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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Rhapsody Of Fire - Into The Legend + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
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│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Jan-16-2016 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2016 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......The_Patriarch Songs........11 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.rhapsodyoffire.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Rhapsody Of Fire Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Into The Legend Label : AFM ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ItÆs sometimes hard to keep up with the entity ║ │
│║ we call [Luca TurilliÆs] Rhapsody [of Fire]. ║ │
│║ Starting in the late Æ90s, these Italian ║ │
│║ cheese-mongers took the power metal world by ║ │
│║ storm with their bombastic, orchestral take on ║ │
│║ the genre. The young, bright-eyed Italian ║ │
│║ maestros reeled off four albums that added an ║ │
│║ epic, operatic flair to the neoclassical metal ║ │
│║ of the 1980s theyÆd grown up on. While the ║ │
│║ bandÆs near-demise at the hands of functional ║ │
│║ psychopath Joey Demaio is one of the greatest ║ │
│║ scares of my adult fandom, Rhapsody of Fireæs ║ │
│║ return from near annihilation was celebrated ║ │
│║ with two excellent records and an EP in short ║ │
│║ succession and all was well in the land. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Then tragedy struck. Rhapsody of Fire as we knew ║ │
│║ it was finished after an amicable break, with ║ │
│║ Luca Turilli leaving the band. Turilli and Alex ║ │
│║ Staropoli would each get their own version of ║ │
│║ the bandùwith TurilliÆs staying on Nuclear ║ │
│║ Blast, and StaropoliÆs moving on to AFM. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ With the band being as melodramatic and operatic ║ │
│║ as its music, it only followed that Rhapsody of ║ │
│║ Fire raised this storyÆs tension by dropping a ║ │
│║ steaming pile of proverbial dragon dung in 2013, ║ │
│║ while Luca TurilliÆs Rhapsody nailed its debut. ║ │
│║ Dark Wings of Steel marked Rhapsody of Fireæs ║ │
│║ first bad output since the Magic Circle days, ║ │
│║ and I was left discouraged. The album was only a ║ │
│║ shade of the bandÆs former glory, with ║ │
│║ simplistic and uninteresting songs and flat, ║ │
│║ muddy production. Worst of all, the guitar work ║ │
│║ took the biggest hit, as though replacing Mozart ║ │
│║ with Salieri. Frankly, I had trouble mustering ║ │
│║ up the energy to even listen to the album enough ║ │
│║ times to write a review.1 ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Into the Legend marks the 2nd full length record ║ │
│║ from the Luca Turilli-less Rhapsody of Fire, and ║ │
│║ Rhapsody of Fire isnÆt about to miss again. ║ │
│║ TheyÆve come loaded for bearà with orchestras. ║ │
│║ The timeline on how long Into the Legend took to ║ │
│║ prepare is unclearù7 years in four different ║ │
│║ studios? But IÆm not sure how that makes senseù ║ │
│║ but the end result of these gargantuan exertions ║ │
│║ is a colossal 70 minute album packed to bursting ║ │
│║ with every instrumentalist they could muster. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The exertions seem to have come on the recording ║ │
│║ side of the record, however, as no exertions ║ │
│║ were exerted to make this album sound like ║ │
│║ anything other than a [Luca TurilliÆs] Rhapsody ║ │
│║ [of Fire] album. Start with the epic orchestral ║ │
│║ introduction; knock out 9 above-average-to- ║ │
│║ excellent power metal songs backed by choirs, ║ │
│║ threaded with buttloads of sweep picked ║ │
│║ arpeggios [How can less be more!? û Yngwie]; and ║ │
│║ close it out with a testicle-crushing 16-minute ║ │
│║ epic. The only difference is that Staropoli and ║ │
│║ crew seem to agree with everyone else in the ║ │
│║ world that voice overs are cheesy as hell and ║ │
│║ have removed them. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ To be fair, thereÆs no reason to expect Rhapsody ║ │
│║ of Fire to change. Into the Legend is ║ │
│║ intentionally crafted to sound like the first ║ │
│║ four Rhapsody records, with songs resembling the ║ │
│║ earliest material. Several of them feature the ║ │
│║ once ubiquitous, choir-laden anthemic choruses, ║ │
│║ which hearken back to days of yore (read: 1997). ║ │
│║ This is a wise approach for the Fabio Lione- ║ │
│║ fronted Rhapsody of Fire, because this is the ║ │
│║ material where he shines the brightest. The ║ │
│║ album opens with ôDistant Sky,ö which puts the ║ │
│║ choirs on display immediately and the band never ║ │
│║ backs offùöWinters Rain,ö ôA Voice in the Cold ║ │
│║ Wind,ö and ôRage of Darkness,ö all feature these ║ │
│║ trademark choruses. And theyÆre not against ║ │
│║ revisiting other hits, as well: ôA Voice in the ║ │
│║ Cold Windö is the obligatory ôVillage of the ║ │
│║ Dwarvesö reference, while ôShining Starö is an ║ │
│║ old school orchestral ballad, but also the ║ │
│║ albumÆs worst moment due to Fabio missing a ║ │
│║ couple of pretty sour notes in the chorus. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The orchestrations are a highlight of Into the ║ │
│║ Legend and the use of a real orchestra, the ║ │
│║ different choirs, and other ensemble ║ │
│║ instruments, makes for an engaging listen. The ║ │
│║ sound is lush, but I questionùas usualùthe need ║ │
│║ of crushing the master here to a DR7 given the ║ │
│║ space and dynamics of an orchestra. Still, ║ │
│║ Alberto Marin (mix) and Maor Appelbaum ║ │
│║ (mastering) manage to get something more akin to ║ │
│║ Turisasæs loud, but well-produced, Stand up and ║ │
│║ Fight, rather than Fleshgod Apocalypse. The use ║ │
│║ of a real orchestra also differentiates this ║ │
│║ album from earlier Rhapsody of Fire, which often ║ │
│║ scored a level orchestral alacrity that only an ║ │
│║ orchestra made up of 150 Antonio Vivaldis could ║ │
│║ ever have performed. This more grounded, ║ │
│║ realistic sound makes Into the Legend sound epic ║ │
│║ and mature. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ There are, of course, things that donÆt work as ║ │
│║ well. Nowhere is TurilliÆs absence more ║ │
│║ noticeable than in the guitar work. Roberto de ║ │
│║ Micheli is a virtuoso guitarist in his own ║ │
│║ rightùcheck that solo in ôRage of Darknessö if ║ │
│║ you had any questions about thatùbut Luca is a ║ │
│║ special guitarist, and de MicheliÆs solos never ║ │
│║ quite drive me into the upper echelons of ║ │
│║ guitar-solo-induced rapture. The other thing ║ │
│║ that stands out about the composition on Into ║ │
│║ the Legend is the extent to which Staropoli ║ │
│║ composes in sentence fragments rather than full ║ │
│║ sentences, or even paragraphs. Songs like ║ │
│║ ôDistant Sky,ö ôInto the Legend,ö ôValley of the ║ │
│║ Shadows,ö and even closing epic ôThe Kiss of ║ │
│║ Light,ö start with simple phrases, as though ║ │
│║ written from guitar. Made up of two or three ║ │
│║ notes and quite repetitive, these licks seem out ║ │
│║ of place and oddly elementary for a band so ║ │
│║ invested in bombast that they put a dragon on ║ │
│║ every single record theyÆve produced. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ItÆs obvious, however, that Into the Legend is a ║ │
│║ worthy successor of the Rhapsody of Fire legacy ║ │
│║ after that little hiccup back from 2013 of which ║ │
│║ we shall never speak again. Into the Legend is ║ │
│║ substantive chapter in Rhapsody of Fireæs ║ │
│║ ongoing dissertation on the Malmsteenian thesis ║ │
│║ that ômore is,ö indeed, ômore.ö These, the ║ │
│║ venerable Italian statesmen of orchestral metal, ║ │
│║ make their case with all the bombast and majesty ║ │
│║ weÆve come to expect. ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - In Principio [02:45] │
│ 02 - Distant Sky [04:33] │
│ 03 - Into the Legend [05:01] │
│ 04 - Winter's Rain [07:44] │
│ 05 - A Voice in the Cold Wind [06:18] │
│ 06 - Valley of Shadows [06:55] │
│ 07 - Shining Star [04:39] │
│ 08 - Realms of Light [06:01] │
│ 09 - Rage of Darkness [06:03] │
│ 10 - The Kiss of Life [16:45] │
│ 11 - Volar Sin Dolor (Bonus Track) [04:38] │
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│ Total Length : [71:22 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
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│ │
│■ ■│
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