Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
We now officially have an Italian metal vocalist who won a bronze medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Dominik Paris, an Italian alpine ski racer, has won a medal in the downhill event in the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy. In fact, the Olympics’ alpine skiing competition was held in Cortina. On Saturday, February 7, Paris finished third in his native country’s Olympic competition with a bronze medal. Despite having competed in five Olympic games, this would be his first medal. Paris is the second oldest athlete to ever win a medal in the sport, at the age of 36. Giovanni Franzoni, his colleague, took second place and was awarded the silver medal. Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen took home the gold.
It’s a beautiful, tough mountain. It’s great to have this home crowd here.
In 2019, Paris won the world championship in the super-G and 24 World Cup events. But until this past weekend, he had failed to achieve Olympic success. Paris has sought a career in music when he isn’t skiing. Rise of Voltage is a groove metal band that he fronts. Together with drummer Florian Schwienbacher, bassist Frank Pichler, and brother-guitarist Lukas Paris, they have put out two studio albums and gained enough recognition to secure performances at European festivals. After forming in 2017, Rise of Voltage released their first album, “Time”, which included the title track, a year later. In 2024, they released their second album, “Escape”, which was a bit harder and more technical than their first. You may purchase both albums on the band’s website.
The passion started very early, 14 years old, It’s just a passion and we put together a band and we tried have some gigs in the summer time. It’s really different to be onstage with the band. It’s not easy to staying one hour onstage screaming out. For me, it’s more easier to and I’m not that nervous when I do a ski race, because I know what I have to do.
What’s his strength between the two, then?
I’m, for sure, a better skier, but if you listen to metal, I’m not so bad.
The ensemble will return to the stage later this year, despite having few concerts planned, which makes sense considering the Olympic preparations. According to their website, they will perform at Alpen Flair in June (whose bill also features Ice Nine Kills, Lakeview, and Peter Maffay), Mannreid Open Air from August 13–16 (whose bill features Ronnie Romero and Firerose), and the Teffli Rally in Switzerland from August 14–15 (whose bill features Wolfmother and Steve N’ Seagulls, among others). For information on how to purchase tickets, see the band’s website.
