DGM

Improvement on all fields

DGM is a band that always seems to be a bit indecisive. Either they seem to be a bit too pop- influenced with their melodies, or they tend to focus too much on technicality.

Well... No More. For the first time DGM seems to live up to their potential. The album is heavier all over then before. Their melodies pops up from my unconscious as I catch myself humming to Hereafter while at work. And the best thing of all is how they have managed to fuse melody and technical performance on this album. Before FrAme, they were an okay band. Now, I would mention them along some of the best progressive power metal bands out there. Like Symphony X, Pagans Mind and Eldritch. The singer has suddenly also become a favorite as he has evolved a more powerful style. I definitely prefer him before the singers of Pagans Mind and Eldritch. Still has a bit to go, before he reaches the power of Russell Allen though.

The production also deserves to be mentioned. It is powerful and detailed as before, but I would have to say that this one has raised the bar for DGM production wise as well.

Kudos to DGM for their improvement. And for those of you who got scared away by their last dreadful effort Different Shapes. Listen to Hereafter from FrAme and realize that DGM has risen to the occasion and made their best album to this date.

A perfect copy of Dream Theater!!!

DGM without Luciano Regoli (but with the Italian Metal singer wizard Titta Tani) has turned a true copy of Drean Theater! They also lost any reference to the Italian Prog becoming a sterile and without soul band. 100% technique... No feeling in my mind... No magic in my mind... Certainly this remain a great band. But the defects of Prog Metal are all in this album.

If the writing style is contamined by Symphony X, Vanden Plas or Artension the final result not conquest me.

In every case: great production, good booklet and good Titta Tani. But no one song remain in my mind. Only the aggressive guitars and drums remain in my mind.

Excuse me but if I speak about Prog Metal I seek a more varied and less aggressive music.

Do you like the heavier side of Dream Theater? Are you interested in listening some non-lame high-pitch vocals? (sorry, La Brie) Then DMG is for you. Labeled by some people as "the european answer to DT", "Frame" is an album that delivers great metal with catchy tunes and an intense groove. This is the first album I get from these guys, and I do not know if their previous works are so good like this, but one thing is sure: this is what metal progressive is about. DMG is a sure bet for those who likes DT, Symphony X (and yes, Vanden Plas) and the like, specially if you're tired of James LaBrie or the Muse-Radiohead-Porcupine Tree undertones in last DT's albums (not me, but hey I'm telling you!) What? Am I the first reviewer? and just 3 ratings? C'mon folks this is a band that deserves more recognition.

So,that's my first experience of DGM and the first thing to say is that this one is excellent power metal but has nothing to do with prog...I don't know if the rest of their albums have progressive leanings but this one is power metal to the bone with the main influences coming from KAMELOT,STRATOVARIUS,maybe the more metal side of RHAPSODY OF FIRE and the more speed side of SYMPHONY X...Vocalist Titta Tani has a powerful voice,something like a less brutal version of Russell Allen or Ronnie Atkins of PRETTY MAIDS...Of course all songs are well arranged and performed with nice guitar and keyboard solos but that doesn't make an album progressive...and after a few listens it gets quite boring...If you like power metal or want to have a break from complex and difficult albums then this is for you...melodic speed metal...I have been personally through this phase many years ago and such albums do not thrill me at all...I will just pass this one by...2.5 stars...

A very good combination of speed riffs and great keyboard sounds and ideas... Though I think that the drums sound a little fake, especially the drum kick that sounds like trigged... Most likely the drums are not natural but sounds really nice with the rest of the music... I think it is a great power/progressive album...

Yes, another great and well skilled band from Italy. I begun to have more and more respect for italian bands after i discover a quite outstanding releses in the past 5 years. Some of them is Dreamland from DGM (i wonder what it means??). They sound very solid with great keys and a fabulous voice from Titta Tani. The music a kind of power metal with superb guitars and keys, just listen to Feeling forever and Eternity, the best from here. The rest are also good, not for average listner. The song structures are complex and will take a few listens to fully appreciate. DGM uses a powerful double bass throughout plus a strong use of keyboards, not to mention the guitar who is quite impressive. In the end a 4 star album. Try this band because they are among the best in prog metal, even if they are in the second league, and maybe not so well known by metal heads. Similar bands Elegy, Ivory Tower, Eldritch. 4 stars without hesitation.

My review is produced using this release: Elevate Records (is a division of 99TH Floor) ER03008

Rating: 9/10

I love this album because is my first contact with the work of Luciano Regoli, famous Italian singer (and painters) that in the 70's has working, between the other, with Raccomandata Ricevuta di Ritorno and Samadhi. Ok, this is a Prog Metal album but the Luciano Regoli's presence is a good point of departure to appreciate "Wings Of Time". But another good point of departure is the guitar work of Diego Realy that is a little clone of Malmsteen that is it is of Blackmore. The guitar of Reali and the keyboards of Maurizio Pariotti create a sound carpet a lot of soft but very powerful and the drum work of Fabio Costantino, precise and very power, does the remainder. "Wings Of Time" isn't a cold album, how a lot of Prog Metal albums, but it is an album thought to last in the time. Because songs like "Guiding Light", "I'll Dream Of You", "Deep Inside", "The Other Side", "A Drop Of Shadow" or "Nightmare" are daughters of the best Italian Prog.

For me with the DGM the Italian Prog is definitively reborn. And it doesn't interest me that the DGM produce Prog Metal. Because in this case is 100% Italian Prog.

This is the progressive metal band of my city..Rome!!!! I had only read a few things about the band DGM when Steen one day handed me a promo of Misplaced saying that this may be just something for me. he was right. This is the Italians fifth album and I don't know how much comes from pure talent and how much is about experience but this 40-minute disc is a very ambitious and immensely exciting piece of work. For one rare occasion I have no problem with the rather low amount of quantity, the quality is what really matters and this elaborate album makes the actual amount of minutes play an insignificant role.

Right from the start of Living On The Edge we are treated with a great guitar lick that's spun into an intense web of galloping drums and fierce bass passages, a highly bombastic song with a very powerful drive.

The combination of Power and Progressive Metal is manufactured with a flair for great melodies and exciting musical detours. Is Hell Without Love? brings to you the classic Power Metal double bass drum inferno spiced with heavy rifling and a catchy chorus, throw in some dynamic background keys, an ingenious keyboard solo spot and a round of cool breaks and you have a very complex composition, never loosing touch with the thin melodic thread and its solid structure though.

A hard grooving side of Misplaced sees the light with the more down to earth Through My Tears, again excellent guitar work by Diego and some technical bass spots enhance the overall impression. The vocal approach is handled with a cool balance between hard and clearer passages. The mid-section could have worked better in this one, lacking a more coherent direction.

And so we continue our tour of the album with a power ballad called Still Believe. A placid piano melody leads the way and the bombastic chorus with a huge supporting choir background gives it a nice simple profile. But if you thought that things would keep on sounding rather down to earth, think again, out of nowhere a symphonic mid-section lifts the song into a new dimension, clearly one of the coolest and most mind-blowing passages I have heard, a stroke of pure genius.

Pride; Spectacular drumming, incredible guitar/keyboard solo, atmospheric keys and a captivating refrain, yes you guessed right I also love this one.

I'm not only impressed by the actual bass performance but also with the way it's used to strengthen the songs, in Amazing Journey the bass takes a very central role and it really gives it yet another layer. The dramatic keyboard parts emphasises the importance of this wonderful instrument in this kind of music.

The opening vocal line in A New Days Coming left a big impression on me the first time I heard it, there is just something immensely catchy about it, the way the music fades and Titta's harmonious voice takes over, it simply sounds phenomenal. This one has some great calm passages but then again it has so much else too, like the album in general, this band stretches the word diversity to the breaking point.

It started like an explosion and so it also ends with something that could be labelled as "extremely powerful", in Perennial Quest the ultra melodic guitar lead/keyboard twin melody is nicely balanced out by a heavy and fast rhythm section. Just like hot chilli and mild crème fraise goes well together, so this combination of bright and heavy works like a charm, OK my comparisons are getting a bit out of hand, I know. The otherwise charismatic vocals get a bit muddy from time to time but I'm having a hard time holding back my enthusiasm for this spellbinding ending song, for the album in general and also for the enormous amount of musical craftsmanship found within this band.

After these eight tracks I'm left with a feeling of having been totally blown away, my mind is still trying to figure out what this was all about, craving to listen to it one more time.

I have a hard time describing it, but the production is somehow quite blurred and yet I also like it for its roughness and compact style, overall it matches the music in a fine way, even though the very bombastic profile takes away some of the clearness.

The lyrics have some personal perspectives and keep a high standard. Dealing with elements such as finding your way through difficult times of doubt and loneliness and a search for a higher meaning to some of life's big questions, there is definitely something to relate to.

This is a very unique band and I'll just skip the links to other bands that you can always make, if you like things a bit complex but still with lots of melody and fantastic skill then my advice is for you to check this out, and that in a hurry. Just promise me that you will give it loads of spins before you put into your shelf for a deserved resting period, there is so much more packed into this one than meets the ear in the first listening rounds.

An extremely challenging and hardwearing album with a sophisticated aura. You certainly can't blame this release of being boring or predictable.

This DGM CD is quite a bit different then all their previous recordings in 2 big way's. First off is the liberal use of odd time signatures found in ¾ of the material here. Next is that the keyboards have more of a presents, not just on the solo's. There is a lot of atmospheric subtleties as well and some very interesting new sounds. (Well, I guess "Dreamland" did have some of these qualities but "Hidden Places" takes it to a new level). Singer Titta Tani is back for his 2nd recording with this band and a monster of a vocalist he is with tons of power but no "ball squeezing" thank you. In a way he reminds me of Russell Allen from Symphony-X the way he gets down to some growling inflections when needed. Of worthy note are Drummer Fabio Costantino who propels the band forward by staying just a nano bit ahead of the beat. And then there's the awesome shred work of Diego Reali (from the Malmsteen school for sure). If you like Angra, Stratovarious, and Savatage but want a bit more technicality, then this CD is for you but only this particular DGM CD. Even DGMs follow-up to this one called " Misplaced" seems to go back to their old style. Only 1 or 2 songs on that recording are on the same wavelength as "Hidden Places", a bummer for me (cause I was really looking forward to it) but they must have had their reasons. Great musician's all. PS. I hear that Titta Tani is all done with DGM after "Misplaced " . Another bummer!!

Very nice!!!! DGM back with strong.The fact is,not a Pro-Metal album,but Power Metal album.The band change the way i play.Fast'melodic great vocal job.the guitar and bass arrengement is so cool.I like that I think many fan of DGM not like this CD because the work is surely less that old cd and more typical riff we have on each track.