Written by Irritable Ted on 20.11.2013 at 17:04

Not really breaking any new ground, but not that bad. Seem to have moved away from the complexity a little bit, whereas Luca has gone the other way.

Agreed, the guitars seem pretty lackluster. I preferred Silver Lake Of Tears over this song. But you can bet I'm still getting this album asap.

These aren't bad songs, but they would be secondary songs on any other Rhapsody album, and here they are the highlights. Luca appears to be the one coming out of this smelling like roses since his album Ascending to Infinity sounded like a classic Rhapsody album with plenty of super catchy choruses and signature Luca guitar sheredding. Roberto is clearly a capable guitar player, but while the speed is there, he just doesn't use the same note selection we've all grown accustomed to Luca using. While this album is still pretty good, it comes off as sounding more like a "poor man's Rhapsody" like Ancient Bards or Derdian rather than the REAL Rhapsody. Actually, those previous mentioned bands have recently released albums that I think are catchier and more impressive than this album. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed with this release, although Fabio sounds amazing as usual. I will eagerly be awaiting the next REAL Rhapsody album, Prometheus, and hope these guys figure it out the next time around.

Rising From Tragic Flames is the only good song I've heard on the album so far.

Written by Empyror on 20.11.2013 at 23:37

These aren't bad songs, but they would be secondary songs on any other Rhapsody album, and here they are the highlights. Luca appears to be the one coming out of this smelling like roses since his album Ascending to Infinity sounded like a classic Rhapsody album with plenty of super catchy choruses and signature Luca guitar sheredding. Roberto is clearly a capable guitar player, but while the speed is there, he just doesn't use the same note selection we've all grown accustomed to Luca using. While this album is still pretty good, it comes off as sounding more like a "poor man's Rhapsody" like Ancient Bards or Derdian rather than the REAL Rhapsody. Actually, those previous mentioned bands have recently released albums that I think are catchier and more impressive than this album. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed with this release, although Fabio sounds amazing as usual. I will eagerly be awaiting the next REAL Rhapsody album, Prometheus, and hope these guys figure it out the next time around.

I'm willing to agree with you to a certain extent here. But what I will say is this. I don't really think Ascending To Infinity sounded that much like a classic Rhapsody album. Yes, the songwriting in itself is similar enough to the Rhapsody material we all know and love, but Conti just doesn't have the same sort of "epic" feeling to his vocals. I fee lhe's too much of a Michael lKiske rip-off to actually give the album the vocals it really deserves. If Fabio sang on Ascending To Infinity, it would've probably been my favorite album of 2012. Yes, I am a Fabio fanboy, but damn, that voice is so amazing that I am not ashamed at all for being one. And he's a lot of the reason why I prefer this version of Rhapsody to Luca's.

Are they using some random title generator? Like seriously, I like epicness but the album title made me puke.

I can make better titles from the Top 10 of 2013!
Surgical Steel Of Carcass
Witherscape Of The Inheritance
From Caladan Echoes Of Brood
Strength Of Spiritual Migration
Summoning Old Mornings' Dawn
Vulture Towers
Omega Shade And Arcane Empire
Beyond Omnium

Written by DeathSlyzer on 21.11.2013 at 00:35

Written by Empyror on 20.11.2013 at 23:37


I'm willing to agree with you to a certain extent here. But what I will say is this. I don't really think Ascending To Infinity sounded that much like a classic Rhapsody album. Yes, the songwriting in itself is similar enough to the Rhapsody material we all know and love, but Conti just doesn't have the same sort of "epic" feeling to his vocals. I fee lhe's too much of a Michael lKiske rip-off to actually give the album the vocals it really deserves. If Fabio sang on Ascending To Infinity, it would've probably been my favorite album of 2012. Yes, I am a Fabio fanboy, but damn, that voice is so amazing that I am not ashamed at all for being one. And he's a lot of the reason why I prefer this version of Rhapsody to Luca's.

I am a HUGE Fabio fanboy myself as well. He is my favorite singer and I will listen to anything if it says he is doing the vocals. That being said, I am also a Kiske fanboy and will listen to anything he wants to sing too. Conti was a complete revelation to me when Ascending came out because I had never heard of him before, and to me, he sounds like the perfect blend of Lione and Kiske's styles. I love that he is who Luca chose for his new band and I don't think the music suffers from not having Fabio sing it, which is what I was afraid of when this split was initially announced. It's hard for me to imagine liking Lione but not caring for Conti because I think they do sing similar operatic styles, with Conti having the higher vocal range and Lione having the lower vocal range. I love Kiske, but his voice is very light and thin compared to these two guys. I don't think of Conti as being a "rip-off" but an amazing mixture of my two favorite singers which is only a positive for me. If this version of Rhapsody never gets things put together, we can always count on Vision Divine to get our Fabio fix. Their last album was amazing and was the only album that beat out Ascending to Infinity for my favorite power metal album last year.

"Rise from the sea of flames" anyone?

Written by Hyperion on 21.11.2013 at 01:11

"Rise from the sea of flames" anyone?

That was the first thing that popped in my mind as well.:lol:

'Hope I'm wrong but it seems the whole rhapsody thing is going downhill for both bands.
On one side, Turili's band with the other vocalist can't top Fabio no matter what (as deathslyzer said)
On the other side, Turili is missing and Fabio's guitar player doesn't even try to do anything flashy\complex
The other song was still cool but on here it feels like the guitars aren't doing anything but chords!
(lame pun:) in that sense the song really is tragic

Baaaaaaw, i might get real tired of it eventually, and the guitars are a bit weak (ok maybe real weak) but it caused a good impression on me, hopefully this is not the highlight of the album, but otherwise, its a good addition to rhapsody of fire.

This seems to be a bit of a departure from the neo-classical guitar I so love from Luca and what I think of as the most endearing aspect of the earlier Rhapsody albums,but I have still have a lot of faith in Alex and Fabio,so I will withhold judgment for now. I'm excited for this album but I am definitely way more excited for Prometheus

Written by Empyror on 21.11.2013 at 01:11

Written by DeathSlyzer on 21.11.2013 at 00:35

Written by Empyror on 20.11.2013 at 23:37


I'm willing to agree with you to a certain extent here. But what I will say is this. I don't really think Ascending To Infinity sounded that much like a classic Rhapsody album. Yes, the songwriting in itself is similar enough to the Rhapsody material we all know and love, but Conti just doesn't have the same sort of "epic" feeling to his vocals. I fee lhe's too much of a Michael lKiske rip-off to actually give the album the vocals it really deserves. If Fabio sang on Ascending To Infinity, it would've probably been my favorite album of 2012. Yes, I am a Fabio fanboy, but damn, that voice is so amazing that I am not ashamed at all for being one. And he's a lot of the reason why I prefer this version of Rhapsody to Luca's.

I am a HUGE Fabio fanboy myself as well. He is my favorite singer and I will listen to anything if it says he is doing the vocals. That being said, I am also a Kiske fanboy and will listen to anything he wants to sing too. Conti was a complete revelation to me when Ascending came out because I had never heard of him before, and to me, he sounds like the perfect blend of Lione and Kiske's styles. I love that he is who Luca chose for his new band and I don't think the music suffers from not having Fabio sing it, which is what I was afraid of when this split was initially announced. It's hard for me to imagine liking Lione but not caring for Conti because I think they do sing similar operatic styles, with Conti having the higher vocal range and Lione having the lower vocal range. I love Kiske, but his voice is very light and thin compared to these two guys. I don't think of Conti as being a "rip-off" but an amazing mixture of my two favorite singers which is only a positive for me. If this version of Rhapsody never gets things put together, we can always count on Vision Divine to get our Fabio fix. Their last album was amazing and was the only album that beat out Ascending to Infinity for my favorite power metal album last year.

Yes! Finally someone who seems to have enjoyed the last Vision Divine album just as much as I did. That album had some epic vocal lines from Lione! Did you hear him on that new Hollow Haze album as well? Really enjoyed his more aggressive approach on that record. I guess I can say I liked that better than Dark Wings of Steel too.

But yeah, I can definitely understand why this album isn't gonna be for everyone, but maybe a grower for some? And yeah, Conti does have some operatic elements to his voice, and he's definitely not a bad vocalist at all. So at this point, I guess it'll come down to personal tastes and so forth. I do enjoy the lighter and very high-pitched way of singing that Kiske and Conti are both so good at, but I seem to enjoy vocalists with deeper voices going higher even more. There's just something special about it when you hear a guy who actually has a pretty deep voice reach all the way up to an A5, and just nail it. And since we're on that subject, I heard Fabio reach an amazingly high note here the other day that I had no idea he could reach. It's on the new Angra live DVD/album, on the song "Carry On". Just listen through that one, and you'll know what I'm talking about. On that song, he is pretty much in Conti range all the way through, almost anyways.

Written by Grey Wind on 21.11.2013 at 01:41

'Hope I'm wrong but it seems the whole rhapsody thing is going downhill for both bands.
On one side, Turili's band with the other vocalist can't top Fabio no matter what (as deathslyzer said)
On the other side, Turili is missing and Fabio's guitar player doesn't even try to do anything flashy\complex
The other song was still cool but on here it feels like the guitars aren't doing anything but chords!
(lame pun:) in that sense the song really is tragic

Why does Conti have to "top" Lione? They sound totally different and they're both excellent (in my opinion) at what they do. It seems like Conti's got this classic Power Metal sound to his voice in the realms of Kiske and Matos. On the other side, Lione has maybe a little more expression(?), and sometimes a bit more vulnerability(?), to his voice (his own unique sound). I agree about the guitar situation though! Turilli seems to bring more excitement and suspense into his playing, and this makes "Prometheus" take seat in front of "Dark Wings Of Steel" on my wantlist.

Well this is definitely better than Silver Lake of Tears but still its just a decent song. But without RoF signature guitar complexities it feels like the song is missing something and that something is very important.

I was putting my money on this album over Luca's but with what I've heard about it, I think its time to give LT RoF a listen...

Written by DeathSlyzer on 21.11.2013 at 15:06

Written by Empyror on 21.11.2013 at 01:11

Written by DeathSlyzer on 21.11.2013 at 00:35

Written by Empyror on 20.11.2013 at 23:37

Yes! Finally someone who seems to have enjoyed the last Vision Divine album just as much as I did. That album had some epic vocal lines from Lione! Did you hear him on that new Hollow Haze album as well? Really enjoyed his more aggressive approach on that record. I guess I can say I liked that better than Dark Wings of Steel too.

But yeah, I can definitely understand why this album isn't gonna be for everyone, but maybe a grower for some? And yeah, Conti does have some operatic elements to his voice, and he's definitely not a bad vocalist at all. So at this point, I guess it'll come down to personal tastes and so forth. I do enjoy the lighter and very high-pitched way of singing that Kiske and Conti are both so good at, but I seem to enjoy vocalists with deeper voices going higher even more. There's just something special about it when you hear a guy who actually has a pretty deep voice reach all the way up to an A5, and just nail it. And since we're on that subject, I heard Fabio reach an amazingly high note here the other day that I had no idea he could reach. It's on the new Angra live DVD/album, on the song "Carry On". Just listen through that one, and you'll know what I'm talking about. On that song, he is pretty much in Conti range all the way through, almost anyways.

I did like the Hollow Haze album quite a bit. To me, it sounds a lot like Vision Divine, which is not a bad thing. I love Michelle Luppi as well, who I think sounds more like Conti. That note he holds at the end of La vita fugge is one of the most rediculous things I've ever heard. I wish he would do something new because as I understand it, he really hasn't done much since leaving Vision Divine. I have looked all over for this Carry On version you're speaking of on download sites and youtube and I can't find anything but crappy sounding videos recorded with phones. Carry On is one of my favorite songs of all time and I would love to hear a good recording of Fabio singing it. As for Dark Wings of Steel, it is slowly growing on me the more I listen to it, but I would still say it is easily the worst Rhapsody album in the catalogue.

Written by Empyror on 23.11.2013 at 03:37

Written by DeathSlyzer on 21.11.2013 at 15:06

Written by Empyror on 21.11.2013 at 01:11

Written by DeathSlyzer on 21.11.2013 at 00:35

Written by Empyror on 20.11.2013 at 23:37

Yes! Finally someone who seems to have enjoyed the last Vision Divine album just as much as I did. That album had some epic vocal lines from Lione! Did you hear him on that new Hollow Haze album as well? Really enjoyed his more aggressive approach on that record. I guess I can say I liked that better than Dark Wings of Steel too.

But yeah, I can definitely understand why this album isn't gonna be for everyone, but maybe a grower for some? And yeah, Conti does have some operatic elements to his voice, and he's definitely not a bad vocalist at all. So at this point, I guess it'll come down to personal tastes and so forth. I do enjoy the lighter and very high-pitched way of singing that Kiske and Conti are both so good at, but I seem to enjoy vocalists with deeper voices going higher even more. There's just something special about it when you hear a guy who actually has a pretty deep voice reach all the way up to an A5, and just nail it. And since we're on that subject, I heard Fabio reach an amazingly high note here the other day that I had no idea he could reach. It's on the new Angra live DVD/album, on the song "Carry On". Just listen through that one, and you'll know what I'm talking about. On that song, he is pretty much in Conti range all the way through, almost anyways.

I did like the Hollow Haze album quite a bit. To me, it sounds a lot like Vision Divine, which is not a bad thing. I love Michelle Luppi as well, who I think sounds more like Conti. That note he holds at the end of La vita fugge is one of the most rediculous things I've ever heard. I wish he would do something new because as I understand it, he really hasn't done much since leaving Vision Divine. I have looked all over for this Carry On version you're speaking of on download sites and youtube and I can't find anything but crappy sounding videos recorded with phones. Carry On is one of my favorite songs of all time and I would love to hear a good recording of Fabio singing it. As for Dark Wings of Steel, it is slowly growing on me the more I listen to it, but I would still say it is easily the worst Rhapsody album in the catalogue.

I know! La Vita Fuge has some absolutely sick notes in it. You have heard the re-recorded version of that song with Fabio on vocals right? Michelle Luppi hasn't been majorly active after leaving Vision Divine, but he now sings in Secret Sphere, and did vocals on their album that came out last year, if you haven't already heard it, you should check it out. It reminds me a bit of Vision Divine as well.

Yeah, it's hard finding a good version of the song, but what you gotta do is to download the Angels Cry 20th Anniversary tour CD. It has leaked on some sites. I know for a fact that Darkport.org has it. I probably should not link you directly to it here, but just go on Darkport.org and type in Angra in the search bar, and you'll find it at once there. If you don't have WinRAR, you should probably download that too, so you can unpack the file after you've downloaded it. I don't know how much knowledge you have regarding this stuff, but if you need any sort of help, I'll be happy to do what I can.

Alright, that's great to hear. I wonder how Dark WIngs of Steel will be looked at in a year or two. How will it stand the test of time? I still enjoy it a whole lot, but I also realize that it isn't an album I can defend to death. I guess I might just have a weird taste or something.

Quote:
I know! La Vita Fuge has some absolutely sick notes in it. You have heard the re-recorded version of that song with Fabio on vocals right? Michelle Luppi hasn't been majorly active after leaving Vision Divine, but he now sings in Secret Sphere, and did vocals on their album that came out last year, if you haven't already heard it, you should check it out. It reminds me a bit of Vision Divine as well.

Yeah, it's hard finding a good version of the song, but what you gotta do is to download the Angels Cry 20th Anniversary tour CD. It has leaked on some sites. I know for a fact that Darkport.org has it. I probably should not link you directly to it here, but just go on Darkport.org and type in Angra in the search bar, and you'll find it at once there. If you don't have WinRAR, you should probably download that too, so you can unpack the file after you've downloaded it. I don't know how much knowledge you have regarding this stuff, but if you need any sort of help, I'll be happy to do what I can.

Alright, that's great to hear. I wonder how Dark WIngs of Steel will be looked at in a year or two. How will it stand the test of time? I still enjoy it a whole lot, but I also realize that it isn't an album I can defend to death. I guess I might just have a weird taste or something.

I checked out the Secret Sphere stuff and I liked it a lot. It was good to hear Luppi sing some new music. The band's sound does indeed sound like Vision Divine. It also reminded me of DGM as well. I also found the Angra album and it sounds great for the most part. I was slightly disappointed with the super high notes on Carry On, but the rest of the CD sounds great. I think instead of trying to sing notes that are out of his range, it would sound better if he sang a lower harmony in his comfort zone. I love Stratovarius and I think Timo Kotipelto has a pretty good voice when he sings in his comfort zone, but a lot of the time he just goes for it and sings way out of his vocal range and it ends up just sounding like atonal shrieks. It is not easy on the ears, and it's not just live, they actually put it on the albums like that sometimes. Kind of annoying. Fabio sounds the best on the Falaschi era songs since I think he shares a closer range to him than Matos. Rebirth sounds like it was just made for him to sing.

Quote:

Written by Empyror on 23.11.2013 at 18:36

I know! La Vita Fuge has some absolutely sick notes in it. You have heard the re-recorded version of that song with Fabio on vocals right? Michelle Luppi hasn't been majorly active after leaving Vision Divine, but he now sings in Secret Sphere, and did vocals on their album that came out last year, if you haven't already heard it, you should check it out. It reminds me a bit of Vision Divine as well.

Yeah, it's hard finding a good version of the song, but what you gotta do is to download the Angels Cry 20th Anniversary tour CD. It has leaked on some sites. I know for a fact that Darkport.org has it. I probably should not link you directly to it here, but just go on Darkport.org and type in Angra in the search bar, and you'll find it at once there. If you don't have WinRAR, you should probably download that too, so you can unpack the file after you've downloaded it. I don't know how much knowledge you have regarding this stuff, but if you need any sort of help, I'll be happy to do what I can.

Alright, that's great to hear. I wonder how Dark WIngs of Steel will be looked at in a year or two. How will it stand the test of time? I still enjoy it a whole lot, but I also realize that it isn't an album I can defend to death. I guess I might just have a weird taste or something.

I checked out the Secret Sphere stuff and I liked it a lot. It was good to hear Luppi sing some new music. The band's sound does indeed sound like Vision Divine. It also reminded me of DGM as well. I also found the Angra album and it sounds great for the most part. I was slightly disappointed with the super high notes on Carry On, but the rest of the CD sounds great. I think instead of trying to sing notes that are out of his range, it would sound better if he sang a lower harmony in his comfort zone. I love Stratovarius and I think Timo Kotipelto has a pretty good voice when he sings in his comfort zone, but a lot of the time he just goes for it and sings way out of his vocal range and it ends up just sounding like atonal shrieks. It is not easy on the ears, and it's not just live, they actually put it on the albums like that sometimes. Kind of annoying. Fabio sounds the best on the Falaschi era songs since I think he shares a closer range to him than Matos. Rebirth sounds like it was just made for him to sing.

Here we will just have to agree to disagree. I think that if Fabio hadn't hit those extremely high notes, it would make the song lose it's climax point. I am a sucker for vocalists singing out of their confort zones, just to hear if they can actually pull the stuff off. I think Fabio did so here, but I do understand why he doesn't sing all the way up there mostly. That's a good thing when it all comes down to it. And yeah, he does sound greater on the Falaschi songs. It annoyed me that there are only 4 on the whole album. I know they're celebrating Angels Cry, but I really wish they had more new songs in there.