From their EPK, “Life” comes as the culmination of two years work in which the band’s main man Simone Mularoni, wrote a wealth of musical material with “Life” being the first view into this period of creativity. The songs show clearly the desire to push the band beyond any previous boundaries and to build more of their own personal identity and approach. Truly, no small feat given the band’s catalog! The band says, “the album is exactly the sum of all the elements that build the DGM’s sound so far. Over the years, we’re focusing more and more on the quality of the songs rather than the usual Prog-Metal technical aspects, putting all our efforts in the arrangements and caring every little detail of each song. We strongly believe that this album is the peak of our songwriting.” The album has ten songs.

“Unravel the Sorrow” is first. The opening tones are filled with melodies, overflowing on your plate. What follows is a combination of a technical display of musicianship with wondrous songwriting ability. “The Calling” has a slower pace and a bit of a heavier sound. The verses are filled with guitar, bass, and keys, and as with any strong Progressive/AOR band, the true magic is in the big, memorable chorus that the band pushes. Listen to that burning guitar solo as well. “Dominate” has a rousing and energetic riff and try to squeeze a dime into the super-tight structure…you can’t do it. The balance that the band achieves is amazing. They are clearly talented enough to let loose, but they hold back just enough in favor or the development of melody.

“Eve” has a sleazy opening riff…the kind that is reminiscent of the melodic bands that dominated the scene during the 1980’s. The guitar work is especially strong in this instrumental. At times, it sings, shouting high to the heavens, while other times, it softly coddles the listener. “Journey to Nowhere” is a keyboard and piano forward song and man does Emanuele know how to tickle the ivories. That chorus is amazing as well…full of melody and a hook larger than a skyscraper. “Leave All Behing” has a technically complicated riff where the band flex their Prog muscles, but it is also accessible to the ears. “Neuromancer” closes the album. It begins with a healthy dose of keyboards, but those melodies are not too far behind. The ending is quite beautiful, and a reminder of the band’s ability in this regard.

Overall, I like the new direction that the band is taking in terms of dialing back some of the heavy Progressive elements and moving forward with the melodic ones. They are obviously talented, and no sane person could deny that. Being around since 1996 and this being their 11^th studio album, they have to constantly fight the urge to release songs of their past and hang onto the formulas which define their sound. But they fight this hard, and the result is an excellent combination of Progressive elements with melodic ones.