Rhapsody of Fire - The Frozen Tears of Angels (4/5)

01. Dark Frozen World 02:12 02. Sea of Fate 04:49 03. Crystal Moonlight 04:25 04. Reign of Terror 06:52 05. Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio 06:26 06. Raging Starfire 04:56 07. Lost in Cold Dreams 05:14 08. On The Way to Ainor 06:59 09. The Frozen Tears of Angels 11:17

It’s been far, far too long since there was a new Rhapsody of Fire album. Something like four years, even, since the Italian masters of epic power metal brought out new material. So it’s with no little expectation that the musical world greets ‘The Frozen Tears of Angels’, the band’s eighth album - but boy, is it worth the wait.

Just to clear up any lingering confusion, Rhapsody of Fire are in fact the same band as Rhapsody, who brought us madcap epic/speed metal classics such as “Knightrider of Doom”, “Dawn of Victory” and “Dargor, Shadowlord of the Black Mountain”. Starting with 2006‘s ‘Triumph or Agony’ album, they’ve had that “of Fire” appended to their name due to “trademark issues”, which hasn‘t confused anyone whatsoever… Since then, however, the band have had an enforced absence from music following yet another copyright battle, this time with Man’O’War bassist Joey DeMaio and his Magic Circle Music label…so it’s really only now that Rhapsody of Fire, freshly signed to Nuclear Blast, have been unleashed upon the musical world.

Before listening to a Rhapsody of Fire album, you tend to have a pretty exact idea of what you’re about to hear. There’ll be a little Tolkien-esque speech by everyone’s favourite aged horror actor Christopher Lee, followed by an epic orchestral and choral introduction, before a frantic, high-speed galloping drum and guitar combo kicks in. Then there’ll be some high pitched vocals, probably with that orchestra and choir backing up the melody, before a duelling guitar/keyboard solo. If that’s what you’re expecting, well, good shout, because that’s literally exactly what Rhapsody present.

Alright, so epic power metal is a deeply predictable business, but that shouldn’t really be news to anyone…and nor should the fact that Rhapsody of Fire are right at the very top of that game. They’re old hands at the art of epic power metal; they know exactly what you’re looking for, and hit it dead centre. Hence, “Sea of Fate” features a guitar/bass/keyboard solo battle, expanding still further on the classic guitar/keyboard duel beloved of power metal fans. They’ve taken competitive soloage to a whole new level, and that on the first real song of the album…I, for one, almost wet myself - and not with wee, if you know what I mean. Incidentally, if you splash out on the special edition with the Bonus Tracks, you’ll also be treated to “Labyrinth of Madness”, which is a four-minute Luca Turilli guitar solo. Awesome.

Anyway, Rhapsody have struck across a winning formula, and really look to hammer it home repeatedly on ‘The Frozen Tears of Angels’. “Crystal Moonlight” is every bit as epic as “Sea of Fate”, with just as much ludicrous soloage. “Reign of Terror” ups the ante once again by actually using a wild guitar solo as a riff before vocalist Fabio Lione and his backing choir kick in over the driving beat. This is music that, when played at a ridiculous volume, can put a giddy grin on the face of any fan of cheesy power metal. Even on “Reign of Terror”, which is almost seven minutes long, the pace never drops, and there’s a good two minutes of guitar solo in there.

Of course, this being Rhapsody, there’s also a song like “Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio” in there…remember “The Village of the Dwarves” from ‘Dawn of Victory’? This is in that kind of vein, a song primarily led by the orchestra - the woodwind section at that - which sounds like incidental music from a scene in the Lord of the Rings where some elves do a dance. It’s…weird. But it kind of comes with the territory with Rhapsody, and the fact it’s sandwiched between high-octane, shred-tastic songs like “Reign of Terror” and “Raging Starfire” (which features another great solo battle, on the level of old-school Sonata Arctica) rather tempers any disappointment that the occasional break into LOTR-inspired cheese may inspire. We must tolerate some eccentricities from our geniuses.

“Lost in Cold Dreams” is the album’s token ballad, but in classical Rhapsody (*sigh* …of Fire) style features a pretty ripping guitar solo. No duet with Christopher Lee this time, though - we have to hark back to “The Magic of the Wizard’s Dream” from ’Symphony of the Enchanted Lands II’ for the last one of those. It’s a welcome change of pace, though, on an album which spans over fifty minutes, mostly at a dangerously high speed. You become so used to the way that Rhapsody do business, though, that it never seems unusual that the album is conducted at such furious velocity - which is to say, it doesn’t get old. It may be a repetitive formula, but you’re more likely to succumb to physical exhaustion than boredom.

Things draw to a suitably epic climax with the title track, “The Frozen Tears of Angels”. Over eleven minutes long, featuring a dense atmospheric string intro and of course a spoken-word interlude straight out of a Tolkien wet dream, it’s a microcosm of the album as a whole. A vast, sprawling epic of a song, featuring fast double-bass led sections, slower melodic verses, and of course a duelling keyboard/guitar solo…it’s comparable to “Unholy Warcry” from ‘Symphony of the Enchanted Lands II’, and is a fantastic way to close out the album. It sums up everything that came before it, and although (again like the rest of the album) it treads a rather familiar path, it somehow doesn’t outstay its welcome and is generally just pretty great.

‘The Frozen Tears of Angels’ is an album, then, which lives up to expectations perfectly. It’s a solid example of what Rhapsody of Fire do best, and although they make no effort to go anywhere new or different with their music there’s a familiarity about it all…it reminds you that the four years that have just gone by without a Rhapsody album were missing something. Something epic, if a little cheesy; something drenched in ridiculous guitar solos and enormous orchestral arrangements, and something that metal just wouldn’t be the same without.

The Frozen Tears of Angels is available to buy or download at Play.com

Genre : Power Metal

Article by Phil Sim