Band of the week 52/2024. Virtual Symmetry
Origin: Lugano, Switzerland
Genre: Progressive Metal
Hier geht’s zur deutschen Version.
The band about itself:
Virtual Symmetry is a Swiss progressive metal band formed in Switzerland in 2009 as solo project of guitarist Valerio Æsir Villa while the first ideas for the debut album ‚Message from Eternity‘ began taking shape in his home studio. The band now consists of vocalist Marco Pastorino (Temperance), guitarist and mastermind Valerio Æsir Villa, Andrea Gianangeli on Drums and bassist Alessandro Poppale. Virtual Symmetry is a revelation in the progressive metal universe, stunning their fans and listeners with influences which range from classical music to contemporary metal music and a style characterized by epic suites. 2016’s „Message from Eternity“ – with guest appearances of singer Alessandro Del Vecchio, saxophonist Ruben Paganelli and legendary keyboardist Jordan Rudess – and 2017’s „X-GATE Suite“ Between 2018 and 2020 the band composed and produced EXOVERSE, their first concept album, and recorded it at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath, UK, featuring many special guests, such as legendary drummer Thomas Lang, the return of Dream Theater’s keyboardist Jordan Rudess, saxophonist Ruben Paganelli and the symphonic orchestra Sinfonietta Consonus, Evergrey’s Tom S. Englund, singer Jennifer Vargas and the gospel choir NuVoices Project.
Editorial commentary:
Do you know this? You go to a concert, have a rough idea of what bands are playing, you’ve listened to something, and then you stand there and think to yourself: Okay, but I only know this guy from where? That’s exactly what happened when I saw Virtual Symmetry supporting Evergrey in Würzburg. I’m one of those people who can remember faces very well, I mean sure, I photograph them after all! But names are not my strong point. So I did a quick google: Marco Pastorino. No wonder I knew him from somewhere, the good man is active in nine projects, including Temperance and Serenity, with whom I’ve already had the pleasure of seeing him. This time, however, not on the guitar, as I am used to, but primarily on the vocals.
The good man does a great job, even though the brains behind the band is his colleague Valerio Villa, the voice is very important. And Marco lends this to the band. The band has been around since 2009, starting as Valerio’s solo project and quickly building up. Since then, four studio albums and two live albums have been released. The progressive metal can contain traces of power metal and some exciting instrumentals. The lyrics are philosophical and also deal with art, psychology and many other topics, so it’s more than just music to listen to on the side, but to listen to.
So: Virtual Symmetry not only has a well-known voice, an interesting story, but also good lyrics. If that’s not a reason to listen, I don’t know what is.
The band at Dark-Art:
- Konzertbericht: Evergrey auf Emptiness Over Europe Tour 2024 in Würzburg, 19.11.2024
- Konzertbericht: Threshold, Virtual Symmetry und After Lapse
Live impressions:
Music recommendation:
Upcoming live dates:
14.02.2025 – Legend Club – Milano
Links:
Webseite
Bandcamp
Facebook
Instagram
Spotify
YouTube
Band of the week is our weekly posting about a band we recommend and is posted every Tuesday at 8pm (CET). These are bands that are just at the beginning of their career and that we think should receive more attention.
You can also find all the bands we’ve featured this year in our playlist on Spotify!
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