Mohr>>DOMINANCE - ITALY
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Echoes Of Human Decay – 2009 - Kolony XX: The Rising Vengeance – 2016 - Sliptrick ... But The Thorns Remain - 2026 - Maledict |  |
Members Vocals Exthrahell, Sententia Mortis>>Mauro Bolognesi>>Sententia Mortis - Stonedrift>>Massimiliano Marri>>Stonedrift - Exthrahell, Sententia Mortis>>MAURO BOLOGNESI>>Sententia MortisGuitar Alessandro Zanotti>>Dievel, Siberian - Massimo Baroni - Gabriele Galbulli Cavazzini - Luca Alzapiedi - MASSIMO BARONI - Mass Slaughter, Mind Phaser, Genital Grinder>>ALESSANDRO SIMEONI>>Genital GrinderBass Saverio Rossi>>Crownshard, Human Decay - Morbus>>MAURIZIO BANDIERADrum Engravers >>DAVIDE TOGNONI>>Engravers |
History & Biography Dominance's origin date back to 1992, when guitarist Massimo Baroni and drummer Davide Tognoni founded a death metal band called Mohr. Singer Mauro Bolognesi, guitarist Alessandro Zanotti and bassist Saverio Rossi were recruited in 1995. The band switched its name to Dominance. The band entered the TMB Rockhouse in San Damaso (Modena) and recorded a demo in 1997. The group signed with Lucretia Records International, but citing a long delay in the album's release, the band left the roster. Instead, the band added a couple of tracks and signed with Scarlet Records, which released the debut album, Anthems Of Ancient Splendour, in February of 1999. The debut garnered the band 'Gothenburg' comparisons. The band gigged in Northern and Central Italy. The band opened for opened for Malevolent Creation, Krabathor and Master in Biella in 1999. Guitarist Alessandro Zanotti decided to leave the band to pursue other projects and, a few months later, guitarist Massimo Baroni, one of the band's founders, also left. A second album was expected in early 2001 but did not materialize. Guitarists: Marco Bertolini and Gianluca Fontanesi joined in 2004. The band opened for Suffocation in Italy. The band recorded a demo in 2005 and obtained interest from Kolony Records. The act entered Studio 73 in Ravenna in 2008 and, with the assistance of Riccardo Pasini, recorded the Echoes Of Human Decay album, which was released in February 2009. Guitarist Bertolini left the band and Italy for a university position in the land of fatty burgers and pink slime. Mauro Bolognesi left the band after 18 years of service in 2013. New singer Massimiliano Marri and guitarist Gabriel Cavazzini joined the fold. Gianluca Fontanesi, however, was shown the door in 2014. XX: The Rising Vengeance was recorded at Sliver Music Studio in Parma in September of 2015. It was released by Sliptrick Records on March 31st, 2016. Davide Tognoni, the band's founding drummer, left due to a stated arm problem and disagreements over the band's management in July of 2016. Italy-based Dominance had a video for Breathless in 2018, which was taken from XX: The Rising Vengeance album. It was issued by Sliptrick Records in 2016. Singer Bolognesi and guitarist Massimo Baroni returned to the fold in 2019. Founding member Davide Tognoni founded a band called Engravers in 2019. The monicker was inspired by the song Engraved off the group's debut album. The fledgling Maledict Records announced The Revenge Of Steel, an advance song from the upcoming full-length, ... But The Thorns Remain, in 2026. This album, the band reckoned, was connected stylistically to Anthems Of Ancient Splendour. Reviews DOMINANCE - ... BUT THE THORNS REMAIN - MALEDICT Interviews  Italy-based death metal group Dominance has been around for some 35 years in one form or another, but has only four albums to its name. The latest of these, entitled ... But The Thorns Remain, was released through Maledict Records on the first day of spring 2026. Reviewed here on Metallian and having received our seal of approval, it was time to invite drummer Davide Tognoni to the hallowed halls of Metallian Towers where Ali "The Metallian" sat down with the founding member to discuss the band's history, line-up changes and the making of the new album. - 25.03.2026 METALLIAN: Davide, welcome to Metallian Towers. Thank you for your availability and taking time to speak. There is a ten-year gap between the new album ... But The Thorns Remain and its predecessor XX: The Rising Vengeance. Interestingly, the last two bands interviewed on Metallian, Bullet and Mascharat, also had similar gaps between their releases. What accounts for the long period between Dominance's albums? DAVIDE: Thank you for the opportunity. There are ten years between … But The Thorns Remain and the previous album and everything has changed in the meantime. In 2016, I decided to leave Dominance - the only remaining members from the 1999 debut album were me and the bassist - due to arm problems and differences of opinion. About a year after that decision, I decided to start playing some music with old friends again. The initial intention wasn't to reform Dominance, as the band still existed, but mainly to be a group of friends with whom I could still play death metal. However, two founding members, singer Mauro Bolognesi and guitarist Massimo Baroni, and two longtime friends, Maurizio Bandiera who is the former guitarist of Morbus and Alessandro Simeoni who is the guitarist of Genital Grinder and formerly of Mind Phaser, answered that call. As we began composing songs, we realized they were in continuity with the sound of the first Dominance album, Anthems Of Ancient Splendour, which was released in 1999. Then, in 2019, the 'other' Dominance members suspended their activity. So, it seemed natural to reclaim that name. In general, however, the long periods between albums have always been caused by line-up changes and the time needed for the remaining members to find suitable replacements. The two guitarists from the first album left in 2001. The main composer for the second album left for a university position in the US a year after the album's release and so forth. I would say it’s a common issue among underground bands… lucky are those who manage to maintain a stable line-up! METALLIAN: Thanks for the details and bringing us up to speed. To stick with a bit of band history, what was the band's original name before Dominance was chosen? DAVIDE: Dominance's origins date back to 1992 when guitarist Massimo Baroni and I, who had been playing together for some time in a band that mainly played covers, decided to start our own death metal band. After several line-up changes, the membership temporarily stabilized with the arrival of a bassist and with Massimo on guitar and vocals, we gave our first live performances. The band was called Mohr at the time and we recorded a demo tape called Betrayer in the rehearsal studio in 1994. Only a few copies were made. They were intended exclusively for friends. The image of the audio cassette can also be found on discogs, although I don't know who published it. You can really find everything there! METALLIAN: So, to make sure I understand, the name Dominance came into being in 1994. DAVIDE: The band started using the name Dominance in 1995, when three new members joined, a vocalist, guitarist and a new bassist, bringing the line-up to five members. In the three-piece line-up, Massimo handled both vocals and guitar. METALLIAN: This is almost old news now, but as you said, older band members returned to Dominance. How did this come to be? Was it a case of the older members replacing the then current members or were the positions vacant when members returned? DAVIDE: As I mentioned, two members of the original line-up, guitarist Massimo and singer Mauro, wanted to start playing music together again in 2017 or 2018. It was after 18 years for Massimo and only 4 years for Mauro. Bassist Maurizio and Alessandro are two old friends who used to play together with us at concerts with their respective bands in the '90s. Getting together with old friends to play death metal was our initial goal… and a few phone calls were all it took. Things just happened without much thought. Maybe it was fate. 
METALLIAN: A biography you shared earlier was detailed, but skipped the promised 2001 album that never came to be. What happened to the music that was destined for release then? Why did the album not get released?DOMINANCE: The process of song-writing for us has always been quite time consuming. So, in 2001 not all the songs for the new album were ready yet. There were essentially two songs ready, Like A Distant Thunder and Duellists. The two songs were in line with the style of the debut album and which would later be included in the tracklist of the second album, Echoes Of Human Decay, which was released in 2008. These songs differ significantly in style from the rest of the album, mainly because both guitarists had changed. METALLIAN: OK, that is clear now. Fast forward to the present. How did you and Maledict Records connect? DAVIDE: To answer this question, we have to thank Alvaro Fernandes of Gruesome Records, a Portuguese underground label like Maledict Records. We were in touch with him for a while and he ended up connecting us with Duarte Fernandes of Maledict Records. They are two great guys with a great passion and commitment to extreme metal. METALLIAN: Were you initially speaking to Gruesome Records about a deal? DAVIDE: Alvaro Fernandes of Gruesome Records also really liked our work. We talked for a while, but things didn't come together in time. METALLIAN: I see. To these ears, the current album … But The Thorns Remain is a superlative one that combines the associated intensity of death metal with the melodies of early Gothenburg or early Finnish death metal. How would you describe the album's sound? DAVIDE: Thanks, we are glad you like our work. You are completely right. The main references are definitely those of classic Scandinavian death/black metal, a mix of Swedish sounds, like At The Gates, just to mention one band, all the way up to our classic reference, Dissection all the while, of course, never forgetting the great teachings of Death. However, I think the fundamental characteristic that has always defined us is the variety of musical elements you can find in our songs because there are, for sure, many things that influence us, but we always try to follow our own path. The fact that some of us come from different musical backgrounds, brutal and hardcore in particular, has certainly brought even more variety. I think our strength is our ability to blend these elements into a style and a sound that is totally our own. METALLIAN: We largely agree. The album's title sounds dismal. Does it carry a particular meaning? DAVIDE: Yes, it certainly sounds dark. I wrote those lyrics during a rather peculiar time in my life. It speaks of certainties that seem eternal, but which suddenly falter because of life events that profoundly change you. METALLIAN: A striking, and intriguing, title is Golgotha Of Worms. Could you get into the meaning behind the song's title? DAVIDE: It's a title that directly references the album cover and, therefore, has nothing to do with the Christian meaning of Golgotha. For pre-Christian Romans, Golgotha was the hill of executions, and, in this case, it represents the height toward which the warrior gazes, where a burning village is dotted with impaled men who, in the lyrics' vision, have already become worms. METALLIAN: Speaking of the intriguing cover artwork, it does have a story to tell then. So, it is not a standalone idea. DAVIDE: Let me start this answer by thanking Mark Erskine for the work he's done; we're truly thrilled with the result. The image is an original project, created by Mark based on our suggestions. As I mentioned before, it's an image that's linked to the album's intro, but it's an ambiguous image, because it features a warrior observing a village that's been sacked and burned, its inhabitants impaled. It could be a warrior returning from a journey or a war and seeing the devastation other warriors have brought to his home or it could be the warrior himself who caused that same disaster and turns to look at what has sparked his anger. Perhaps, he thinks that despite everything he's done, revenge hasn't eased his pain… but the thorns remain. METALLIAN: Could we talk about both, since it is difficult to decide whether the title track or When Blood Froze The Earth is the best song on the album? DAVIDE: These are two very powerful songs, which in my opinion convey a good idea of our ability to incorporate different elements into our songs. The title track has a chorus with a very impactful melodic line and a long central crescendo that starts with an arpeggio, over which Mauro's voice expresses itself magnificently. When Blood Froze The Earth, on the other hand, is a more 'Swedish' song, with a powerful opening that highlights the great work that has been done to integrate the melodies with a highly impactful rhythmic structure. METALLIAN: It is often cool to ask musicians and composers such a question because the point of view is interesting. You've included an old demo track as a bonus. What is the idea behind this placement? DAVIDE: Yes, Anthems Of Ancient Splendour is the title track from the 1999 debut album. There are two reasons for reissuing it: the main one is that due to an error in the mastering studio, which we were unaware of at the time, the song was partially compromised on the CD. From its middle onward, you can hear two offset channels and a sort of echo. It therefore seemed right to give it justice. The second reason is that stylistically this new work connects to the debut album. It is a tribute to the past, to its ancient splendor returning. METALLIAN: As mentioned, the musicians' perspective is often unique. In my estimation, the track is inferior to the rest of the material. Either way, the album is certainly high quality. Speaking of which, Metallian is the best website. Everyone knows it. What is your particular reason for thinking so? DAVIDE: You stole the words right out of my mouth! Jokes aside, with your questions you also touched on unexpected sides of our work and our story, which demonstrate attention to detail. This is uncommon among those who focus on quantity over quality. It's thanks to the passion of people like you that the scene continues to thrive despite all the difficulties. Thanks to Davide and his band-mates for the music and their uncommon quality. For fans of classic and melodic death metal, this 2026 release is worthy listening. The rest of the group is singer Mauro Bolognesi, guitarists Alessandro Simeoni and Massimo Baroni and bassist Maurizio Bandiera. More on the band here. If you enjoyed this, read Samhain |
Dominance