Year : 2013
Style : Power Metal , Symphonic Metal
Country : Italy
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 132 mb
Bio:
Formed in 1993 as Thundercross, and then changed name to Rhapsody in 1995. They were forced to change their name again, this time to Rhapsody of Fire, due to copyright problems on 14th of July of 2006.Before Cristiano Adacher's arrival, Luca Turilli was also the singer of the band. Thunderforce played drums from "Dawn of Victory" to "Power of the Dragonflame," but for contractual obligations his real identity could not be revealed. There was also speculation that 'Thunderforce' did not actually exist and that the drums on these albums were programmed, but the band always denied this. Alex Holzwarth, who played drums in live shows, figured in the official line-up on the CDs. Holzwarth has played all drums since "The Dark Secret" EP.Dominique Leurquin played live with Rhapsody from February 2000 until 2011, and later also performed the rhythm guitar parts on albums, but was only ever considered a 'special guest' of the band.Rhapsody's baroque recorder parts have always been played by Alex Staropoli's brother, Manuel Staropoli. On Rhapsody's earlier releases, songs often contained narration by Sir Jay Lansford. Starting with "The Dark Secret" EP, professional actors, ntably including film veteran Christopher Lee, have been used instead. Lee has also performed as co-vocalist on a few B-sides.Rhapsody's management team included Manowar's Joey DeMaio after they signed to his Magic Circle Music label, but they were later involved in a long-running legal dispute that brought all band activity to a halt between 2007 and 2009.Luca Turilli and Patrice Guers left Rhapsody of Fire on good terms in 2011, and announced in November 2011 that they would continue as Luca Turilli's Rhapsody along with Dominique Leurquin. Both versions claim the entire band history up until the split as their own. Alex Holzwarth was initially a member of both bands but left Luca Turilli's Rhapsody after the recording of their first album.Nuclear Blast dropped Rhapsody of Fire after the split and continued with Luca Turilli's Rhapsody only. After one year, in December 2012 the band then signed to the German label AFM Records.
Album:
Luca Turilli, mastermind behind countless bands, from which you could objectively make only one band because their style is almost identical, after 15 long years left Rhapsody Of Fire. And instead of naming his new band something original, he calls himeself Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody. Ingenious.But not all is black and white. The LTR has remained true to its symphonic power metal sound, with rich production and grandiose compositions, while the ROF without Luca went in another, more fierce and heavy direction. No, they haven’t started to play death metal, but the riffs are heavier by far, solos are more pronounced, the sound is cleaner and simpler, and keyboards were given a tad smaller role. It’s still ROF, but difference in sound is obvious. You can even hear the bass on some songs, hehe.Album starts with useless introduction as one comes to expect from symphonic power metal album. But then comes a surprise: “Rising From Tragic Flames“ will leave you in a bit of a shock. After two listens, when convinced it’s Rhapsody you’re listening to, you will be able to tell whether you’ll like the album or not. The song that elegantly flirts with heavy metal makes it clear in which direction the band is going. New guitarist, De Micheli, obviously didn’t want to just copy what Luca was doing – and that’s a positive thing – because a little heavier sound fits the band. I do not want you to think that they went to play in the style of Slayer or something like that, refrains are still typical for this genre and ROF, choirs are still howling melodic songs about typical fantasy stuff, but they are no longer driven by bunch of keyboards with a glimpse of guitars, quite the opposite. True, all elements that were essential parts of Rhapsody sound are still present, but their importance is a little different. In other words, if perverse amount of keyboards was annoying you, now is the time to give Rhapsody another shot.As for the songs themselves, „My Sacrifice” is longest song on the record and probably biggest reminder of past times. Unfortunately, there is no real value in it, and aside from some nice instrumental parts with pleasant melodies this song has no lasting value. “Silver Lake Of Tears” is cliché of clichés and also not worth mentioning. On the other hand, they fit along well when listening album as a whole, so nobody will probably be bothered by them.“Custode di Pace” sung in Italian is really cool to hear because of its diversity along with, well, every other song. Aside from two mentioned above, I have no real complaint on this record. The last three songs on the album make a very good ending. They are not too long, and have good instrumental pieces with memorable choruses. Nothing revolutionary, but you will want to play them again. “Sad Mystic Moon“, being my favorite track on this record is, along-side with “Emerald Sword“, my all time fav Rhapsody Of Fire song.I won’t describe other songs, you will have to listen to them anyway so go and get your copy of Dark Wings Of Steel. Maybe it’s not best album in the world, but no fan of symphonic power metal should regret getting it!
Line-Up:
Fabio Lione - Vocals
Alex Staropoli - Keyboards, Piano, Harpsichord, Orchestrations, Vocals (choirs) (1995-present) - See also: ex-Thundercross
Roberto De Micheli - Guitars (2011-present) - See also: Sinestesia, ex-Steel Crown, ex-Thundercross
Oliver Holzwarth - Bass
Alex Holzwarth - Drums
Tracklist:
01. Vis Divina (1:29)
02. Rising From Tragic Flames (6:16)
03. Angel Of Light (7:06)
04. Tears Of Pain (6:27)
05. Fly To Crystal Skies (5:13)
06. My Sacrifice (8:06)
07. Silver Lake Of Tears (5:01)
08. Custode Fi Pace (5:07)
09. A Tale Of Magic (4:18)
10. Dark Wings Of Steel (5:52)
11. Sad Mystic Moon (4:38)
12. A Candle To Light (6:56) (Bonus Track)
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