For roughly 30 years, DGM have been dominating the Italian progressive metal scene, and with nearly a dozen albums produced since their 1997 debut LP (Change Direction), they've certainly explored the subgenre in a lot of depth. With 2024's Endless – which follows 2023's Life – the quintet decided to change direction in a different way by leaning into classic (1970s) progressive rock templates and storytelling. Despite being undeniably derivative and repetitious overall, the record a highly commendable and entertaining reinvigoration that should please both established fans and anyone who felt that DGM's prior work was a bit too aggressive.
As guitarist/keyboardist Simone Mularoni notes, Endless is the group's "first real concept album" and "the first DGM album that includes many more dynamic, [reflective], and acoustic moments than in the past." (Specifically, it draws inspiration from artists such as Yes, Jethro Tull, PFM,and Kansas.) Plus, it evokes Robert Frost's famous poem "The Road Not Taken" in that it "chronicles one man's imaginative journey to understand the choices that shaped his life," ultimately asking: "How might life be different if I had taken another path?"
Clearly, DGM have the musical and narrative ambitions to make Endless a fascinating journey, and if you can look past how familiar it all seems, you'll no doubt find that it mostly lives up to its potential.
The album's traditional progressive/symphonic rock emphases are apparent from the jump, with opener "Promises" beginning as an acoustic prelude before evolving into a full-on prog rock instrumental tour-de-force. In a way, it sounds like what would happen if Randy McStine (McStine & Minnemann, Porcupine Tree) sang – and then played on – the opening piece from Spock's Beard's Snow ("Made Alive/Overture"). Even so, it's a very impressive and enjoyable introduction whose fluidity, melodies, playing, and diverse textures (namely, woodwinds) immediately demonstrate how comfortable the band is in their new terrain.
Subsequent pieces "The Great Unknown," "Blank Pages," and 14-minute epic closer "…Of Endless Echoes" are similarly imitative yet still quite striking. With their anthemic choruses, heartfelt hooks, and resourceful timbres (such as affective pianowork, acoustic guitar strums, and warm horns), it's hard not to get invested in them.
That said, the middle portion of the LP finds the group more overtly embracing their heavier (progressive metal) DNA. For instance, "Final Call" and "Solitude" recall the rustic introspections and/or complexly hectic guitar, percussion, and keyboard theatrics of Echolyn, Shadow Gallery, and Dream Theater. "From Ashes" even harkens back to DGM's power metal origins with its in-your-face hostility and operatic singing (courtesy, of course, of vocal powerhouse Marco Basile).
If it weren't obvious enough already, Endless deserves praise for its intentions and execution, but it can't help but feel like a pastiche of various legendary progressive rock artists, too. In fact, it sometimes resembles specific passages from others' works. (Not to keep bringing them up, but "The Great Unknown" has a lot in common with Spock's Beard's "At the End of the Day," which – coincidentally or not – comes from an album that ends with a piece called "The Great Nothing").
Whether intentional or not, those parallels can't be ignored, but they also don't mean that Endless is completely unoriginal or unenjoyable. Consequently, it's still a worthwhile effort as long as you know what to expect.
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