RHAPSODY OF FIRE – The Frozen Tears Of Angels

RHAPSODY OF FIRE - The Frozen Tears Of Angels
  • 8/10
    RHAPSODY OF FIRE - The Frozen Tears Of Angels - 8/10
8/10

Summary

Nuclear Blast
Release date: April 30, 2010

Sending
User Review
0/10 (0 votes)

It takes a lot of courage to create a concept album based on a fictional Sci-Fi/Fantasy story. Not many artists have pulled it off successfully. Rhapsody Of Fire’s latest release The Frozen Tears Of Angels is the bands THIRD attempt at such a feat. It is clear that Rhapsody Of Fire makes music to the beat of their own drum. They are undoubtedly trendsetters among the Symphonic/Power Metal genre. The music is dramatic, intense, and powerful.

The story concept behind The Frozen Tears Of Angels represents the third chapter of The Dark Secret Saga. According to band co-founder and guitarist Luca Turilli, the epic tale started with the album Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II. Turilli goes on to explain the story as “a new epic adventure, a dangerous and emotional journey for the five main characters moving from their lands to the unexplored and icy northlands, there where the Erian’s legendary book could be hidden. If found, those holy pages written with the blood of the angels in the primordial times, could reveal something more about the dark secret related to an ancient prophecy now threatening the whole known world.” The album is complete with narration from legendary British actor Sir Christopher Lee. Lee also did narration for the previous albums of the saga.

There are many Classical Music elements evident throughout the entire album. It is filled with powerful symphonic and operatic movements in almost every track. The most notable being the 11 minute epic title track. Another song of note is “Danza di Fuoco e Ghiaccio” which is sung in the band’s native language of Italian. The song is complete with mandolin guitar and flute and has a Medieval-like feel.

Turilli’s fast and furious Yngwie Malmsteen-esque guitar work is the centerpiece of the album. His playing is spotless. His solos are generally offset by a complimenting keyboard solo from the band’s other co-founder Alex Staropoli. Vocalist Fabio Lione sings his heart out throughout the entire album. His operatic style of singing fits very well with the content of the music. The only downfall to Lione’s vocals is a thick Italian accent which causes difficulty in understanding some of the lyrics. Because the lyrics are so important to an epic conceptual album, it does provide some frustration.

Rhapsody Of Fire claim to get their inspiration from heroic-epic movies such as Braveheart and Lord Of The Rings. That inspiration is apparent in many of the tracks. The songs carry a certain “cinematic” flow. Some would say using that style often opens you up to harsh criticism. However, Rhapsody Of Fire is not the type of band that cares much about criticism. They proudly play their music for the fans which choose to listen. That being said, Turilli describes his music as “a humble art made of passion and based on a strong message of love, peace and respect, something that in our weird society is seen too often and unfortunately as something “out of fashion”, but that is the one and only engine moving our hearts and giving us the strength to compose Rhapsody Of Fire’s music.”

Rhapsody Of Fire is a truly unique band, and one that commands respect in this industry.

Author

  • Sean Meloy

    Sean Meloy was a reviewer, interviewer and DJ here at Metal Express Radio, based out of Iowa , USA. By day he is a straight laced, buttoned up, number crunching accountant; armed with his portable calculator. All other times he is a hard rocking Metal head! He spent many hours listening to records and 8-tracks with his father. Classic bands such as Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Kansas, Led Zeppelin, and Eric Clapton just to name a few. His father bought him his first record, Kiss Alive II, at age 6. By the time he reached his teens he was discovering all the Classic Metal of the 1980’s; Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Twisted Sister, etc. He became a huge fan of the Thrash Metal of the time as well; Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Exodus, and Overkill. During the 1990’s he experimented with the Grunge and Hard Rock. However, by the time the millennium came he found himself going back to his roots and rebuilt the music collection he started in his teens.

    View all posts

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.