Rhapsody of Fire: From Chaos to Eternity

The Italian symphonic power metal veterans Rhapsody of Fire return with a quick follow-up to The Frozen Tears of Angels and EP The Cold Embrace of Fear, their latest saga of fantasy metal titled From Chaos to Eternity. With legendary film actor Christopher Lee once again providing the narration to this continuing storyline, you can expect more of the same 'hollywood metal' from Rhapsody of Fire, impeccably produced and with stunning musicianship.

One new thing to report, and that's the hiring of an additional guitar player, Tom Hess, who shares lead & rhythm duties with band leader Luca Turilli throughout this exciting album. The two are joined by longtime singer Fabio Lione, keyboard wizard Alex Staropoli, bassist Patrice Guers, and drummer Alex Holzwarth. The title track and "Tempesta di Fuoco" kick things off with a strong 1-2 punch of blazing symphonic neo-classical metal, as Lione's soaring vocals fly over lightning riffs & leads, huge beds of keyboards, and powerful rhythms. More traditional power metal structures can be heard on the excellent "Ghosts of Forgotten Worlds" (Kamelot fans will love this one!), and the gorgeous "Anima perduta" is a lush opera metal cut with Lione singing in glorious Italian. "Aeons of Raging Darkness" sees the first appearance on the CD of some guest black metal screams to do battle with Lione's soaring clean vocals. This is something they dabbled with on the last album, and it works here too, adding a new dimension to the Rhapsody of Fire attack, similar to what Kamelot have done on occasion, and what bands like Epica and Scar Symmetry do regularly. The symphonic, and highly progressive "I Belong to the Stars" follows, a great vehicle for Lione and Staropoli, while the dueling clean & extreme vocals return on the sizzling, guitar fueled "Tornado".

All this of course gets the listener ready for the near 20-minute epic "Heroes of the Waterfall's Kingdom", a 5 part suite that starts off in full blown folk mode with Italian vocals, acoustic guitars, flutes, choirs, and keyboards, before the frenetic orchestral metal kicks in. Plenty of wild musical passages throughout this one, and if you like layers of vocals, you get that in full here. Toss in a cover of Iron Maiden's "Flash of the Blade", and you have another highly enjoyable release from this Italian juggernaut.

Though you can say that there's nothing new on display here, what Rhapsody of Fire do they do so well. The musicianship is stellar, the vocals tremendous, and the storyline is fascinating as always. For many, the highlight will surely be the epic "Heroes of the Waterfall's Kingdom", which is worth the price of admission alone, but there's not a weak track here to be honest. Turilli & Hess are sure to be one of the most talked about guitar teams in metal (there's plenty of shred-o-rama on display), and with the future of Kamelot somewhat cloudy, there's no reason why Rhapsody of Fire can't soar to the top of the symphonic power metal heap. Quality stuff here!

Track Listing
1."Ad Infinitum" - 1:30
2."From Chaos to Eternity" - 5:45
3."Tempesta di fuoco" ("Firestorm") - 4:48
4."Ghosts of Forgotten Worlds" - 5:35
5."Anima perduta" ("Lost Soul") - 4:46
6."Aeons of Raging Darkness" - 5:46
7."I Belong to the Stars" - 4:55
8."Tornado" - 4:57
9."Heroes of the Waterfall's Kingdom" - 19:39
I. "Lo spirito della foresta" ("The Spirit of the Forest")
II. "Realm of Sacred Waterfalls"
III. "Thanor's Awakening"
IV. "Northern Skies Enflamed"
V. "The Splendour of Angels' Glory (A Final Revelation)"
10."Flash of the Blade" (Iron Maiden cover, bonus track) - 4:17

Added: July 31st 2011
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 2546
Language: english

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