DOMINATE

After the first album, SANCTUS IGNIS, which was a slightly unfinished attempt at Symphonic Metal mixed with some Hard Rock Influences, and UNDERWORLD, an incredibly gripping album with a sound lacking some finish on especially the guitar sound, french Progressive Symphonic Metal Band Adagio tends to surprise the listener again: After having gone from a Power Metal/ Hard Rock Melange with Symphonic Ingredients to a band much heavier and much more progressive, they now seem to want to move in a more straight metal direction; the growl/scream vocal style introduced on UNDERWORLD is extended in frequency of use, while the neoclassical parts known from that album have, with some exceptions, almost vanished, and are also not as elaborate as known from the predecessor. Also, the songs have become shorter and more "standardized" in terms of songwriting structure. This is mainly what the listener encounters when comparing the DOMINATE album to the superb UNDERWORLD album. To the prog fan, this seems like a disappointment. My humble self was also disappointed, being a big fan of the UNDERWORLD album and the very innovative style of that album. However, DOMINATE did have some moments, so i gave it a few more spins. What i then encountered was an excellent Prog metal album. Even if one was expecting (and maybe hoping for) something else from Stephan Forté & co. , it is indeed a great album, boasting with catchy tunes and riffs as well as "technical parts" to prevent boredom. First off, the new singer, Gus Monsando, replacing PINK CREAM 69 singer David Readman, is an excellent singer, not only more suitable to the Adagio sound on the whole, but especially to the DOMINATE album; his more powerful and aggressive vocal style, slightly sounding like Tim "Ripper" Owens on the album "The Glorious Burden" by ICED EARTH definitely adds better to the whole than Readman's very Hard Rock-ish singing (and performance) ever could have. Then, even if Adagio lost some "prog-ness", they do innovate instead of imitating; the bass line on "terror Jungle", for instance, is excellent and contrasts the guitar part very well. On the whole: Although Adagio can't surpass their masterpiece UNDERWORLD, they rather move into a different direction and show that they're great at doing something else as well. That's for the 4 star rating. I recommend this album to any Adagio fan, and, if he or she dislikes it, to give it a little time. I definitely needed that time, too. But it was worth it. Otherwise, i'd rather recommend this album to a metalhead than a proggie, but i encourage every Prog Metal fan to listen in; this is a high quality release by a high guality band.