Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Rhapsody Of Fire
Label: AFM Records
Released: 2013
Length: 59:27
Rating: 4/5
Trieste’s symphonic power metallers Rhapsody of Fire are a band that stirs up seriously mixed feelings among fans of similar music, all while boasting an incredibly loyal, almost fanatical base of longtime followers. On one hand, you’ve got a one-of-a-kind bunch of technically enviable musicians and pioneers of their genre; one of the first bands to start fusing power metal with epic, orchestral, mostly baroque-tinged arrangements and operatic vocal harmonies. On the other hand, their fantasy lyrics about fairy-tale creatures, fearless warriors and imaginary lands with thousands of years of history, while packed with that classic Italian flair for epic, tragedy and pomp, are something hardly anyone takes seriously. For a while, when they ‘scared’ live crowds with a solemn master of ceremonies in the form of an overly chatty wizard-jester, they were even a bit of a laughingstock among those who weren’t the most devoted Rhapsody of Fire fans.
Evidently those ‘kitschy’ days are over, and after countless lineup changes and a ‘split’ of the band into two halves, Rhapsody of Fire have become noticeably more mature musicians, if not necessarily as personalities. »Dark Wings of Steel« is the eleventh Rhapsody of Fire studio album (counting the EP »The Dark Secret«, 2004) and the first since the amicable parting with founding guitarist and composer Luca Turilli, who then started his own version of the band called Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody. Interestingly, unlike with Queensryche, there was no bad blood at all after this move; if anything, it’s quite the opposite.
Since then there have been two Rhapsody factions, but according to Turilli, their records complement each other and are still part of the same epic-fantasy opus, so »Dark Wings of Steel« is technically already the twelfth studio album from the Trieste masters of epic symphonic metal. The situation is a bit reminiscent of what happened with Barclay James Harvest and Wishbone Ash, where two bands with the same name amicably carry on. Still, »Dark Wings of Steel« is the first Rhapsody of Fire release that’s no longer part of Turilli’s long-running fantasy saga, and the first to come out on AFM Records, after they stopped working with Nuclear Blast.
The helm of the Rhapsody of Fire ‘faction’, the one that was once called Rhapsody (and before that Thundercross, until the members had to change the name in 2006 for legal reasons), fell to the two original members, keyboardist and main composer Alex Staropoli and vocalist Fabio Lione. These two took over the reins of a band that welcomed German bassist Oliver Holzwarth (best known as Blind Guardian’s live bassist) as its new member, who also happens to be the brother of longtime Rhapsody of Fire drummer Alex Holzwarth. The latter was for a while a member of both versions of Rhapsody, until Turilli replaced him with Alex Landenburg (ex-Stratovarius, Annihilator, Axxis).
Turilli, meanwhile, was replaced by the practically unknown guitarist Roby De Micheli, who did his job surprisingly convincingly and brought some much-needed freshness to the band, solos included. After second guitarist Tom Hess left, Rhapsody of Fire once again have a single (lead) guitarist after a long time. De Micheli’s guitar approach may be a touch more no-nonsense and less refined than that of the eternal neoclassicist Turilli, but at least for now the change has done their sound a world of good. Interestingly, the songwriting gap that opened up after Turilli’s departure wasn’t any kind of pressing problem on »Dark Wings of Steel« at all. Alex got help with arranging and composing from his own brother Manuel Staropoli, and together they did a really good job, while Lione focused exclusively on the lyrics. Those are still their weakest side since, as usual, they contain some of the most worn-out clichés from fantasy literature, but there’s progress in the fact that this time they don’t wreck the mood of individual pieces with soul-crushing narrations, the way they loved to do in the past.
»Dark Wings of Steel« is an album made entirely to the taste of most Rhapsody of Fire fans, which means that, as expected, it sticks to the long-running, well-worn sonic recipe, while also bringing a few not-too-radical, refreshing ideas, and in places where you’d least expect them, so that, especially in terms of atmosphere, it’s one of their most interesting and dynamic efforts in the past ten years. Rhapsody of Fire practically can’t do without a short, pompous intro, and this time that ‘honor’ went to the orchestral-operatic attention grabber »Vis Divina«, which with its dark and mysterious atmosphere takes the listener on an epic journey through the eleven songs on »Dark Wings of Steel«.
»Rising From Tragic Flames« is proof that Rhapsody aren’t changing the winning recipe that has thrilled their fans so far; fiery guitar riffs are stretched over the relentless pounding of double bass pedals, keeping company with baroque orchestral arrangements and Lione’s epic vocal approach, backed by an operatic foundation. It’s an almost stereotypical Rhapsody of Fire song, the kind they’ve made countless times before, and yet the old recipe, especially atmosphere-wise, still somehow ignites. The next track, »Angel of Light«, sounds a bit fresher, with plenty of shifts between calm and explosive sections and ultra-pompous symphonic touches, with no shortage of Lione’s epic-tragic vocal lines.
During »Tears Of Pain« you can hear that the orchestral curtains in the production are pushed a bit more to the front for most of the song, while the rhythm section dictates a merciless battle march. One of the album’s best moments is definitely the atmospherically powerful and rhythmically dynamic »Fly To Crystal Skies«, dominated by mighty yet subtle symphonic curtains, while the central guitar riff recalls something German power metallers, led by Grave Digger, might have come up with. With the way they improvise during the instrumental part, De Micheli and Staropoli also add a bit of experimental charm, while the epic power metal chorus will once again make all the longtime faithful happy.
The slightly experimental »My Sacrifice« has folk elements and a ballad-like intro with acoustic guitar, until it goes through numerous rhythmic changes, packed with some vivid guitar and keyboard variations. »Silver Lake of Tears« is a sharp turn into a fast tempo with pompous chants, neoclassical solos and baroque symphonic arrangements, which means it’ll probably soon find its place among the Rhapsody of Fire live staples.
On the melancholic power ballad »Custode di Pace« (Italian for ‘keeper of peace’), where you can also hear some acoustic guitar tunes, Fabio sings in his native Italian for the only time on the album, if you don’t count one of the verses in »My Sacrifice«. It was a pretty good decision, since this composition, where mighty symphonic curtains abound, is full of tragic pathos, passion and pain, which come across even more strongly in operatically spiced Italian than in English. »A Tale Of Magic« is a fighting-mood number with the traditional, classicist-epic Rhapsody of Fire finesse, where sharpened guitar passages battle with symphonic textures for supremacy, while Lione once again shines with a brilliant vocal performance. The title track is a rather interesting experiment, with Oliver’s bass lines briefly pushed to the front, before the guitar-keyboard duo takes over the main instrumental lead again, along with the indestructible, operatically inclined teller of epic tales, Mr. Lione. He’s occasionally joined by pompous choir harmonies. The album closes with »Sad Mystic Moon«, which, after a calm and melancholic intro, slowly shifts into a fast tempo and peaks in a thoroughly characteristic epic chorus.
You could easily file Rhapsody of Fire under hyper-productive bands, cranking out studio albums on an ‘assembly line’ over the last few years, but the music on »Dark Wings of Steel« doesn’t suffer from that trend one bit, which is a really nice surprise. The Trieste dragon tamers have made a superb album on the level of some of the best moments of their career, one that will delight all lovers of epic melodies and melodramatic arrangements, though you can’t expect any big surprises or radical sonic experiments from them. Supposedly there’s no rivalry between the two Rhapsody factions, and yet with »Dark Wings of Steel« Rhapsody of Fire have made a noticeably more convincing, interesting and refreshing album than Turilli’s faction, which with »Ascending to Infinity« (2012) delivered a solid but not overly impressive effort.
Lineup
Fabio Lione – vocals
Alex Staropoli – keyboards
Roberto De Micheli – guitar
Oliver Holzwarth – bass
Alex Holzwarth – drums
Production
Alex Staropoli
Tracklist
1. Vis Divina
2. Rising From Tragic Flames
3. Angel Of Light
4. Tears Of Pain
5. Fly To Crystal Skies
6. My Sacrifice
7. Silver Lake Of Tears
8. Custode Di Pace
9. A Tale Of Magic
10. Dark Wings Of Steel
11. Sad Mystic Moon
