Biography

Virtual Symmetry is a swiss-italian progressive metal band founded in 2009 as a solo project of guitarist Valerio Æsir Villa, while the first ideas for the debut album “Message from Eternity” began taking shape.

After several line-up changes, the band now consists of vocalist Marco Pastorino, guitarist Valerio Æsir Villa, bassist Alessandro Poppale and drummer Andrea Gianangeli.

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 and a style characterized by epic suites, rich of cinematic elements and balance between melody and technique, leading the listeners through a dynamic and emotional journey in each track.

Every Virtual Symmetry show is an astonishing fully-immersive experience, with light games, on-screen animations and interaction with the audience, which make every performance a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Among their live shows some honorable mentions are 2015’s debut live show with Evergrey and Dream Theater, 2017’s live show supporting Deep Purple’s keyboardist Don Airey and 2018’s live performance in a cinema for the release of the Bohemian Rhapsody movie.

The band now has 4 releases which put them among big names in the progressive landscape:

2016’s MESSAGE FROM ETERNITY, with guest appearances of Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess, singer Alessandro del Vecchio, saxophonist Ruben Paganelli and polish symphonic orchestra Sinfonietta Consonus, conducted by Michal Mierzejewski.

2017’s EP X-GATE SUITE, their first album including a female singer, Diane Lee Balzari, and

2018’s XLIVE PREMIERE, Virtual Symmetry’s first live recorded album, a 2-hour-long show with exclusive solo sections and special guests, such as classical ballet teacher Zvetomira Todorova and hip-hop dancer Amos Guastella.

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.

On September 16, 2022, the band released their fourth studio album, self-titled "Virtual Symmetry," through the American record label Sensory Records. Following the album release, the band embarked on a long European tour with Evergrey and Fractal Universe, performing in 36 of the continent's most important cities. After the tour, drummer Andrea Gianangeli joined the band's lineup. They then went on to support the legendary progressive metal band "Threshold" on another significant European tour. Currently, the band is in the writing phase for a new chapter tentatively called VS5.