Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finest melodic metal, awesome musicians !, December 30, 1999
I'll just put the comment I wrote about their second album (Symphony of Enchanted Lands), because I think both releases have the same qualities, although this one may be a bit less heavy and finished.Some melodic metal performers are often blamed because they just try to impress people with their outstanding ability to play fast while they forget composition and feelings. With Rhapsdoy you get both ingredients, and at their best level. This is very good heavy metal with a strong classical influence. The instruments are incredibly diverse (violins, viola, cello, piano, accoustic and electric guitars, contra bass, harp, flute...) and finely orchestrated. While one heavy song and its powerful rythm will get you going, the other one will enchant your ear with its delicate medieval melodies. In my opinion the only small fly in the ointment lies in lyrics, which are a bit simple (dragons everywhere, holy swords, elves, magical keys...). But let's face it anyway, they fit to this kind of music ! I highly recommend this albu to anyone who likes metal and/or classical music. Pass on it only if you can't bare heavy guitars.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my favorite albums...but yes, it is cheesy., September 12, 2005
It's true, and we, the fans of melodic metal, must accept that fact. So yes, it's cheesy. But SO WHAT?! What about all the good points? What about the talent? What about the consistency of good songs? I've had many fights with so called "metal-heads", who limit themselves to only "cookie monster vocal" death metal. Now, I have nothing against death metal. I'm a true metal fan. To me Metal is metal, or their heart was at least in the right place. Except in the case of hardcore or nu-metal, which we all know, sucks. I'm simply sick of people hating melodic metal because it dosent have "attitude", which is usually the case with certain metal fans disliking, or just saying that they dislike, "power metal". So they call it "gay", because they cant vent to it, after a hard day of getting beaten up at school. I blast this sh*t because it fu*king rocks! I dont care if it's about dragons or ice warriors, or whatever! I just care about the music! It's catchy as hell! Luca Turilli is an incredible guitar player, quite possibly one of the very best on the metal scene today, or ever. The galloping double bass never lets up, and Fabio Lione's vocals are great, very operatic, and he shows a good range (although sometimes using too much vibrato). Warrior of Ice, Land of Immortals, Flames of Revenge,and Lord of the Thunder are the highlight tracks. An excellent, very fast, very catchy, but sometimes very cheesy album. This one was actually the latest Rhapsody album I've gotten, and it solidified my opinion that they're one of my new favorite bands. I blast it with all my windows down, and I dont give a sh*t what jackasses are thinking. Why do certain "so-called" metal fans seem to care? Why are they so up tight? Isn't that what metal is all about? Just having fun, and not giving a fu*k what other people think? Correct me here. You know I'm right.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Groundbreaking Debut, February 6, 2005
When this album came out, it turned heads upon the first listen. Bands like Helloween and Stratovarius had won the world over with its melodic speed/power metal, but none had ever attempted such a musical assault upon the dark ages as Rhapsody's debut managed.
Following in the footsteps of Helloween's "Invitation", Luca Turilli and company craft a brief, synthesized orchestration as its first track ("Ira Tenax"), which leads seamlessly into the album's official opener, "Warrior of Ice". The following two tracks would show the world Rhapsody's true compositional prowess. "Rage of the Winter" is a perfect symbiosis of metal and classical interludes, a pattern that would be repeated in the forthcoming albums and later become a Rhapsody staple. "Forest of Unicorns" exhibits the band's love for all things medieval, complete with flutes, harpsichords, and what sound like children singing. It isn't until the album's standout track, "Land of Immortals" that eyes start popping out and blood pressures start rising. Following this power-metal masterpiece, whose influences range from Yngwie Malmsteen to Mozart, listeners are given over to "Echoes of Tragedy", a menacing creation of impending doom. With a somber piano, a choir composed of operatic male bass singers and a rudimentary percussion set, it sounds as if the gods were speaking through distant thunder. "Lord of the Thunder" brings us back to the kingdom of power-metal, complete with bombastic drums, great guitar-work, and singer Fabio Leone's soaring voice.
I was not a metalhead at the time, but I can still appreciate this ground-breaking release even today. The forging of the elements is brilliant, if not corny. An amazing beginning to a genre-defining band.
See also: Rhapsody -Power of the Dragonflame, Rhapsody - Dawn of Victory, Rhapsody - Symphony of Enchanted Lands, Kamelot - The Fourth Legacy
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