03 A TRILOGY PART 1

I found DOMINICI only after they released second album "03 A Trilogy Part 2". Wtih first chrods of that album I interested in this band and Charlie Dominici itself. So, I found first album of this trilogy.

"03 A Trilogy Part 1" is wery interestenging album, firstly because it's accoustic. You can find even blues or country influences. The story of the album talks about a terrorist sleeper agent in the United States, how he falls in love with this country and about biological weapon he is creating.

It's not a perfect album of progressive music and even non-essential, but it's recomended to all fans of prog music. You won't be sorry for hearing it even only once.

Oh yes you will be sorry! If you're expecting progressive metal - its not! Trilogy Part 2 is metal and its an awesome album. Part 1 is more like a country and western album (seriously!). Stay clear if thats not your style.

Back in 2005, if you asked anyone, Hey remember that guy who sang on DT's debut? What was his name again? Oh, yeah, Charlie Dominici. You would have been met with the response of: Who? or just a blank stare. Also at that point, that same man, Mr. Dominici was recording the first part of the O3 Trilogy, his first album since leaving the music biz in 1990. While O3 A Trilogy - Part 1 isn't his comeback album, it sets the stage for the success that would follow Part 2 in 2007.

Part 1 is entirely acoustic, it's just Charlie on an acoustic guitar, accompanied by his vocals and the occasional harmonica. This is not the prog metal that would be present on the final two parts of the trilogy. But this does not mean that this is a bad album. The album shows that it is influenced by Bob Dylan, in fact in one of the songs I thought I heard a melody similar to that of Eleanor Rigby.

The concept of the album is that of a terrorist coming to a foreign land and recieving orders to soon carry out a supreme act of biological terrorism (the title of the trilogy is familiar to many chem nerds.)

There is not a bad song to be found on this album, altough there are a couple of glitches in the musicianship (sorry Charlie), they don't even register. The songs are very simplistic, and are a nice break from the technical wankery of traditional prog metal.

Recommended for all prog fans!!!

P.S. You can get an autographed copy from the band's website, while supplies last.

03: A Trilogy Part 1 is NOT progressive metal, like the rest of the band's albums are. In fact, this is technically just a Charlie Dominici solo album. It is completely acoustic with guitar and harmonica as well as Dominici's voice. Personally, I think it's a great album, it really gives you that feeling, while telling you the story of 03, which spans 3 albums.

Prog metal fans wouldn't like this, unless they can tolerate things that aren't prog metal. Because this is completely acoustic, and not metal at all. It's a fairly decent album, though. In terms of progressiveness, it doesn't really have that much progressive stuff in it, being a very simple album. But the lyrics and story of the album are that of a rock opera, or concept album.

It's good but not essential. If you like acoustic rock, or are a Dominici completionist, then get this album, it's fairly good.

Charlie Dominici is a name familiar to every prog metal fan. After being fired from Dream Theater he disappeared from the music industry, came back some fifteen years later inspired by his performance with DT in 2004. This album was his first offering, and it is a great introduction to the ambitious concept behind the whole trilogy.

O3 Part 1 is drastically different from the other two albums as this one is has only Charlie, his acoustic guitar and harmonica. The style of the songs is very much in the vein of the singer/songwriter genre and the whole album is carried with Dominici's strong voice. The accompanying guitar and harmonica backings are basic, but yet intricate enough to give colour to the arrangements. I must applaud Dominici for the concept of the album, a sleeper cell terrorist planted into a western country (presumably USA) and battling between his loyalty to his leaders and the love for his new country. The concept sounds clichéd, but is still strangely endearing and spellbinding. I found the lyrics to be good, and especially the imagery in The Dream was fantastic and dreamlike as the title says.

All in all, a good comeback album from Dominici, but much better was in store for next. 3 stars.

Melodic, but not much else.

After Dominici was fired from Dream Theater for musical differences in late 1989/early 1990, he disappeared from the music scene for nearly 15 years. His power-hungry vocals were not heard again until Dream Theater invited him back to play the 15th anniversary of When Dream and Day Unite show, where his piping voice sang To Live Forever and Metropolis, Part 1. This expose back into music inspired him to begin anew in the music world, starting with the 03 Trilogy, a triple concept album about a terrorist sleeper cell. The first issue into this trilogy was an entirely acoustic solo album of Dominici singing, playing acoustic guitar and harmonica. The music is pleasant and melodic, but lacks anything else. The concept is clear and creative, at some times haunting, which is, for the most part, the only good part of the album.

Introduction is a nice, well, introduction to the concept of the trilogy. A sleeper cell has been placed a shoe repairmen until his terrorist group contacts him to activate. The music is repetitive but pleasant; it's relaxing and soothing to listen to, but lacks any prog element, or any rock element for that matter.

Unwilling Visitor is almost identical to the last track, with soft pleasant acoustic guitar, lacking any rock or very much prog. The lyrics tell the main character's background, saying that he was abducted when he was only 10 and trained as a terrorist to attack the "first world," probably America. Again, the country acoustic music really makes this song pretty boring. The lyrics are haunting, however, and show the cruelty of many of the terrorist groups today.

My New Land is yet another soft pleasant acoustic song (for future reference, every song on the album is soft pleasant acoustic, so I'll stop saying that). In this song, we learn that the main character has discovered the opportunity of the first world. He starts questioning his sleeper training and wants to stay in the country and find a wife and start a family.

I Found Love is the same musically. In this song, the main character has found someone he loves (what a surprise). He obsesses over her and can't stop thinking of her. He muses about all the thinking he does about her throughout the day. The song is a traditional love song, aka a boring pop song.

The Dream is a little more interesting. Clocking in at nearly 7 minutes, it is the longest so far, and we hear harmonica for the first time (which really only furthers the country sound of the album). The main character has a dream about the elders of his terrorist groups. He dreams he is flying, showing that he feels free in the new country and does not want to conform to the elders. When he begins to fall to the ground, he lands back in the camp, where the elders confront him again and tell him he is the chosen one for this task. He then escaped the camp and goes back home through a great terrain. He sees Moses and Picasso in a boat in the ocean that he walks across, who reject his conversation. When he gets back home and tried to tell the authorities about his plan, his teeth fell out of his mouth, showing he is doing something he should not be. He then sees various other things, such as Normandy, Hitler having tea with Queen Mary, and other things, symbolizing many things, most of them bad.

A Day of Conflict is (as always) the same musically. This song details the main character's day after his prophetic dream. He feels something is coming, but he isn't sure what. His doubts about his supposed orders are churning.

The climax of this installation is The Order Comes. In this song, his order to activate was brought to the main character by a mysterious figure. He has a life-changing decision. Follow his orders and carry out his task and risk capture by the government, or try to escape his terrorist cell and risk their assassins. He only wishes his god would kill him to ease the decision.

The Plan, in my opinion, is the best song on the album. Musically the song is actually pretty interesting, and lyrically the song is perfectly horrifying (in a good way!). In this song, the main character meets with a man who tells him the plan on what he would do. He learns that his assignment was to set off a chain reaction that would convert all O2, oxygen gas, into O3, ozone, which is poisonous to breathe. It would also convert water into trioxidane, a poisonous liquid, thereby crippling the entire world. Before he can even accept the task, the FBI captures him and arrests him, abandoning his family and shop.

I Will Return is just another country song. The main character muses about what he will do while in prison, and what he will do after he returns to life. He observes the world he lives in and all the injustices that the terrorist attack would "solve." He starts to have second thoughts on his loyalty to the first world, now made clear that it is America.

The Hand of God is the last track, where the main character muses over the power he has over humanity with the knowledge of the reaction; he has the power to save or kill all life, or the "hand of god." He now is for the most part accepting of the fact that he needs to carry out his orders.

ALBUM OVERALL: Musically, this album is extremely boring. The acoustic work is extremely nice to listen to, but it gets very repetitive after a while and the songs blur into each other. The melodies and lyrics, however, are fantastic. The vocals are easy to hear and the concept is easy to follow. However, the country western influence that is so obvious really outweighs most of the up points to this album. It would be a great acoustic country album, but as a prog rock album, never mind a prog metal album, it fails. 2- stars.

(4/10)

"O3 A Trilogy Part 1" is very much the odd one out of the trilogy of albums put together by ex-Dream Theater singer Charlie Dominici. Whereas for the next two instalments he assembled a virtuoso team of Prog-Metal musicians, for this one it's just Charlie. He plays acoustic guitar, some harmonica, and sings, and not much else.

The story of the trilogy follows the plight of a terrorist and a policeman trying to stop him, leading up to the revelation of an apocalyptic weapon and the unleashing of Armageddon. The story aspect is done really well throughout the trilogy, offering us thoughtful portrayals of the characters on both sides, and the struggles they must go through, all set to an exciting and grand concept.

Maybe its the interesting lyrics that mean that despite the minimal instrumentation of "O3 A Trilogy Part 1", the album easily holds your attention for its duration. There are quite a few memorable songs, and my favourite is the surreal "The Dream", following the half symbolic, half nonsensical dreams of the terrorist protagonist.

Charlie Dominici's voice is very different to his time in Dream Theater, it's toned down and fuller to better gel with the instrumentation. You wont hear any of the high notes from "When Dream And Day Unite", and in fact I doubt he could hit them any more. His voice is confident and assured though, enough so to primarily drive the songs in the singer/songwriter manner he has chosen.

Prog Metal fans be warned - this is not the album you are looking for! Whilst I do enjoy this album a lot, there is not a single progressive or metal part to it. If you are planning to listen to the other two albums in the trilogy though, it would be a good choice not to miss out on "O3 A Trilogy Part 1", as it is a perfectly enjoyable acoustic (non-prog) album, and without it the trilogy will feel incomplete.