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Rhapsody (of Fire) - Power of the Dragonflame CD (album) cover

POWER OF THE DRAGONFLAME

Rhapsody (of Fire)

 

Progressive Metal

3.43 | 95 ratings

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Gatot
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Rhapsody, the Hollywood Metal warrior from Italy came back with their full length album "Power of the Dragonflame" which comprises epic and fantasy in a power metal music with orchestral arrangement. The mastermind is still two gentlemen: guitarist Luca Turili and keyboardist Alex Staropoli. They continued the saga of Algalord through a grand conceptual story that seems to be pretentious. Well, you might say that this is a progressive metal album with real symphony orchestra which reminds us to the Lord of The Rings movie. The album would definitely favor metal heads as well as those who like Nightwish, Symphony X, Dream Theater, etc.

The album starts off with the orchestral instrumental "In Tenebris" that brings the music into a familiar speed-metal vein and the exuberant title track. Lead vocalist Fabio Leone's voice seems getting better with each release even though in some parts his voice is overwhelmed by the choirs. However his style matches quite well with the massive choirs on "The March of the Swordmaster." In "When Demons Awake" the band goes into almost technical thrash metal, augmented with symphonic keyboards and multi-layer vocals. Turilli and Staropoli demonstrate themselves as a formidable duo on this track, combining in alternate guitar and synthesizer solos. Flutes, recorders, and violins dominate their presence on "Agony is My Name", a complex music that tells the story about Algalord's concept for revenge and death.

The music moves into quieter passages for "Lamento Eroico", as the name implies it sung in poignant Italian by Leone and accompanied by piano work by Staropoli. The band then brings us into an orchestral part in relatively complex arrangement in "Steelgods of the Last Apocalypse". As "The Pride of the Tyrant" being played it reminds me to the obvious influence of Yngwie Malmsteen to the band. The nineteen - minute epic "Gargoyles, Angels of Darkness" starts off with wonderful acoustic guitar work. This might be the grandiose work the band tries to do that may fit the end of Algalord chronicles. Broken into three parts, this epic brings the music into slower tempo up a bit that features heavy guitar riffs and grooves.

Even though this album is not bad at all but I still personally prefer the band's first three albums: "Legendary Tales", "Symphony of Enchanted Lands" and "Dawn of Victory". The only weak point this album has is too much choirs instead of Fabio Leone's voice. It's probably production issue as the choirs really dominate everything as if there is no accompanying music. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild. GW

Gatot | 3/5 |

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