Rhapsody

Symphony Of Enchanted Lands

Don't be deterred by the cheesy image, this is great stuff!

Review Score:

(8/10)
Rhapsody are at the forefront of progressive power metal now. Although by the album covers you may expect them to be a Manowar clone, nothing could be further from the truth. True, Rhapsody's lyrics are extremely cheesy, making Hammerfall look serious, but they are definitely one of the best power metal bands out there. Rhapsody are original, a word that is often forgotten in power metal. This CD is 50% classical music and 50% power metal. Guitarist Luca Turilli composes most of the music. His power metal is totally unique within the genre and he is also heavily influenced by the great fellow Italian music maestro Antonio Vivaldi. The first song is a classical choral intro to the soaring "Emerald Sword". With Rhapsody you are as likely to hear violin solos with guitar rhythms backing as you are to hear guitar solos with backing strings! There are some brilliant tracks that move from breakneck power metal to pure baroque classical music in the space of sixty seconds. The last track, "Symphony of Enchanted Lands" is 13 minutes long and contains all that is great about Rhapsody. It sounds as if the term 'epic' was made to describe this song. Singer Fabio Lione is typically high pitched, and often backed by a choir. He is very talented even though he may sound fairly generic. At some points there is an uncertain voice that says very cheesy things such as "What you hear now are the suffering voices of all the heroes that crossed these lands before you ... their pride now rides woth you." Other than that the album is very good indeed.

The liner notes are (unintentionally) hilarious. They feature more cartoons like the one on the cover, and a painting of the Enchanted Valley. They have even put in a ridiculously generic fantasy story called "The Algalord Chronicles" to guide you through the concepts of the album. The photos of the band individually show them in mock-medieval clothes (and their hair is coloured grey for some reason) in 'classical' poses. Fabio even holds a sword! The band picture has them posing like warriors of the Enchanted Land with the caption "Rhapsody: Might Warriors of Metal".

This album is loads of fun and it really draws you in with its musical textures. It is an important part of power metal. Get it!

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