Adagio - Dominate (2006)Locomotive Records

When I learned about a substitution of Gustavo Monsanto for an English singer - David Readman, I made myself aware that he had to rise to the occasion not to disappoint the faithful fans. I feared of him a little bit, since he came from a less known Brazilian band called Overdose. On the other hand, I started to ask myself whether Stephan Forte (guitars) could invite a mediocre singer to his band? A rationalism suggested me it woudln't be possible. Besides, here are other respected instrumentalists known from the previos Adagio's albums: Franck Hermanny (bass guitar), Eric Lebailly (drums) and Kevin Codfert (keys).

My uncertainty regarding a new vocalist was unnecessary, and luckily his manner is very similar to David Readman's way of singing. An additional variety of Adagio's music are the vocal parts mainly filled with a clean voice, however alternated by screams enough often. His growling brings a supplementary aggression to the tunes. Using of such parts in right quantity and at adequate moments are justified, but two screams by Hreidmarr on "Underworld" CD are a kind of misunderstanding for me. All guitar parts are much more varied, so I think Stephan will be forced to recruit another guitarist to help him play live. An advantage of the album is also a greater amount of movie accents and references to piano music. Adagio's music dynamism, brilliant accelerations and ingeniously alternated guitar-keyboard solos make "Dominate" the brightest crystal in their discography!

I have no doubt that "Dominate" is Adagio's heaviest album with a distinct death metal influences. It can be considered an attempt of appealing to a wider group of hearers, however no serious fan will regard it as a blot on Adagio's reputation. "Dominate" is not only a living example of genre-pervading (genre syncretism), but also a proof that many progressive bands have their roots in death metal and other more extreme music styles. Yes, I am of the opinion that Adagio should be considered a classic illustration of musical syncretism. However, one thing can be irritating for the fans. Not only "Dominate" was launched in Japan in the year 2005, but also it was additionally "equipped" by a bonus track called "Undying". I suppose this one is as delicious morsel as the whole rest from the European edition, and we do know that nobody likes losing a real delicacies, the more so because "Dominate" is the best release in Adagio's virtuosic discography to date. I have read that Stephan is going to record his first full-length solo album and there is also a working title for the next Adagio's album - "Archangels In Black", but all that's left for us to do is a patient waiting.