Hump Day Hot Ticket: The Silent Wedding “A Dream of Choices”

Band photo

In my weekly quest for music from across the globe, it seems that certain regions have been producing talent in a given genre at quite the impressive rate. Last year, I discovered many bands from Italy in the melodic metal style; but not too far behind them was Greece, who was also churning out their fair share of top-notch music. From symphonic/gothic metal such as Fallen Arise, power metal such as Wardrum, or progressive metal such as Black Fate; just to name a few—Greece has made their presence known on the world map of metal.

Over the last decade, one of the many talented bands hailing from Greece is progressive metal band The Silent Wedding. Working behind the scenes with some of the same people as Kamelot, Opeth, and Rhapsody of Fire—among the most respected names in their genre—this quintet has gotten off to a good start and now, with their second album, promises better things to come.

For the album's first single, the band joins forces with another highly-respected name on the scene, and someone I have mentioned here before—Evergrey's Tom Englund, who generously shares his voice with anyone who asks. And why not? Tom is an amazing vocalist and anything he adds his voice to is just going to sound that much better.

The song, “A Dream of Choices”, starts off with slow, melancholic pianos that builds to an atmospheric burst of symphonic-influenced gothic melodies. The video itself is a lyric video with images of dark clouds, withered trees, and black birds flying across the screen as the words scroll past. The vocal interplay between Marios Karanastasis (the band's singer) and Tom Englund is quite complementary to each other: Marios' impassioned, pleading vocals in contrast to Tom's husky, tortured voice further emphasizes the emotional content of the lyrics.

For more information on The Silent Wedding, or to purchase a copy of their latest album, Enigma Eternal, visit the band's official website.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: DGM “Ghost of Insanity”

DGM band photo

If you have been following this blog regularly, then you have probably noticed that Italy has appeared on my radar quite a bit as of late; so it should come as no surprise to you that this week I am showcasing yet another Italian band. However, it isn't because I have some sort of fascination with Italy or a bias towards Italian bands—but if I think music is good, I am going to share it, regardless of where it originates. This week I'm going to talk about a power/prog-metal outfit from Italy called DGM, who have been around in various incarnations since the mid-1990s.

Now, even though I write a lot about music both here and in other places, it stands to reason that you aren't going to hear everything that's out there; not even the more popular bands in your preferred genre. When you listen to as much music as I do, and are constantly being sent material from bands all over the world, it becomes very easy to overlook a lot of what else is happening on the scene. One band that I regretfully admit I have been “late to the party” about is Evergrey, a well-respected band on the scene. I had heard bits and pieces of a song or two over the years, but never enough to determine whether it was anything I might be interested in. Then a few weeks ago I heard a song on one of my favorite internet radio stations and decided it was about time I get acquainted with this band.

So, you are probably asking, what does this have to do with DGM? Well, beside the fact that both are bands I am just getting familiar with, they have both collaborated together on this video I am about to share with you. Evergrey's vocalist, Tom Englund, has provided guest vocals on the track “Ghost of Insanity”, which will be on the upcoming DGM album, The Passage.

Since this is a “lyric video” (for all you older folks unfamiliar with this term, it is basically a music video where instead of seeing a band performance or a story, you read the song lyrics as they appear on the screen; sometimes with cool graphics or imagery), there is not much to see by way of the actual video. But the music does the talking loud and clear—the voices of Tom Englund and DGM vocalist Mark Basile complement each other wonderfully. Both have strong voices, but neither overpowers the other, and they each blend into their parts so seamlessly that either could take on the other's vocal role and nothing would be lost in the transition. Musically, it's both heavy and melodic, without too much overblown pomp and circumstance that both prog and power metal can be guilty of at times.

DGM's album The Passage is available on August 26th via Frontiers Records. For more information about DGM, visit their official website.

Special thanks to Jon Freeman at Frontiers.