After listening intensely to Rhapsody's new album for the past month it is slowly establishing itself as their best and most accomplished so far. Yes, Rhapsody are back, and this time they have taken a big leap forward by adding a real orchestra and a professional narrator, as well as a huge and masterful production, finally giving the band the grandiose sound they deserve. The Dark Secret is an album that doesn't show everything on the first listen. If the album strikes you as not particularly fantastic then you feel the same as I did when I gave it my first listen. This is one of those albums that opens up with time and each listen opens your ears to another layer in the huge sound. The music has so many layers and subtle details that it is hard to grasp it all first time around.
I will shortly comment on the story which takes place in the same realm as all the other Rhapsody albums some years after Power of the dragonflame ended. It is obvious that Luca is a Lords of the rings fan, but instead of making an almost parrallel story it would have been nice if the story had been more original as there are no surprises in this one.
One thing about Rhapsody that always annoyed me was their narrator who was way too dramatic and gave some songs on the earlier albums a very sheepish feel. This has at first been corrected with the addition of the well known Christopher Lee. For the record, I still think they should have used him for the narrations only and never have used his picture in the numerous ways they have. Sorry guys, it is only the narration that really works fantastic. The imagery falls flat. Anyway, onto the music...
Mr. Lee's utterly compelling voice is deep and chilling, setting the scene for another epic journey in the introduction track,
The dark secret. It fits the music of the slowly rising orchestra brilliantly creating a special mood which is further enhanced by big choirs.
Unholy Warcry explodes in your face with great power and sums up the entire album very well. Comparing to the version found on the EP I find this longer version much better. It has a better flow and the middle part gives a whole new epic atmosphere to the song. The orchestration is used to the max. here, constantly edging on the music, giving a sense of urgency and great drive. The aggressive guitar solo sounds strangely familiar so I guess it is a classical piece that has been translated.
Stopping to take a quick breath in an atmospheric passage and a theme that runs through the album,
Never forgotten heroes continues the atmosphere very well. It sets the tempo slightly down but is no less bombastic and with the Rhapsody trademark, an absolutely huge chorus, it makes for another great song. A nod goes to the uplifting keyboard solo and I can easily forgive the unfortunate lyrics.
The instrumental
Elgard's green valleys made me groan. Oh no, that voice was not Christopher Lee!?? Did they do it again? Yes, for some reason the band has decided to add another voice character in the form of Iras Algor played by Toby Eddington. When you have someone as professional as Christopher Lee, then why on earth not find a way for him to do all the voice acting? Ok, I'll get back to Toby when he makes his next appearance. The music has an upbeat adventurous mood, but overall it feels too simple and short, like something is missing. I think this one should either have been kept of the album, or expanded. Fx. the somewhat odd fitting flute part from Sacred Power... could have been used here. It feels like a natural extension of the melody.
The magic of the wizards dream is a ballad that is beautifully performed by Fabio. It has a sad undertone to it and the use of an opera voice, especially in the last chorus, adds something really cool to the song. The only downpoint is the rythm which is typical for a ballad. The orchestra and Fabio's voice goes a long way in creating a special feel, but when I focus on the drums it is like the rythm pulls the juice out of the song. More variation please!
Wish granted... The 10 minute long
Erian's mystical rhymes shows how good the arrangements of Luca and Alex have become. Once the song gets going it keeps the intensity going all the way till the end. This song is just one example of how the orchestra and the band unite in a fantastic way. Fabio puts on a truly impressive performance as well. His voice has developed and on the entire album he sings very varied and always with a lot of feeling. Here he delivers the many captivating passages with great conviction. Catastrophically, in the end the song drops its majestic tone on the floor as Toby Eddington as the wizard Iras takes over the narration in a speech that makes me laugh out loud every time I hear it, especially the pronouncation of the words "incredible danger" sounds so funny. To me it is obvious that he cannot match Christopher Lee, so why use him in this way? I don't know. This part of the album reminds me of that old 80'ies fantasy movie, The Barbarians. Impossible to take serious, but hilarious nonetheless. Just too bad as it destroys the atmosphere of the album completely for me. My advice is to let the music speak for itself in the future if Mr. Lee is unavailable.
The last angels' call is incredibly catchy and caught my ears right away. It is one of those charging straight ahead songs, galloping headfirst into a memorable chorus that you will go around humming for weeks. A trademark Rhapsody song and one of the reasons why I find this band to be so special. The way the orchestra is used in the verses works very well too. The term Happy Metal is not that far off here.
Dragonland's rivers begins with some campy voice acting but luckily that is soon forgotten as the captivating music takes over. The song beautifully creates a lush atmosphere with a warm harpsichord sound, flute and Fabio's mesmerizing voice and ends up as an atmospheric mid tempo track. A welcome breather after the last two bursts of power.
Sacred power of raging winds has Christopher Lee making a welcome return, giving the song an ominous atmosphere right from the start. Unfortunately the big bad beast in the middle part doesn't sound very frightening, more like a sad old guy with a serious speech impediment. Like I mentioned earlier I think the flute part fits somewhat odd in this song and could have been incorporated into
Erian's green valleys with more success. It just feels too happy for the atmosphere of the song. Anyway, overall Sacred power... is another killer song. 'Nuff said.
Guardiani Del Destino is a stirring piece sung in Italian. Nearing the end the album takes a darker turn with the haunting
Shadows of death complete with a cool guitar and keyboard battle. The immense
Nightfall on the grey mountains ends this first part of a new saga, much in the same way The Fellowship of the ring ended that first part of a trilogy, with a strong craving for more.
Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli are given ample opportunity to show their skills and through the album we are treated to countless guitar and keyboard solo spots. A few stand out, but mostly they just fit into the music very well. Drummer Alex Holzwarth is a strong foundation and all in all Rhapsody sound like a well oiled machine that is not about to break for anyone.
I bought the Limited DVD edition of the album as soon as it came out and it is definitely worth the purchase for the fans. You get a 15 minute making of the album documentary. It merely scratches the surface and I would have liked it to be much longer and detailed. The making of the Unholy warcry video is pretty fun too, one comment in particular is hilarious, but I won't reveal that, hehe. A short documentary on the artwork for the album is also included as well as 3 different versions of the Unholy warcry video. The Epic version is by far the best and here Rhapsody have actually produced a worthwhile video.
The actual packaging does the band honor too. A book format with thick and heavily illustrated sheets of paper outlining the story, lyrics and band pictures which are always fun to look at. Luckily there are no cd sleeves. Top score on the packaging.
So to sum up this long review:
Good points:
Christopher Lee
Blood stirring and awe inspiring music
Huge orchestra, an amazing production and impressive arrangements
Many many layers of music which equal many many hours of enjoyment
Bad points:
Bad bad Toby Eddington... The second narrator
Unoriginal story with too many similarities to The Lord of the rings
Elgard's Green Valleys could have been more worked out.
Conclusion:
All my critical comments aside, what you get with this album is something really special. The music is adventurous, constantly challenging and takes Rhapsody to the next level. At times the music will take you far away and before you know it the more than 70 minutes of music has passed like a quick breeze, leaving you amazed and hitting the play button to experience it over again. A slightly flawed package, but the most important element, the music, is without doubt incredible and beyond comparison to any other band out there playing a similar style. Rhapsody are still the kings of the Symphonic Metal genre.
Written by
Steen Monday, October 4, 2004
Show all reviews by SteenRatingsSteen: 8.5/10Members: 7.5/10 - Average of 2 ratings.
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 | Tommy
Rating: 6.5/10
And so we got the fifth Rhapsody opus and yes overall it's a good album.
Unholy... · Read more · |
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