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Track Listing: Rated: Total Play Time:  |
The Warrior stood only ten feet into the hall, the light of the
outside sun casting his shadow far onto the stone floor before him. All
around him, the decadent trappings of corrupt nobility lay in
sword-hewn strips. Behind him and at either side, the bodies of the Baron's
warriors lay dead, some without even having drawn their blades. No one
had ever made it so far without the Baron's permission... something the
Warrior certainly did not possess. No one had ever proven themselves
strong enough - or brave enough - to force their way so far into the
Baron's castle. The Warrior could almost hear the Baron's throne creaking
under the man's sheer weight as he shifted in fear. But the Warrior stopped. He peered into the darkness, but did not enter. Instead, he took a
step backwards. The Warrior took a second step away from the Baron's inner sanctum.
Then he took a third. And then he turned around, facing daylight once
more. And then the Warrior took many more steps, out of the darkness, away
from danger and towards saver, less heroic ground. After arriving in
legendary fashion out of the northern lands, proving himself in battle
after battle, and then faltering, only to come back and deliver the most
amazing victory of his life thus far... the Warrior retreated. He
tore off his coat of arms and threw it into the dust, replacing it with
one that was almost a parody of the original. And even though he was
still the Warrior of legend, a hero of such caliber that he couldn't help
but shine around the edges, his change of symbol and retreat from the
edge of greatness were a shock to many of his supporters. And the minions of the Baron cheered, as did other aspiring warriors
who sought to take the first Warrior's place... After releasing what this writer finds to be the single greatest
album of their nigh-decade professional career, the maestros of Symphonic
Epic Hollywood Metal© respond by... changing their name
(atrociously, I must add) and dropping most of what made "Symphony of
Enchanted Lands II - The Dark Secret" such an amazing release. Seriously.
"Rhapsody of Fire?" "Rhapsody of the Enchanted Lands" would have been
a better choice, in the opinion of this writer. And in the opinions of
many encountered online and in the real world, it seems. But the name of the band isn't important when the music is
excellent, right? Right... but once again, Rhapsody (of Fire) are disappointing.
"Triumph or Agony" features virtually none of the theatrical trappings or
epic orchestral elements found on "The Dark Secret." No invocation of
Nordic Warrior or Emerald Sword. No narrator until almost the end of
the album. Only one fast song ("Heart of the Darklands," also one of
the album's better tunes) and a fast moment later on; everything else on
"Triumph or Agony" is slow or mid-tempo. To be fair, there are a few shining moments on an otherwise dull
disc. "Old Age of Wonders" is aptly named, as it is the one song that
most invokes the oldest Rhapsody traditions: acoustic folk instruments,
vocalist Fabio Lione in solo ballad form, almost visually invocative of
wood elves, and not a power metal musician in sight. Beautiful. But then "The Myth of the Ancient Sword" comes plodding along for a
very long five minutes. "Il Canto del Vento" is the obligatory
native-language ballad (what's wrong with doing one of the thrashier songs in
Italian?). "Silent Dream" goes back to plodding. "Bloody Red Dungeon"
sounds suspiciously like a slightly heavier version of the previous
track, minus thirty seconds or so in the middle. "Son of Pain" is another
heroic ballad. And then the second-longest Rhapsody song ever arrives, in all its
five-part splendor. "The Mystic Prophecy of the Demon Knight" brings us
acoustic guitars, flutes and violins all at once. Hell, it brings us
violins, flutes and power metal drums - no guitars - all at once. Odd
time signatures, adept thespian monologues, harsh vocals, brutal bass
guitar soloing, and the two most theatrical Rhapsody episodes ever
(complete with multiple voice actors, non-musical sound effects and
honest-to-God horror) all help cement this eleven-syllabled song into its
positions as one of the most complex epic-length songs in all of power
metal... not to mention one of the best. And even better, the song fades
seamlessly into the album's final track, "Dark Reign of Fire," which is
essentially a six-minute continuation of "The Mystic Prophecy of the
Demon Knight," ending almost exactly where "Triumph or Agony" began. Hell, this two-track finale features a repeat performance by
Christopher Lee. What more must be said? But in the end, despite an amazing finish "Triumph or Agony" is more
disappointing than moving. Rhapsody (of Fire) are slower, less
theatrical, less prone to letting their music tell the tales of a fantasy
world. The story is still there, but only occasionally does it breach the
surface of an otherwise middling power metal album. Epic metal with
very little symphonic and even less Hollywood. The last time Rhapsody released an album this lackluster was in
2002, when Turilli divided his creative output into three different
releases - Rhapsody's "Rain of a Thousand Flames" and "Power of the
Dragonflame" and Turilli's own solo release "Prophet of the Last Eclipse."
Coincidentally (or maybe not), 2006 saw Turilli once again fight the war
against silence on three different fronts. This time, Rhapsody (of Fire)
had to compete with Turilli's self-named side project and a new
project, Luca Turilli's Dreamquest. I haven't yet had the opportunity to
sample "The Infinite Wonders of Creation," but Dreamquest's "Lost Horizons"
is definitely one of the better albums of the year. But while Luca Turilli certainly drips talent, it'd be nice if he
were to focus a bit more on Rhapsody (of Fire). I would personally have
one stellar Rhapsody (of Fire) album, as opposed to one mediocre
Rhapsody (of Fire) album and two damn good Rhapsody (of Fire) knock-offs. Maybe in chapter eight. | |
