Rhapsody

Dawn Of Victory

TOP-NOTCH POWER METAL

Review Score:

(10/10)
I begin this review with two notices: my words won't do this release justice, and this will be on my top ten for 2001.

When I was in early elementary school, I'd often sneak into Heck's (a Wal-Mart type of store) before I'd walk to my baby- sitter's. While there, I would study album covers and lust over LPs my mom couldn't afford to buy for me. During 1983, while in the 2nd grade, I became obsessed w/ Iron Maiden's Piece of Mind. I decided it was all I wanted for X-mas. Anyway, my mom, g-ma, & seven ½ brothers and sisters bought me the record. The only records I owned at that time were hand-me-downs of Ace Frehley's solo lp and KISS' Destroyer. I also would borrow some of my ½ brothers' Priest, Sabbath, Cooper, & Purple lps, but nothing prepared me for Maiden. That record blew me away and I listened to it for at least 3 hours a day EVERYDAY for the next year (I wouldn't listen to any other record). The only other release that ever hit me that hard was Obituary's Slowly we Rot (on tape). Is this the cd that will hit me as hard as Piece... or Slowly? No, but if I would have received this in 1983, I may have never listened to another record. Is this better than Piece of Mind? No. Is it better than Maiden's 2000 cd (Brave New World)? Exponentially.

What makes this cd so good? It's so good because it's so over-the-top, excessive, cheese, & unapologetic about being METAL. This is symphonic epic power metal: metal in its most glorious form. It's majestic, w/ cheesy fantasy lyrics (a la T. Brooks, Robert Jordan) -- that aren't exactly my cup of tea. The music often has roots in classical music: Vivaldi, Wagner, Paganini, etc. Rhapsody uses an epic choir and an actual church choir; they utilize baroque instruments and violins. This is the best non-Iron Maiden, non-Manowar power metal release I've ever heard. HAIL METAL! Here are ratings for each song (e is lowest, EEE is highest). 1) EE- Not really metal. Epic w/ choirs, narration, trumpets. 2) EEE- Raging violin, anthemic chorus, blinding guitars, Onward to battle! 3) EEE- Begins w/ Paganini worship, slows down at moments, yet always keeps momentum. When "Rage in the wind..." kicks-in, I want to wave a sword in the air. 4) EE- bagpipe sound, baroque recorder, choirs-totally medieval 5) EE ½ - speed picks up, stellar solos 6) EE - starts very slow, galloping pace at times, folky 7) EEE+ -- Whip some wizard tail. Easily my favorite track on the cd 8) Ee - instrumental 9) EE - can't hold-up to power of "Holy Thunderforce" 10) EEE-long & symphonic. A sound Dimmu Borgir yearns for.

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