I look at Charlie Dominici as being the once lead singer of Dream Theater a good thing. Now I am not at all saying that he was a bad singer for Dream Theater, or that he doesn’t belong. What I am saying is that his band Dominici delivers on all accounts and perhaps if he was still with Dream Theater we wouldn’t have the pleasure of listening to this other great progressive metal band. I am a big Dream Theater fan but at times can be very bored with certain things that they do with their arrangements.

Dominici, on the other hand does progressive metal the way that I perfectly envision it, injecting exciting super heavy parts combined with sections of slower moments, always keeping me interested and wondering what is next to come throughout the progression of each song. There are two songs on this album that clock in at over ten minutes, “The Enemies of God” and “Genesis”. The rest are standard between four plus minutes to seven plus minutes. The ones that are longer fit in with the album and serve their purpose rather than being long for the sake of being long.

“A Trilogy – Part 3” is a concept dealing with nuclear war breaking out and the start of World War 4. I do not want to spoil the story but it is very interesting and extremely creative. In the CD booklet you can follow the story as it is printed in italics prior to the start of the lyrics being printed for each song.

The album opener “King of Terror” starts off like any great epic with a build up leading you into some ultra heaviness setting the tone for the rest of the album. The high energy kick continues onto the second track “March Into Hell” as if the band had just downed a couple of Red Bull’s. The pace slows for “So Help Me God” which is just an all around great song and the only of its kind on the album. As I listened on towards the middle of the album I cannot help but think that Charlie at certain times has a Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray) thing going on with his voice. On the heavier tracks I can almost imagine what Gamma Ray would sound like if they played more on the progressive side of the field rather than the power. “The Enemies of God” is just progressive metal brilliance and easily my favorite track on the album. It features the perfect balance of heaviness throughout with softer moments fitting in nicely only to come back and kick you in the face again.

Note to all up and coming progressive metal bands… listen to this track, get inspired, and then create your own original work and see where it takes you. I can’t tell you how many prog bands today put me to sleep with the exception of Pagan’s Mind, Circus Maximus, and Pathosray to name a few. “Revelation” and “Hell On Earth” are very guitar driven and will easily cause you to nod along. “Genesis” is a killer ten plus minute song that just ends the album on such a high note that you do not want it to end and are begging the speakers for more. Sadly we will have to wait until the next go around but in the meantime this will do.

Overall I was beyond impressed with Dominici and feel that this band is going to take progressive metal to new heights. Bands like Dominici are hard to come by. This is without a doubt a keeper. I cannot wait to back track and get the rest of what I have been missing out on.