Rhapsody

Dawn Of Victory

the italians return with another hunk of cheddar

Review Score:

(8/10)
Italian metal band Rhapsody has returned with another slab of over-the-top "epic classical Hollywood metal" or whatever they call it. If you've heard Rhapsody's previous two albums or Luca Turilli's solo album, you know exactly what to expect: cutesy baroque-ish melodies (the obvious parallelism of which sometimes makes one slightly nauseated), 'dramatic' voiceovers (thankfully much fewer than on "Symphony of Enchanted Lands") and lyrics with ominous-sounding compound nouns (shadowlord, thunderforce, firelord).

This description is a critical one, to be sure, but perhaps it judges Rhapsody by the wrong standard. After all, this music is about pure entertainment, rather than giving us any 'insight' into anything meaningful. Nevertheless, the samey-ness of all the Rhapsody projects is beginning to invite boredom, even for those who buy into the 'pure fun' hypothesis. (I see some parallels with Hammerfall, who also fall into the 'pure fun' category and are beginning to repeat themselves. If you like the new Hammerfall, then you should probably like the new Rhapsody too, and vice versa.)

Rhapsody does take a heavier, speedier tack on a couple of the songs (the intro to "Dargor, Shadowlord of the Black Mountain" and the single from the album, "Holy Thunderforce," also the most intense song on the album, come to mind). Perhaps it would be worthwhile for Rhapsody to explore this direction a little more.

All in all, "Dawn of Victory" is at the level of "Symphony of Enchanted Lands", perhaps a little lower, and is in the category of 'safe purchases.' Just don't expect it to change your world.

High 3/low 4 rating.

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