Domine (Italy) - Domine (Demo Tape, 1986)

It's an exciting time in the history of power metal - we've made it to 1986, and today I'll be reviewing Domine's 1986 self-titled demo tape, the first power metal release to come from Italy!

First things first, let's check out the cover:

Awesome, awesome, awesome!!! I love the black and white design, and though it might have been that way due to color printing being more expensive, it looks great on this tape. I don't have much background info on this band, but from what I know, "domine" is a Latin word meaning "lord" or "master", and the band formed in 1983 in the town Piombino, in the city of Livorno. This would have given them three years to prepare the material for this first demo, and I can tell a lot of work went into it because this band is TIGHT!

The first song, the epically titled "Lords of War", gets right into the action with some powerful guitar chords from Enrico Paoli and Agostino Carpo, which is perfectly accompanied by great crash cymbal work from drummer Carlo Funaioli. Stefano Mazzella's vocals start right away, and he has a powerful, attention-grabbing voice. He does a great metal falsetto when he sings "To the sky!" This brings us to an exciting tempo and dynamic change where it's just the guitars bringing out a brilliant speedy riff. Mazzella cues the band to rejoin with a commanding "COME ON!" and the drums go into full kickass mode. I'm not able to make out the bass drums due to the lo-fi sound (I'd love to see this tape reissued and remastered if possible - hearing these songs with studio album quality production would be epic! Domine went on to make some more great demo tapes plus five studio albums and they're still active today, so I'm sure there'd be at least a niche interest in a CD compilation with remastered versions of their demos. It would be a great addition to any power metal collection!)

Luckily, I can clearly hear what Funaioli's hands are doing, and what he's playing is speed metal badassery on the hi-hat which lasts through the whole song! We get a moment to appreciate the thunderous verse riff combined with the ferocious drums before Mazzella comes in with the vocals. The chorus keeps the infectious energy, and once we go through two more verse-chorus cycles, we get a lengthy, blistering guitar solo filled with both speedy shredding and fantastic melodies! There's a nice moment where we briefly get to hear Riccardo Paoli's bass shine as the guitars let out a sustained chord, and then quickly jump back into the killer riffage with an awesome slide. 

From here on out, there's some excellent variety, with the song going back and forth between letting you appreciate the killer riffs without shredding, and coming in and kicking ass with face-melting soloing brilliance! There's a great outro where the guitar notes and cymbal crashes are perfectly in sync, and then we get to briefly hear some killer drum work from Funaioli - there's a brief pause and then BOOM! Crash and guitar together again - it's an effective ending!

The second song is "Let the Lightning Strike" (if it results in music like this, you bet your ass I'll let it strike!) This track starts with just the guitars, playing a cool rhythm with a swinging Maideny feel (it's started again!) Soon, we get to hear some cool count-in work on the hi-hat before the beat comes in, also on the hi-hat. There's a beautiful guitar harmony part here, and a fantastic drum break that leads us into the first verse, which keeps the feel from the intro going. 

Near the end of the chorus, Mazzella reaches for some high notes, which are followed by a cool tom fill that leads us into the second verse-chorus cycle. After the second chorus, we hear a nice, high delivery of "To the sky!" (this is like the Domine equivalent of DragonForce's "So far away!") This neatly segues into the solo section, which features some nifty guitar work matched with some awesome crashes. We get some variety from the drums as the beat comes back and switches to the ride while the guitars solo away in grand style!

In the middle of the solo, there's a really cool break featuring some thunderous marching snare and crash work that syncs with the guitar - it's a great part to air drum to! A cool fill on the toms brings us back into the solo, which soon ends, and we're taken to the third verse - chorus cycle as the beat returns to the hi-hat. After this, we get an epic tempo change which is announced by a wonderful tom fill. The drums go back to the ride, and the guitars in this section, as well as the beat, remind me of "Blood of My Enemies" by the incomparable Manowar! Soon, a slow, melodic solo comes in, which gets really awesome and shreddy near the end. A great drum fill played over some cool guitar work slows down the tempo, and ends the song with a bang.

"King of All the Kings" starts with a sustained power chord which leads us back into more killer speed metal! The riffs are incredible, and the drumming's in that classic double time speed metal mode, played on the hi-hat. After a longer sustained power chord, a grandiose drum fill brings us into the first verse, which has some fantastic vocals that go well with the riffage. There's a part I love where the drums go into some awesome fills while Mazzella sings "I am the king, king, king!" with the crash emphasizing each "king". It's so catchy, and a great show of drumming skills too. There's a variation of this part that comes in later but the line's changed to "fight, fight, fight, to the right to be king!" How epic! When that part comes back, the line changes again to "fight, fight, fight, to be king!" It's cool to hear how these subtle variations on the words and vocal melody add variety to the song.

After "Fight, fight, fight, to be king", there's a spectacular instrumental break filled with loads of spectacular riffs. A loud snare hit brings us into a tempo change, which turns the song mid-paced and gives us a galloping riff similar to you know who! The galloping stops after a bit and another dazzling riff comes in, with some snare and cymbal work that perfectly emphasizes its rhythm. Then, the galloping comes back in again as we go into another verse, which features more of that great snare and cymbal work I was talking about. It's awesome how the last two parts we heard are mixed and matched to create something new, and the vocals here are superb, especially at the end of the section where Mazzella gives us a nice, long note while the band dramatically stops playing. 

Soon, some sixteenth note speed metal guitar ends the brief silence, and the drums come back in soon after with a fast snare fill that brings us into the guitar solo. This is a tremendous solo filled with both formidable shredding and memorable melodies, and there's a great break in the middle that gives us a moment to pay attention to the wondrous riff playing beneath the soloing before it comes back in. At the end of the solo, we get some more time to listen to the song's tubular main riff before some tightly synchronized cymbal chokes and power chords followed by some nice crash sweeps bring us out.

The last song, "Eyes of Medusa", starts with a slow, epic riff that creates a great atmosphere. After hearing it for a bit, some strong crash cymbals come in, and eventually a nice fill that uses both the snare and toms brings us into a gentle beat played on the ride. Once we hear another massive crash cymbal, the band stops for a bit as we hear a kickass drum fill played over sustained power chords that announces a tempo change - now the song has a feel similar to "Victim of Fate" by Helloween, and a new riff comes in that's so catchy! After we get a moment to listen to it, the first verse comes in, which is followed by the chorus, where the drums switch to the ride. There's a great part in the middle where a killer new riff comes in and the beat stops for a bit to accent the riff with some killer crash work before the chorus continues. 

Then, a glass-shattering falsetto note - the highest I've heard from Mazzella so far, brings us into a killer guitar solo that screams Iron Maiden, and I love how it's arranged! We hear a great twin-guitar melody and then hear it again in a higher pitch, and it feels so triumphant when that happens! After that, we get another catchy melody, and we hear some great crashes that emphasize the chords playing underneath while keeping the beat fresh. A hi-hat count-in then brings us to a new section of the solo where the guitars go a bit wilder, but without going into all out shredding. A killer tom fill then brings us into another verse-chorus cycle, which Mazzella ends by screaming "Time to STOPPPPPPPPP!" in a fantastic, Paul Di'Anno-esque way. 

This brings us back into the awesome Maidenesque melody I mentioned earlier, which then goes off into some other kickass riffs, but occasionally returns to this section's main riff to add some structure to the soloing. Once we hear a kickass snare fill that's perfectly matched by the guitars, the drums switch back to the hi-hat and the soloing continues. We get another epic part with matching snare and guitars, followed by the band stopping so the guitar can play some tasty licks, and this goes on four times before the drum beat comes back and returns to the ride. The guitars start to play more notes, and get a bit shreddy in some parts while still retaining a superb sense of melody.

After this, we get the last verse-chorus cycle, and Mazzella delivers another brilliant high note before the song goes into another instrumental break featuring more killer variations on the Maideny riff I mentioned earlier, filled with some brilliant guitar harmonies! A pounding fill that goes around the drum kit brings us out of the song, which is capped with a power chord and crash combo that feels so satisfying.

Overall, this demo tape is a great start for Domine and the Italian power metal scene. I'm looking forward to reviewing the rest of this band's discography! Tomorrow, I'll be going back to the legendary Helloween, and reviewing their 1986 EP Judas!