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Rhapsody Of Fire - The Frozen Tears Of Angels review



Reviewer:
9.3

451 users:
8.08
Band: Rhapsody Of Fire
Album: The Frozen Tears Of Angels
Release date: April 2010


01. Dark Frozen World
02. Sea Of Fate
03. Crystal Moonlight
04. Reign Of Terror
05. Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio
06. Raging Starfire
07. Lost In Cold Dreams
08. On The Way To Ainor
09. The Frozen Tears Of Angels
10. Labyrinth Of Madness [bonus]
11. Sea Of Fate [orchestral version] [bonus]
12. Immortal New Reign [Japanese bonus]

Rhapsody Of Fire is a name synonymous with power metal. Anyone who has ever delved even the smallest bit into this genre undoubtedly has heard of this band. This fact is with good reason: Rhapsody Of Fire is a freaking powerhouse of talent and epic ability. Unlike their last couple albums, The Frozen Tears of Angels satisfies every bit of the unicorn riding, dragon slaying fantasies of Rhapsody Of Fire nerds, while maintaining super solid, well written metal songs.

That said, I'll begin my review of The Frozen Tears of Angels

From the first moment of the first song, "Dark Frozen World ", this is unmistakably a Rhapsody Of Fire album. The James Earl Jones-esque narration's a la Christopher Lee will be familiar to every fan of this band. After a short, but epic, choir and orchestra section, the album is kicked off with "Sea of Fate". Ripping classically influenced power riffs from virtuoso guitarist Luca Turilli? Check. Soaring vocals from virtuoso vocalist Fabio Lione? Check. Orchestrated keyboard synths mixed in with the good old fashion freak out keyboard solos from virtuoso keyboardist Alex Starpoli? Check. These three are definitely the shining stars of the album, although Dominique Leurquin, Patrice Guers and Alex Holzwarth have some pretty insane rhythms, with a few songs featuring short, but INSANE, bass solos.

This album is a solid as hell piece of work. I would say it was perfect, except there are a couple songs on here that seem like rehashed, revamped Rhapsody songs. "Sea of Fate" is the example I'll use. Yeah, sure, it's got really intricate instrumental and vocal work, but it sounds too much like other Rhapsody Of Fire songs that I've heard. That said, the majority of the songs on this album will rock your socks off. "Reign of Terror" is, IMHO, the best Rhapsody Of Fire song I've heard. And that's saying something. Be prepared for Fabio's epic black metal-esque death screams

Final Impression: This album is incredible. I honestly think this is the best material this band has released since Legendary Tales way back when they were still Rhapsody. Check it out, even if you aren't a fan of symphonic power metal, there is something here for every metalhead.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 10
Songwriting: 10
Originality: 8
Production: 10

Written by Parasomnia | 05.06.2011




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.

Staff review by
Baz Anderson
Rating:
8.5
The mighty Rhapsody are back with a new label after years of legal battles. The question is; have the past years exhausted the band, or is The Frozen Tears Of Angels the masterpiece they claim it is?

There's no doubt that The Frozen Tears Of Angels is a Rhapsody album; flamboyant, colourful, cheesy and theatrical, the kings are back. This isn't the absolute masterpiece you might have been waiting for however, but neither is it a disappointment. Opening "Sea Of Fate" might show us that Luca Turilli's fingers haven't ceased up, and the silky smooth "Crystal Moonlight" might be mildly catchy, but these songs fall short of the wild energy and pomposity you might have experienced on the Dawn Of Victory or Power Of The Dragonflame albums for example.

Read more ››
published 08.05.2010 | Comments (45)


Comments

Comments: 9   Visited by: 134 users
05.06.2011 - 19:21
Rating: 9
munson

I agree with your points, but I think this review is too catered to people who already know and enjoy Rhapsody of Fire.
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05.06.2011 - 19:49
Parasomnia

Written by munson on 05.06.2011 at 19:21

I agree with your points, but I think this review is too catered to people who already know and enjoy Rhapsody of Fire.

But then again, this album IS catered for people who know Rhapsody of Fire. This isn't exactly the best album to start out on, story wise
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05.06.2011 - 21:07
Rating: 9
munson

Written by Parasomnia on 05.06.2011 at 19:49

Written by munson on 05.06.2011 at 19:21

I agree with your points, but I think this review is too catered to people who already know and enjoy Rhapsody of Fire.

But then again, this album IS catered for people who know Rhapsody of Fire. This isn't exactly the best album to start out on, story wise


Good point. Still my favorite RoF album to date, and if you're not thinking about the story arch, I think this would be a great first taste of Rhapsody of Fire. The narrated and orchestral parts are easier to digest on this album, I think.
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05.06.2011 - 21:43
Parasomnia

Written by munson on 05.06.2011 at 21:07

Written by Parasomnia on 05.06.2011 at 19:49

Written by munson on 05.06.2011 at 19:21

I agree with your points, but I think this review is too catered to people who already know and enjoy Rhapsody of Fire.

But then again, this album IS catered for people who know Rhapsody of Fire. This isn't exactly the best album to start out on, story wise


Good point. Still my favorite RoF album to date, and if you're not thinking about the story arch, I think this would be a great first taste of Rhapsody of Fire. The narrated and orchestral parts are easier to digest on this album, I think.

Definitely agree The music is much more solid than its ever been before, and there isn't as many random folk interludes in this album.
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06.06.2011 - 23:30
Saeed_p

But from chaos to eternity is much better
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07.06.2011 - 06:48
mikeprado30

Written by Saeed_p on 06.06.2011 at 23:30

But from chaos to eternity is much better

Agree with that! I was surprised with such great album! The best piece in the Rhapsody's discography, even better for me than Power of the Dragonflame (former personal best RoF album)
----
BARDS WE ARE, BARDS WE WILL BE!
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08.06.2011 - 02:20
Parasomnia

Written by Saeed_p on 06.06.2011 at 23:30

But from chaos to eternity is much better

Eh, to each be his own
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02.10.2012 - 15:05
LordHypnos
Account deleted
The rating is too high
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03.10.2012 - 10:26
Parasomnia

Written by Guest on 02.10.2012 at 15:05

The rating is too high

I know, that was after only a couple listens. Now, I'd say its 8.3-8.6
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