RHAPSODY OF FIRE – The Frozen Tears Of Angels

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.