WINGS OF TIME

Progressive/Symphonic Power Metal hailing from Italy, their second release (1999). The first thing I want to note, before getting into my general feelings about this album, is that the musicianship of DGM is certainly great. Now, where I find much of the album wanting is compositionally. Sure, everything is well performed, from guitars to drums to vocals. But quite a few of these tracks were only "good" because of the musicianship, not because the tracks were particularly exciting or interesting (looking at the tracks individually using the PA rating system, nearly half of them wouldn't make it to a 3 in my book, and that certainly sullens my overall rating).

Much of the album frankly isn't overly interesting at all. Soloing, as I'll mention for the standout track, is the clear strongsuit of the band. At this point, providing the listener with something progressive and/or surprising does not seem like a super primary objective. I'm not saying any of the tracks are actually bad, but of course this is Prog Archives and not... uh... "Songs... Archives"? Ha!

Without further ado, we have track 7, "A Drop of Shadow," the certain standout on the album. Finally, some rhythmic complexity, great soloing (including some tasty sax), and a classic sound (with melodies reminiscent of Iron Maiden—hell, even their vocalist has a voice at times reminiscent specifically of Bruce). Mostly a standout because everything else just sort of blends together on this album... and therefore...

True Rate: 2.5/5.0 FFO Dream Theater, Symphony X, Evergrey, Darkwater