enhancement
03. Not In Need
04. No Looking Back
05. Trapped...
06. ...In A Movie
07. Away
08. Heartache
09. Rest In Peace
10. Brand New Blood
11. Fading & Falling
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