MISPLACED

This is the progressive metal band of my city..Rome!!!! I had only read a few things about the band DGM when Steen one day handed me a promo of Misplaced saying that this may be just something for me. he was right. This is the Italians fifth album and I don't know how much comes from pure talent and how much is about experience but this 40-minute disc is a very ambitious and immensely exciting piece of work. For one rare occasion I have no problem with the rather low amount of quantity, the quality is what really matters and this elaborate album makes the actual amount of minutes play an insignificant role.

Right from the start of Living On The Edge we are treated with a great guitar lick that's spun into an intense web of galloping drums and fierce bass passages, a highly bombastic song with a very powerful drive.

The combination of Power and Progressive Metal is manufactured with a flair for great melodies and exciting musical detours. Is Hell Without Love? brings to you the classic Power Metal double bass drum inferno spiced with heavy rifling and a catchy chorus, throw in some dynamic background keys, an ingenious keyboard solo spot and a round of cool breaks and you have a very complex composition, never loosing touch with the thin melodic thread and its solid structure though.

A hard grooving side of Misplaced sees the light with the more down to earth Through My Tears, again excellent guitar work by Diego and some technical bass spots enhance the overall impression. The vocal approach is handled with a cool balance between hard and clearer passages. The mid-section could have worked better in this one, lacking a more coherent direction.

And so we continue our tour of the album with a power ballad called Still Believe. A placid piano melody leads the way and the bombastic chorus with a huge supporting choir background gives it a nice simple profile. But if you thought that things would keep on sounding rather down to earth, think again, out of nowhere a symphonic mid-section lifts the song into a new dimension, clearly one of the coolest and most mind-blowing passages I have heard, a stroke of pure genius.

Pride; Spectacular drumming, incredible guitar/keyboard solo, atmospheric keys and a captivating refrain, yes you guessed right I also love this one.

I'm not only impressed by the actual bass performance but also with the way it's used to strengthen the songs, in Amazing Journey the bass takes a very central role and it really gives it yet another layer. The dramatic keyboard parts emphasises the importance of this wonderful instrument in this kind of music.

The opening vocal line in A New Days Coming left a big impression on me the first time I heard it, there is just something immensely catchy about it, the way the music fades and Titta's harmonious voice takes over, it simply sounds phenomenal. This one has some great calm passages but then again it has so much else too, like the album in general, this band stretches the word diversity to the breaking point.

It started like an explosion and so it also ends with something that could be labelled as "extremely powerful", in Perennial Quest the ultra melodic guitar lead/keyboard twin melody is nicely balanced out by a heavy and fast rhythm section. Just like hot chilli and mild crème fraise goes well together, so this combination of bright and heavy works like a charm, OK my comparisons are getting a bit out of hand, I know. The otherwise charismatic vocals get a bit muddy from time to time but I'm having a hard time holding back my enthusiasm for this spellbinding ending song, for the album in general and also for the enormous amount of musical craftsmanship found within this band.

After these eight tracks I'm left with a feeling of having been totally blown away, my mind is still trying to figure out what this was all about, craving to listen to it one more time.

I have a hard time describing it, but the production is somehow quite blurred and yet I also like it for its roughness and compact style, overall it matches the music in a fine way, even though the very bombastic profile takes away some of the clearness.

The lyrics have some personal perspectives and keep a high standard. Dealing with elements such as finding your way through difficult times of doubt and loneliness and a search for a higher meaning to some of life's big questions, there is definitely something to relate to.

This is a very unique band and I'll just skip the links to other bands that you can always make, if you like things a bit complex but still with lots of melody and fantastic skill then my advice is for you to check this out, and that in a hurry. Just promise me that you will give it loads of spins before you put into your shelf for a deserved resting period, there is so much more packed into this one than meets the ear in the first listening rounds.

An extremely challenging and hardwearing album with a sophisticated aura. You certainly can't blame this release of being boring or predictable.