{"id":36346,"date":"2014-01-27T09:28:00","date_gmt":"2014-01-27T14:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=36346"},"modified":"2014-01-27T09:28:00","modified_gmt":"2014-01-27T14:28:00","slug":"rhapsody-of-fire-dark-wings-of-steel-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/rhapsody-of-fire-dark-wings-of-steel-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhapsody of Fire | Dark Wings of Steel<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Ron Higgins<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"RhapsodyAfter 2013\u2019s live release Live \u2013 From Chaos to Eternity<\/em>, Rhapsody of Fire are back with their eagerly awaited new studio album, Dark Wings of Steel. Adding to the anticipation of this new release is the curiosity surrounding how they would proceed without one of their primary composers, Neo-classical guitarist extraordinaire Luca Turilli. Turilli split off and formed his own band, Luca Turilli\u2019s Rhapsody, releasing their first album in 2012, Ascending to Infinity<\/em>, which was very well received. Will this release be equally well received? Time will tell.<\/p>\n

Formed in the 1990\u2019s, Rhapsody of Fire released their first album, Legendary Tales<\/em>, in 1997. Back then, they were simply known as Rhapsody, but due to legal reasons they had to change their name after their sixth studio album, 2004\u2019s Symphony of Enchanted Lands II \u2013 The Dark Secret<\/em>. Starting with their debut release, they blended a mix of classic power metal with baroque\/classical elements by adding choirs and orchestras to pounding drums and shredding guitars to become the preeminent Italian symphonic power metal band.<\/p>\n

This new album kicks off with \u201cVis Divina\u201d, a nice little minute and a half track that starts with a chanting choir before Alex Staropoli\u2019s powerful keyboards explode onto the scene. It means \u201cDivine Strength\u201d and lets listeners know immediately that this will be another symphonic release true to the Rhapsody name. For this release they employed the talents of a real choir and orchestra in place of computerized replicas making the overall sound more authentic and enjoyable. Following quickly on the heels of the opener is the first full-length song \u201cRising from Tragic Flames\u201d. It\u2019s classic symphonic power metal replete with blistering guitar work, double-bass drumming, soaring vocals and passionate keyboards.<\/p>\n

The third track, \u201cAngel of Light\u201d is one of the album highlights, clocking in at over seven minutes. This song has everything you\u2019d ever want in a symphonic power metal song, including interesting tempo changes and a combination of acoustic and electric guitars. If you only have $0.99 and can only download one track from this release, make it this one.<\/p>\n

Other highlights include \u201cSilver Lake of Tears\u201d, \u201cCustode Di Pace\u201d, and the title track \u201cDark Wings of Steel\u201d. \u201cSilver Lake of Tears\u201d is one of the most up-tempo songs on offer this time around. It\u2019s a hard rocker but still melodic and features some impressive drumming and alternating guitar\/keyboard soloing. \u201cCustode Di Pace\u201d or \u201cGuardian of Peace\u201d changes things up with a slow ballad sung entirely in their native Italian tongue. Providing an unexpected break in the obligatory head-banging, this mellow tune actually works quite nicely among this set of songs. As for \u201cDark Wings of Steel\u201d, as the second to last song on the album it\u2019s a bit oddly placed for a title track, but it\u2019s well worth the wait. It starts off with some impressive guitar riffing by De Micheli before Staropoli\u2019s keyboards take over and leads the listener through another classic Rhapsody of Fire auditory joy-ride.<\/p>\n

Other tunes include \u201cTears of Pain\u201d which is a typical-sounding power metal song, \u201cFly to Crystal Skies\u201d which has some nice tempo changes and a great melody, \u201cMy Sacrifice\u201d which features an acoustic guitar along with some atypical instruments like a flute, and \u201cA Tale of Magic\u201d which is another nice little melodic rocker with some more tasty guitar soloing.<\/p>\n

Rhapsody of Fire\u2019s 10th full-length studio album wraps up with \u201cSad Mystic Moon.\u201d It\u2019s a little slower but has a nice rhythm section, a heavy chorus and some impressive guitar playing. Overall, it\u2019s a nice way to wrap up this solid release.<\/p>\n

So after 11 tracks and over an hour of music the question remains, is this release as good as Luca Turilli\u2019s new version of Rhapsody? The definitive answer is\u2026 maybe. It really comes down to the preference of the listener. If you like Turilli\u2019s over-the-top neoclassical guitar gymnastics then you\u2019ll probably prefer his release better. However, if you\u2019re looking for less cinematic, standard power metal then you\u2019ll probably like this one. Either way, it\u2019s a worthy addition to the Rhapsody canon of work.<\/p>\n

Genre \tSymphonic Power Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nAlex Staropoli – keyboards
\nFabio Lione \u2013 lead vocals
\nAlex Holzwarth – drums
\nOliver Holzwarth – bass
\nRoby De Micheli – guitars<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tVis Divina
\n2.\tRising from Tragic Flames
\n3.\tAngel of Light
\n4.\tTears of Pain
\n5.\tFly To Crystal Skies
\n6.\tMy Sacrifice
\n7.\tSilver Lake of Tears
\n8.\tCustode Di Pace
\n9.\tA Tale of Magic
\n10.\tDark Wings of Steel
\n11.\tSad Mystic Moon<\/p>\n

Label: AFM Records<\/p>\n

Website:\twww.rhapsodyoffire.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 8.7\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ron Higgins – Columnist — After 2013\u2019s live release Live \u2013 From Chaos to Eternity, Rhapsody of Fire are back with their eagerly awaited new studio album, Dark Wings of Steel. Adding to the […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":36347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[8645,2317,8700,8701,8699,8702],"class_list":{"0":"post-36346","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-afm-records","9":"tag-cd-review","10":"tag-dark-wings-of-steel","11":"tag-luca-turilli","12":"tag-rhapsody-of-fire","13":"tag-symphonic-power-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}