DGM – Andrea Arcangeli
Milton: Andrea, I wanted to touch on a subject quickly. After about seven years, DGM’s vocalist Titta Tani decided to leave the band, and Mark Basile replaced him. My first question is simple: Why did Titta leave the band? I heard so many different stories…
Andrea: First of all, I need to say that it wasn’t Titta’s decision; it was decided by everyone altogether. Let’s think of DGM having two sides: Titta on one side, and me, Fabio and Simone on the other. You know, one of the dreams of every musician out there is to find the best, kind, and amicable people to play with. Unfortunately though, not all dreams come true, you know? I don’t want to say Titta is a bad person, but he has many different points of view compared to the other side (me and the other guys). This brought some problems during our seven years of friendship. There have been some situations and some things that we consider very important, and some of these things made us say “Okay, that’s it. We need to do something about it. We want things, he wants something else. You like to go one way, we like to go another.” We had to make a decision, which was to stop the collaboration, the friendship, everything.
Milton: I see. So there’s been no contact at all with him?
Andrea: No. We would have liked to end the whole thing in a nice, friendly way but it was not possible. We know about him and his work, but through other people. We are not friends anymore and we’re really upset about it because we always had a positive way to discuss problems within the band. Normal people usually talk about the problems. We don’t see a problem in doing that. But unfortunately it’s not possible. The only thing I can say is that it was the best thing DGM could have done because we found a real great family now with Emanuele and Mark. We are friends first, and then band members. That’s the most important thing.
Milton: That’s very nice that things worked out well. Titta is a great singer, there’s no doubt about that, but I think Mark fits DGM like a glove. Where did you guys find him?
Andrea: After we split with Titta, we started to do some auditions with many singers around the world. Mark was the best one with no doubts. We had more than 100 auditions to judge, and there was also a very good singer from America named Todd Howe. He was probably among the top, I had a few talks with him, really good guy. Mark was absolutely the best one though, he impressed us at first listen. He is from a couple of hours from Rome so him and another guy came in to do rehearsals with us. Mark won all of them, so to speak. (laughter)
Milton: What does Mark bring to DGM, aside from peace?
Andrea: (laughter) Sometimes people would compare Mark with Titta and say “Well Mark is great, but Titta has a more low-end voice.” That is true, but we can’t forget that Titta is 10 years older than Mark. That may be an explanation. Another thing that Mark brings to the band, is that he has full control of his voice. Every melody he thinks of, he can sing perfectly with no corrections in the intonation, the choice of notes. It’s like he was made to be a part of DGM. He’s also very young, he’s about 21 years old. He brings something fresh to DGM for sure.
Milton: DGM released Frame last year. It seems that you guys really stepped on the gas pedal with this record. I mean, it’s a fantastic album. The speed, the aggression, the hooks… really good stuff!
Andrea: Thank you very much, man!
Milton: The first single for the album was Hereafter. And if I may step out of the interviewer’s shoes, that song is simply amazing.
Andrea: (laughter) Thank you. That was first and foremost, everyone’s favorite song in the album. And for sure, we picked it because it was the most direct one. It was the song that we’d call the crowds to headbang and sing with us more than any other in the album. We knew that was the better choice for the single and for the video.
Milton: What was it like to write and record Frame now with Mark on board?
Andrea: It was great. I think I can tell you that everyone is fantastic at their instruments. We had been done with the recording sessions in about two weeks. We took four days for drums, one day for bass, two days for guitars, one day for keys and three days for voice. For me it was easier ‘cause I had less to do.
Milton: So you’re the fast one.
Andrea: (laughter) For me, I put the cable in the jack and I’m ready to go. (laughter) No effects, distortion, crazy solos or anything. But anyway, writing the album was also fantastic with Mark. Let’s say that most of the ideas came from Simone, he is a really great composer aside from a great guitar player and person. Then everyone put their influences inside the songs. We were a bit scared about the new singer, because you don’t know how the sessions will work with a new member, but we were surprised. His ideas were great, and the chemistry was unbelievable. We didn’t understand how he could understand our ideas. (laughter) It also took only a few weeks to get it written.
Milton: That’s awesome. And after the album came out, you did a few shows. What was it like to bring Mark to the road with you guys? What was the response overall for the new album and for Mark as a new member, from the fans?
Andrea: Well, first of all, the first gigs we had with Mark were before Frame was release. It was in the Italian fest Gods of Metal in Milano. The crowd was around 3,000 people, and we were a bit scared about what they’d think of Mark. After the first song though, we were totally satisfied because the fans were staring at him thinking “Wow, he’s a great singer!” And he’s a great showman too. Now as for the album, all of the critics that reviewed it and the fans that have written to us have said that the album was really good. The feedback has been entirely positive, especially for Mark. We are totally satisfied with Frame and with Mark. We’re in our golden age, let’s say. (laughter) I think sometimes feelings can be heard in the music, and I think when feelings are good, people notice them.
