Dante: When We Were Beautiful

Although When We Were Beautiful is the fourth album from German prog metal outfit Dante, it is my first encounter with the band. Unfortunately for followers of this act, founder member Markus Berger passed away mere days before album number three, November Red, saw the light of day. Meaning WWWB is the first under the configuration of Alexander Göhs (vocals), Markus Maichel (keyboards), Christian Eichlinger (drums) and Julian Kellner (drums). Harking back to the early days of Dream Theater as a starting point, Dante then, over the seven tracks presented, build their own take on the prog metal genre. One of the main ways in which they achieve that is through clever vocal arrangements, much of Göhs singing presented as many intricate layers and also via an oft used call and response set-up. Musically things are pretty varied, Hammond used to beef up the mid-paced but ever varying "Let Me Down", while "Sad Today" gets its message across by being a heartfelt lament. The closing "Finally", however, reveals a liking for Gilmour era Pink Floyd, both the soaring guitar solo and the sawing riff that buzzes away underneath reminding of "On The Turning Away". Here long instrumental sections are the order of the day, proving this act can weave their spell whether building huge layers of vocals or ignoring them completely.

"Until The Last Light Breaks In" on the other hand brings a mid-period Queensryche feel to the party, Göhs utilising his deep resonant tones to invade the mind, while Kellner scyths through the classy keys of Maichal with his incisive lead work. The lyrics can, quite understandably, be pretty dark in places and yet with a musical backdrop that runs the gamut from full on aggressive assault, to captivatingly beautiful asides, the tone of the album is confident and assured. No more so than with "Ambitious", which while possibly the most straight ahead slice of prog metal in sight, certainly allows all four musicians the space to stretch out.

When We Were Beautiful may well have been my first encounter with Dante, but it won't be my last. This being an album being one where some standard touching points are attacked in a slightly fresh way and with no little enthusiasm. Something which allows Dante to have instant appeal and impressive staying power.

Track Listing
1. Rearrangement Of The Gods
2. Ambitious
3. Beautiful Again
4. Until The Last Light Breaks In
5. Let Me Down
6. Sad Today
7. Finally

Added: June 11th 2016
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Dante online
Hits: 1547
Language: english

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