Dominum – Hey Living People (2023)

Time to talk about the debut album of this newly formed band (2022), which was released on a little unconventional period (29 December) where everyone was busy talking about their favorite albums of the year or being intoxicated by the Christmass spirit. Due to this, it passed under my radar at first but fortunately I decided to give it the attention it deserves a little later. So, who are Dominum and most importantly, are they worth our attention? 

Starting with their music which falls into the Power Metal category, but does not have the typical sound of the genre. In fact the first impression Dominum give is that they play more Hard Rock than Metal but this is not the case. Across various listening sessions, I was reminded of Helloween (Deris era), Sabaton, Powerwolf, Hammerfall, Lordi and Feuerschwanz, so you get the idea. Now for the band we have the mastermind Felix Heldt on vocals (credits in Production/songwriting for Visions of Atlantis, Feuerschwanz, Freedom Call), Jochen Windisch (Winterstorm) on guitars,  Korbi Benedict (Ad Infinitum) on Bass and Marc Feminella (Stormental) in Drums. Thematically, they talk about zombies and horror in general if it wasn’t obvious from the cover, while their first album consists of 10 original songs and 3 covers from pop/rock genres. 

On the songs now, most of them clock between three and four minutes with very few exceptions which means that they do not have complex structures but are very straightforward with heavy emphasis on melodies and catchy choruses. Each track is worked to its last detail and the final results are songs that you will want to play on repeat, while they will surely make wonders during live performances. Some highlights are the Helloween-meets-Sabaton Danger Danger, Patient Zero with its annoyingly good chorus and the atmospheric Cannibal Corpses with its masterful vocal lines. The three covers (You spin me round, Bad Guy, Beds are Burning) have been contaminated and transformed to match the band’s style so well that they feel a natural part of the album. Finally, Dominum may write about horror and zombies, but their music is on the contrary very upbeat, will put a smile on your face and will definitely keep the metal parties running. 

Another topic that usually arises is when a band cosplays and whether they have it as a selling point at the expense of music quality. I can gladly dissolve any clouds before they appear, because I hadn’t happened to come across any of the band’s video clips or live appearances and my initial experience was purely by listening to their creations. Music alone is what sold me Dominum who passed their first test with the highest of marks. It is very early to say how big their name will become, but it wouldn’t surprise if some years from now we see them rising higher and higher on the billings. Personally I have been infected with Hey Living People and cannot wait for the zombies’ next strike with the hope that it will have at least the same quality as the debut.  

85/100

Pavlos Pavlakis

On behalf of Metal Domain