Is "Progressive Sympho-Core" a genre that exists? Because if it is, then that's what this is. Remembering Luca Turilli's fascination with mixing symphonic power and electronic elements back in the final moments of the 20th century, his fellow Italians SINHERESY dive a bit deeper down the rabbit hole, and deliver music that is much more experimental in nature, with dashing bright undertones and heaviness that is rarely encountered on the symphonic stage. The band calls their blend "symphonic modern metal", and as vague and cringe-worthy as that sounds, I find it perfectly fitting their sound to an extent that I can't come up with a better way to describe it. Aside from "Progressive Sympho-Core", of course, which is equally cringe-worthy, if not more.

The album starts with its titular song "Domino", which initially gives the impression we're in for a really long and incoherent intro, distant sirens and sounds of clashing and all, but it forcefully and somewhat confusingly cuts it short with a full force instrumental part, followed by a synth bridge and the first verse. Stefano's vocals, although way more than acceptable, are immediately overshadowed by Cecilia's world-class performance. The song also features an out-of-place but not terrible narration (why do bands keep doing that?) followed by a heavy mid-section with harsh vocals, and ends on the melodic chorus. A very interesting opener that has everything one could think of - heavy riffs, harsh vocals, soft vocals, symphonic sections, melodic guitars, modern rock and metal influences, choir even. The band goes all-out with showcasing what they are all about right from the get-go. The second song, "Star Dome", delivers more of the same drive and richness of composition in a more rhythmic packaging, also featuring more electronic elements and a memorable solo. "Without a Reason" starts soft and progresses in an emotional power ballad, bearing the signature sound in a slower tempo.

"My Only Faith" doubles down on the modern sound with punk rock vocals from Stefano, complimenting Cecilia's emotional singing over a harsh track with a big slow symphonic twists in the middle. "Unspoken Words" immediately grabs the attention with amazing guitar work from the very beginning, but progresses in a song that is pretty much indistinguishable from the ones before it. "Under Your Skin" is a bit heavier track, again carried by the emotional female vocals. The guitar work is great once again, and the solo is brilliant, although at this point it feels as if the band is struggling for originality and adding ornamentics to make one song different from the next. Right after that, however, the album slaps you across the face with pure inspiration in the form of "The Island Of Salt And Grass", which is deep and heartfelt, and fills its five minutes with many twists and turns, ending up an interesting and emotional song. "Ocean of Deception" on the other hand, feels like a carbon copy of "Star Dome". "Believe" feels like an incoherent pile of audio tracks, overlapped just however. Thankfully, the album closes on the brilliant acoustic tear-jerker "Another Life".

Despite each song having different melody and layout, they are so rich in the same style, maintained throughout the album, they end up mostly indistinguishable. The band seems to have three really good songs worth of material, and different parts of them are scattered across ten tracks, with different levers pulled and knobs turned every time to give the impression of distinct songs, while it is all drowned in as much random music as possible. However, as always, leave it to the Italians to make symphonic metal - the epic melodic parts of the album are brilliant, beautiful and grand, with Cecilia and Stefano's voices creating the perfect contrast. The mixing of punk rock and modern metal with melodic and symphonic further serves to enhance this contrast and the energy of the release is undeniable. With a bit more original ideas to set the songs apart, like for example, how every track on NIGHTWISH's "Once" is immediately recognizable, while still sharing the same bold style, and without being overgrown with random motifs, "Domino" could have been a masterpiece. Still, SINHERESY deliver an album that is a vivid representation of just how powerful their style can be, and much more refined and interesting than their already solid 2013 debut "Paint the World". A highly recommended release for lovers of symphonic metal who are tired of how bland and predictable the genre has become, "Domino" is a clear indication that SINHERESY are bound for greatness.