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Having existed for seven years already, 2006 was the year of breakthrough for the Italian metal band The Dogma as they released their debut album "Black Roses" and supported Finnish heavy metal monsters Lordi on tour. Now the time has come for the sophomore effort "A good Day To Die" which lyrically is just as bleak and moody as the title implies. Musically however it is richer in textures than you might imagine. The Dogma have found their own personality by mixing traditional heavy / power metal riffs with tasteful orchestration and spiced it up by adding a gothic atmosphere as well as a touch of semi-bombastic hard rock á la Savatage. At their best, the title track being a good example of that, it works to 90% at least but when the rock star attitude of the incredibly silly "In The Name Of Rock" and "Bitches Street" shines through it falls apart. Frontman Daniele Santori will probably be loved or hated. He is a very charismatic, intense and energetic singer but the clear Italian accent will put some people off right away I'm afraid.
The title track and "Angel In Cage" are guested by Xandria frontwoman Lisa Middelhauve who adds a nice touch to those songs. The story behind the final track, "Christine Closed Her Eyes" deserves to be mentioned. It was written in memory of a fan who send them a poem by e-mail every day but one day the daily routine suddenly seized. Guitarist and main songwriter Cosimo Binetti became worried and contacted her family who told him that she had suffered from depression and finally found suicide to be the only solution. Some ignorant people are quick to condemn and judge a person like that but any sane person finds it a tragedy when a life ends for no reason.
"A Good Day To Die" has a few ups and downs but overall it's a good album that the gothic rock community should appreciate as the Dogma have developed an interesting musical concept. Maybe the dwelling in misery seems a bit too much at times but.
| Tracklist |
| 1. The Beginning Of The End |
| 2. A Good Day To Die |
| 3. In The Name Of Rock |
| 4. Bitches Street |
| 5. She Falls On The Grave |
| 6. I Hate Your Love |
| 7. Autumn Tears |
| 8. Ridin' The Dark |
| 9. Angel In Cage |
| 10. Back From Hell |
| 11. Feel My Pain |
| 12. Bullet In My Soul |
| 13. Christine Closed Her Eyes |
: 54.10
| Buy other Dogma, the albums |
