DGM: Endless (MELODIC METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

With “Endless”, Marco Basile, Simone Mularoni and their DGM brothers-in-arms offer an album that stirs from within and makes you think. You don't need to listen to the whole album to feel its force: three tracks are enough to understand what they have to say, and it will leave its mark...

The album opens with 'Promises', an introduction that immediately sets the tone for DGM's introspective journey. From the very first notes, delicate acoustic guitar and flute accents create a soothing yet intriguing atmosphere, evoking the roots of 1970s progressive rock. This ambience, reminiscent of the influences of bands like Kansas and Jethro Tull, is quickly enriched by the gradual entry of other instruments. Simone Mularoni's guitar becomes more present, while Fabio Costantino's drums set the pace. Marco Basile's powerful, expressive voice guides the listener through the protagonist's questioning, illustrating the beginning of a personal quest into life choices and paths not taken. This opening track - with its varied textures and fluid transitions - effectively establishes the album's narrative and musical framework.

Following this, 'The Great Unknown' sees DGM return to their metal roots while exploring new textures. Right from the introduction, a synthesizer-emulated violin solo captures attention, adding an orchestral touch that enriches the band's sonic palette. As the guitars rocket, the drums cavort and Basile sings with a raw urgency that grips the gut, the backing vocals sound like voices in your head, the kind that make you doubt and hesitate. Casali's keyboards - with a few almost fairy-tale touches of flute - bring a fragile light to all this turmoil, while Andrea Arcangeli, on bass, keeps us firmly grounded. The chorus explodes like a cry that's been stuck for too long: the moment when you come face to face with yourself, with all the paths you didn't take, and wonder what it would have been like if you'd done it differently...

But the centerpiece of the album is, unsurprisingly, the fourteen-minute finale '...Of Endless Echoes'. This monument is the reflection of an entire life told in music. The track starts out heavy and ponderous, like footsteps echoing in a deserted hallway. Then it calms down with delicate piano and Basile's voice, which becomes almost an intimate whisper, as if he were leafing through an old memory book. The guitars gradually build up, full of raw emotion, until the final solo that leaves us speechless, as if our entire past had been thrown in our faces in an instant. The bass and drums weave a bittersweet fabric until the final soothing moment, when everything slows down, when all that's left are the questions. This track is about acceptance, the acceptance that comes with scars and regrets, but also with a certain peace.

With “Endless”, DGM strikes hard! With this first true concept album, the story of a man faced with his choices, his “what if”, his abandoned dreams. They mix their usual power with softer, more vulnerable moments, and each protagonist plays as one, with rare precision and sincerity. Of course, it's not all perfect: at times, a few long stretches slow down the momentum, like thoughts that go round in circles. But frankly, when an album speaks from the heart like this, you can't help but forgive it. - Official website

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MELODIC METAL