AFM
2013
1. Vis Divina
2. Rising From Tragic Flames
3. Angel Of Light
4. Tears Of Pain
5. Fly To Crystal Skies
6. My Sacrifice
7. Silver Lake Of Tears
8. Custode Fi Pace
9. A Tale Of Magic
10. Dark Wings Of Steel
11. Sad Mystic Moon
Rhapsody Of Fire has a lot to prove to me from the very start. They come out with the burden of having to prove that they deserve to exist. I suppose every band has that burden to some degree, but it is really apparent here. Luca Turilli's Rhapsody pushed out an album much faster and it absolutely kicked my ass. I mean, Rhapsody has always been Luca Turilli's band in essence so the odds on which band would success always favored Luca's group. That being said, I do like vocalist Fabio Lione a lot and I don't want to dismiss Alex Starpoli who have been involved in the band since the beginning. My best hope would be that both pursue their own direction and they each have a different vision and good music to offer. I just couldn't help having the feeling that Luca was going to school these guys on who owns the band Rhapsody after the monster Ascending To Infinity album. So I guess the question is... Do we need two Rhapsodys?
After listening to Dark Wings Of Steel the answer is kind of yes and no. Certainly, Rhapsody Of Fire has a different focus as this sounds less orchestral and more like Rhapsody's old school fantasy power metal driven by keyboards. In that way the band does take a step back to older Rhapsody and that could appeal to some fans. The material does beg the question of whether or not there is a need to revisit this material or if this is simply retreading old ground though. Personally, I have to lead towards no with this material coming off as somewhat derivative. Sure, it sounds like older Rhapsody, but the band has grown since then and this is kind of like removing that growth, removing the songwriting power of Luca, and coming up with some typical power metal that sounds like what you've heard before. It's not too bad for what it is, but I can't really get that excited by any of the songs here. Nothing really has the epic punch of Luca Turilli's Rhapsody and the neoclassical shredding is not really up to Luca's level. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh here as this isn't bad power metal. I mean in relative terms this is pretty competent in structure and musicianship, the vocals are good, and some of the songs are pretty enjoyable. The album and the band face a big problem though and that is obvious. Can this live up to previous Rhapsody material or what Luca is doing now? Based on this first album the answer is no. I'd probably see them live if they came around, I'll check out what they put out next, but will I reach for this album when I want some music of this type? Probably not often. The bottom line is Luca Turilli's album has more epic punch and better songs. This really is a silver medal for Rhapsody fans and I'm not sure that will cut it.
All in all, this is a decent symphonic power album in a familiar Rhapsody style. It's probably worth it for fans to listen to, but as a fan myself, I have to maintain that my reaction on this one is really middle of the road. I'm still not certain we need two Rhapsodys and the other one kicks the shit out of Rhapsody Of Fire. It's just an unavoidable fact I'll be looking forward to Luca Turilli's material way more and it's hard for this band to seem all that relevant in comparison.
Highlights: Rising From Tragic Fire, Tears Of Pain
Rating - 3.0/5
No comments:
Post a Comment