DGM
Life
Frontiers Music
www.dgmsite.com
Life is the eleventh studio album by the Italian Progressive Metal act DGM. It was written primarily by guitarist and producer Simone Mularoni over the course of two years. Life was released on November 17, 2023 through Frontiers Music.
"Unravel The Sorrow" begins with serenity and calm, as it slowly builds to a wallop of heavy riffs, blazing guitar licks, and pounding drums. The song shifts tempo again as vocalist Mark Basile delivers his emotional lyrics. Basile conveys to his loved one that they are not alone in tough times.
"To The Core" hits at breakneck speed, with all the instruments firing off with powerful intensity. Basile's melodic vocals are comforting and soothing as he lyrically struggles with overcoming depressing times. The instrumental break is a bombastic ride of guitars and keyboards duking it out for the spotlight.
"The Calling" is led by the thumping bass of Fabio Costantino, and accented by multipart chorus harmonies. The song rides a mid tempo and shifts back and forth in pace. "Second Chance" deals with redemption and becoming a better version of ourselves.
"Find Your Way" contains some of Simone Mularoni's finest guitar work. Basile and his cohorts present lush vocal harmonies and emotional high points through the track. "Eve" harkens back to the classic days of DGM, when they were an all instrumental band. The track fits in with the album's flow and never gets dull.
"Journey To Nowhere" starts off like a big budget sci-fi movie. As the picture progresses, our hero is getting ready to blast off into outer space to explore the unknown ahead of them. As they travel through time and the cosmos, our protagonist envisions the possibilities. The two songs that follow and close out the album, "Leave All Behind" and "Neuromancer", appear to continue the story.
Back in 2020 I had the opportunity to interview Simone Mularoni. He described the music of DGM as "a sort of JOURNEY meets SYMPHONY X", and I have to say that explanation is dead on. Life is loaded with ferocious guitars, thumping double kick drums, shifting on the fly tempos, layers upon layers of vocal melodies, and relatable lyrics.
They say that listeners can lose interest in music after 30 seconds, or if a song is longer than 3 minutes. Most of the songs on Life clock in at five minutes or more, but there is never a lull or boring moment throughout its one hour run time. Embrace Life, and don't let go.
4.6 Out Of 5.0
