On disc: Rhapsody

 
 Eternal Glory
 
- Volker Raabe -
 
  


 
 Symphony Of The Enchanted Lands Pt. 2:
 The Dark Secret
 
- Anika Peterson -
 
 


 
 Dark Wings Of Steel
 
- Claudia Ehrhardt -
 
 

Dark Wings Of Steel

(AFM Records - 2013)



 
 

 

Rhapsody Of Fire have die-hard fans like Manowar who love everything they do, that doesn't change when Luca Turilli left the band and started Luca Turilli's Rhapsody. Symphonic power metal has a lot fans, but even genre fans are divided when it comes to the Italian-German outfit.



After the intro Vis Divina they head into Rising From Tragic Flames, a bombastic track based on fast riffs. The big choirs give it an opera feel, but it's just the choir. The use the choir a lot and in my opinion the songs should have been shortened as they can't offer interesting twists and turns or create atmospheres.











The Italian Custode di Pace could have been a bombastic tune by Eros Ramazotti. Sure, Fabio Lione is a great singer who is even better when singing in his mother's tongue, but this is way too cheesy for me. Sorry.



This time they don't use a narrator to guide the fans, but that's the main difference. Luca Turilli's departure didn't changed ROF musically, but I think that fans welcome that...



Where e.g. Kamelot create an atmosphere and offer different sound elements Rhapsody Of Fire are stick to their so called Hollywood metal, but that also means that they only vary a bit and can't really surprise the listener. Sorry, but half-way through the song they lost me - again and again. Rhapsody Of Fire fans will find my rating too low, but even if the guys know how to play they can't hook me up.



 
 










Claudia Ehrhardt


  
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Symphony Of The Enchanted Lands Pt. 2: The Dark Secret

(Steamhammer - 2004)



 
 

 

Actually a friend gave me this CD. I guess I wouldn't have buy it, coz I never really been into Rhapsody's music. But Symphony Of The Enchanted Lands Part 2: The Dark Secret is different. It seems that this time Rhapsody could finally realize what always been in their minds. As it is a concept album I won't talk about different songs. Again they combine metal - melodic speed metal - with classic and mediaeval elements. For the first time they worked with an orchestra, the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra. What makes this special is the narrator! They could hire horror movie legend Christopher Lee to tell the story. His dark voice adds an atmospheric element to the whole album. But also singer Fabio Leone who sings more intensively make this album sound lively. The opera choir - 50 singers - make the background choirs sound really big. Due to the story they have to slow down sometimes. The single Unholy Warcry is an edited version, but gives a good idea about what to expect from the album. Even metal fans who disliked Rhapsody so far should give it a try. Okay, no stuff for fans of black, death and extreme metal, but everybody else should check this out! Very well done!
 
 










Anika Peterson
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)


  
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Eternal Glory

(L.M.P. - 1995)



 
 

 

If you listen to this demo CD you just can compare the Italians with the Brazilian bands Viper and Angra. The Italian Rhapsody are offering slightly progressive melodic metal combined with influences from classic and baroque music. The weak point of this demo is the high-pitched vocals - is an eunuch singing? - and the refrains which are copied from bands like Helloween and Blind Guardian.
 
 






Volker Raabe
(translation: Claudia Ehrhardt)


  
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