The Dogma - Biography
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2002-
Biography
Sometimes real life seems more fantastic than a movie script: guitarist Cosimo Binetti and vocalist Daniele Santori - The Dogma's protagonists - met for the first time in a chapel at a cemetery in Ancona, Italy... They soon discovered that they were on the same wavelength in most respects - especially in terms of their musical tastes. It didn't take the duo long to find kindred spirits in bassist Steve Vawamas, keyboardist Stefano Smeriglio and drummer Giuseppe Chirico to complete the original Dogma line-up.
Thanks to its successful mélange of traditional melodic metal with gothic elements and sinister Swedish metal, their first demo, out in early 2002, met with great enthusiasm, particularly in Germany. Their official 2006 debut, Black Roses, recorded at the Woodhouse Studios under the direction of Siggi Bemm (Tiamat, Samael, The Gathering), optimised this unique mix - a joint tour with their label mates, Lordi, earning the group from Italy even more popularity.
Their second album - released in April 2007 and entitled A Good Day To Die - was also recorded under the auspices of Siggi Bemm at the Woodhouse Studios and impressed with The Dogma's capacity for innovation. Especially the contrast between Santori's powerful vocals and Xandria frontlady Lisa Middelhauve's enchanting voice impressed in haunting duets and had the band's audience prick up their ears. In addition, the release established The Dogma as serious competition for acts such as Edguy, Masterplan and HammerFall - the top dogs in the melodic power metal sector.
Now Black Widow is the Dogma's third album release which even excels its two predecessors: melodic anthems such as the opener 'Dirty Dark Diane', 'Lost Forevermore' with its Billy Idol/'Rebel Yell'-like vibes, the flowing, catchy 'Gore Gore Girls' and the slightly elegiac title track have the hearts of melodic rock fans beat faster - while 'The Bride Is Back' (an homage to the band's tenth anniversary) and 'Faith Of The Leaders' should go down extremely well with fans of classic 1980s heavy rock.
Naturally, there are those tried-and-tested gothic rock references again - specifically on the dark 'Eternal Embrace' with its keyboard arrangements which bring to mind Depeche Mode and 'The Nature And The Icelander', which lives off its deep vocals, as well as the impressive gothic duets on the afore-mentioned 'Eternal Embrace' and the title track (this time performed by Enrichetta Coli). The Dogma's musical range has generally become much more colourful than it used to be: while the shouts on 'Mindfreak', which are occasionally reminiscent of death metal growls and come close to the likes of In Flames, Dark Tranquillity & Co. in terms of their toughness, the beautiful power ballad, 'All Alone', introduced by exquisite piano sequences, brings back memories of Queen.
One reason for this unexpected diversity in their songwriting is probably the fact that Binetti co-composed three songs with Lordi keyboardist Leena "Awa" Peisa - numbers which originally weren't even intended for Black Widow: 'Dirty Dark Diana', 'The Faith Of The Leaders' and 'All Alone'. "But the other guys insisted that they were included on the album," says the head guitarist, shrugging his shoulders apologetically. And he expresses pride in his group's latest release, which was produced by the musicians themselves this time, and mixed and mastered by Siggi Bemm again: "I feel that we've recorded a pretty extravagant album which reflects all our influences: from classic melodic metal representatives to legends such as Queen and Depeche Mode, from King Diamond to In Flames and Carcass".
There can be no doubt: with an album such as Black Widow up their sleeve, Binetti and his band - recently reinforced by bassist Giacomo Astorri (Haggard) - are perfectly equipped to hold their own in the second decade of the new century and keep up with established luminaries of the genre. What was that music industry rule for that infamous third album again? "The third is gonna make it or break it!" It's obvious that there's definitely a storm brewing for these Italians, thanks to their latest strong, multi-faceted melodic power metal release!
(Source: Official Band's Website)
Thanks to its successful mélange of traditional melodic metal with gothic elements and sinister Swedish metal, their first demo, out in early 2002, met with great enthusiasm, particularly in Germany. Their official 2006 debut, Black Roses, recorded at the Woodhouse Studios under the direction of Siggi Bemm (Tiamat, Samael, The Gathering), optimised this unique mix - a joint tour with their label mates, Lordi, earning the group from Italy even more popularity.
Their second album - released in April 2007 and entitled A Good Day To Die - was also recorded under the auspices of Siggi Bemm at the Woodhouse Studios and impressed with The Dogma's capacity for innovation. Especially the contrast between Santori's powerful vocals and Xandria frontlady Lisa Middelhauve's enchanting voice impressed in haunting duets and had the band's audience prick up their ears. In addition, the release established The Dogma as serious competition for acts such as Edguy, Masterplan and HammerFall - the top dogs in the melodic power metal sector.
Now Black Widow is the Dogma's third album release which even excels its two predecessors: melodic anthems such as the opener 'Dirty Dark Diane', 'Lost Forevermore' with its Billy Idol/'Rebel Yell'-like vibes, the flowing, catchy 'Gore Gore Girls' and the slightly elegiac title track have the hearts of melodic rock fans beat faster - while 'The Bride Is Back' (an homage to the band's tenth anniversary) and 'Faith Of The Leaders' should go down extremely well with fans of classic 1980s heavy rock.
Naturally, there are those tried-and-tested gothic rock references again - specifically on the dark 'Eternal Embrace' with its keyboard arrangements which bring to mind Depeche Mode and 'The Nature And The Icelander', which lives off its deep vocals, as well as the impressive gothic duets on the afore-mentioned 'Eternal Embrace' and the title track (this time performed by Enrichetta Coli). The Dogma's musical range has generally become much more colourful than it used to be: while the shouts on 'Mindfreak', which are occasionally reminiscent of death metal growls and come close to the likes of In Flames, Dark Tranquillity & Co. in terms of their toughness, the beautiful power ballad, 'All Alone', introduced by exquisite piano sequences, brings back memories of Queen.
One reason for this unexpected diversity in their songwriting is probably the fact that Binetti co-composed three songs with Lordi keyboardist Leena "Awa" Peisa - numbers which originally weren't even intended for Black Widow: 'Dirty Dark Diana', 'The Faith Of The Leaders' and 'All Alone'. "But the other guys insisted that they were included on the album," says the head guitarist, shrugging his shoulders apologetically. And he expresses pride in his group's latest release, which was produced by the musicians themselves this time, and mixed and mastered by Siggi Bemm again: "I feel that we've recorded a pretty extravagant album which reflects all our influences: from classic melodic metal representatives to legends such as Queen and Depeche Mode, from King Diamond to In Flames and Carcass".
There can be no doubt: with an album such as Black Widow up their sleeve, Binetti and his band - recently reinforced by bassist Giacomo Astorri (Haggard) - are perfectly equipped to hold their own in the second decade of the new century and keep up with established luminaries of the genre. What was that music industry rule for that infamous third album again? "The third is gonna make it or break it!" It's obvious that there's definitely a storm brewing for these Italians, thanks to their latest strong, multi-faceted melodic power metal release!
(Source: Official Band's Website)