Luca Turilli's Rhapsody - Prometheus, Symphonia Ignis Divinus review
| Band: | Luca Turilli's Rhapsody |
| Album: | Prometheus, Symphonia Ignis Divinus |
| Style: | Symphonic power metal |
| Release date: | June 19, 2015 |
| A review by: | Belegûr |
01. Nova Genesis (Ad Splendorem Angeli Triumphantis)
02. Il Cigno Nero
03. Rosenkreuz (The Rose And The Cross)
04. Anahata
05. Il Tempo Degli Dei
06. One Ring To Rule Them All
07. Notturno
08. Prometheus
09. King Solomon And The 72 Names Of God
10. Yggdrasil
11. Of Michael The Archangel And Lucifer's Fall Part II: Codex Nemesis
1 - Codex Nemesis Alpha Omega
2 - Symphonia Ignis Divinus (The Quantum Gate Revealed)
3 - The Astral Convergence
4 - The Divine Fire Of The Archangel
5 - Of Psyche And Archetypes (System Overloaded)
12. Thundersteel [digipack bonus] [Cinematic version]
Since the split of the original "Rhapsody" into two bands, both have been somewhat disappointing in their efforts so far. Rhapsody Of Fire produced a completely forgettable effort in Dark Wings Of Steel, whereas Luca Turilli's Rhapsody didn't do that much better with Ascending To Infinity. It is quite remarkable that we now have two bands, but neither can produce the magic of the original band. This trend continues with Prometheus: Symphonia Ignis Divinus, which succeeds as a "cinematic metal" album, but fails at being very memorable.
Luca Turilli has meticulously orchestrated every aspect of this album and has achieved an epic sound as intended, but this comes at the cost of the catchy lyrics and sing along parts that made his earlier work so infectious to symphonic metal fans. There's just so much going on and this isn't helped by lyrics that are just so difficult to understand throughout almost the entire album. There's an abundance of Latin throughout the album, something that can be used to great effect when used tastefully. "Prometheus" is an excellent example of how not to use Latin in a tasteful way. Apparently these lyrics are encrypted and represent something called the "quantum key." I'm still confused after about a dozen attempts at listening to these songs. I'm not going to say "just sing about dragons again," but the lyrics certainly don't pull you in like they used to.
The best moments of the album are coming from the catchy opener "Il Cigno Nero" and the album closer "Of Michael The Archangel And Lucifer's Fall." There are a few memorable hooks and catchy melodies, but certainly not enough to make the album one that I will return to again and again. The music itself borrows heavily from Luca Turilli solo projects such as the science fiction-themed Prophet Of The Last Eclipse and the Luca Turilli's Dreamquest album Lost Horizons.
2012's Ascending To Infinity introduced us to the new lineup and all of them have stepped up their game this time. The performances and production of the album are close to perfect as it just seems like this is the album that Luca Turilli wanted to create. The guitars can be slightly quiet, but they aren't hidden. Luca Turilli simply uses more keyboards and choirs than he has before. It's bigger than anything he has written in the past, but it's also fair to say it's slightly overblown. The compositions are technically impressive, but some songs are forgettable.
Luca Turilli has stepped further away from what made his work in Rhapsody Of Fire so memorable and is closer than ever to writing film scores. It is just disappointing that even with this direction, the parts that stand out can still sound quite unoriginal or samey. Luca has been doing the same guitar solo for so long now and fans of his work should obviously still check this one out, but know that this is not a classic "Rhapsody"-style album. Get out your Latin phrasebook and experience the "cinematic metal" music that Luca Turilli has been building towards his entire career.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 6 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written by Belegûr | 12.06.2015
Comments
| Gothmog_Motsham Posts: 665  |
I found the album rather disappointing indeed because of the written reasons. Also the vocalist didn't do much for me. I honestly kept0 wondering how the album will sound with a black metal vocalist and heavier riffing 
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| Opethian Posts: 1758  |
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| Therapy? Posts: 174 |
Overall this review doesn't bode well for my expectations  except this sentence: "The music itself borrows heavily from Luca Turilli solo projects such as the science fiction-themed Prophet Of The Last Eclipse"PotLE is truly a great album, one of Turilli's best efforts.
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| SoUnDs LiKe PoP Posts: 1060 |
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| chronic-headache Posts: 249  |
I don't know if I can continue reading this after you saying " Luca Turilli's Rhapsody didn't do that much better with Ascending To Infinity"...seriously? That album was amazing.
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| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 62060  |
This band no metter original or new is same lol sounds same
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| Belegûr Arise In Might! Posts: 365  |
Written by chronic-headache on 12.06.2015 at 21:18 That's the amazing thing about opinions. I'm happy you find Ascending To Infinity amazing, it means you will probably like this one too.
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| chronic-headache Posts: 249 |
Written by Belegûr on 13.06.2015 at 02:26 Opinions yes, gotta love em, haha. Your just the first I've come across who wasn't impressed by it. If I remember correctly AtI was hailed as the continuation of the original rhapsody (in spirit) and universally praised.
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| Byners Posts: 215  |
I'm still curious. Rosenkreuz (The Rose And The Cross) is a great song and also is Prometheus. Although the last one really might have some serious lyrics problems... But I can dig that :v
---- "Seize the day or die regretting the time you lost..."
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| Lokasenna Posts: 63 |
Written by Therapy? on 12.06.2015 at 18:55 I'm still pissed off that he seems to have forgotten about that story, since he said at the time there would be a second part. Easily my favorite power-cheese album.
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| Belegûr Arise In Might! Posts: 365 |
Written by chronic-headache on 13.06.2015 at 04:29 It wasn't praised on here. I've given this album a higher score than that one received. I never once said it was terrible though, just not particularly good.
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| Therapy? Posts: 174 |
Written by Lokasenna on 13.06.2015 at 07:18 I sure hope he will create a second part at some point and in the same style as PotLE. Infinite Wonders of Creation was awful.
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| Belegûr Arise In Might! Posts: 365 |
Written by Therapy? on 13.06.2015 at 18:00 Unfortunately I don't think he will. I remember comments he made about why he didn't choose Olaf Hayer as the vocalist for this Rhapsody and it was to do with the diversity of the voice needed for the music he wanted to make. Unfortunately it seems like Luca sees Prophet as a bit too simple for the music he wants to do and that's why we have Prometheus. I agree with you though, Prophet is a great album. I think it's his best solo album and is better than most of the modern Rhapsody albums.
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| Netzach Planewalker Posts: 1761  |
The overly flamboyant and pretentious album and song titles make me wanna vomit all over this page. I will stay the hell away from this, however good it might be. "Symphonia Ignis Divinus (The Quantum Gate Revealed)" "Nova Genesis (Ad Splendorem Angeli Triumphantis)" What the jumping f... Even without the extra parentheses this makes my eyes bleed.
---- My "blackened synth metal" solo project: maladomini.bandcamp.com. Whenever I write something funny, weird, or pretentious... I learned English by playing Baldur's Gate, okay?
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| fandango68 Posts: 194  |
Written by Belegûr on 13.06.2015 at 11:19 Overall, I preferred AtI to DWoS, which was OK, but lacked sparkle and sounded a bit like 'Rhapsody by numbers', which, try as I might, I struggled to get enthused by. Both albums lacked a certain, obvious ingredient, although I think AtI contained more originality and was more diverse. I also must confess I like Conti's voice. That said, these tracks don't represent an overall improvement in quality for me, so the jury is still out on the whole project.
---- First gig was Manowar (loincloths 'n' all), Bristol Colston Hall in March 1983, on the 'Hail to England' tour. Tickets were £3.75, 300 in the audience, Mercyful Fate never showed, but my hearing still got seriously trashed..
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| Yavanna Posts: 616  |
Since I do study Latin, I think I might really like this album 
---- Carry me to the shoreline Bury me in the sand Walk me across the water And maybe you'll understand
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| Belegûr Arise In Might! Posts: 365 |
Written by Yavanna on 17.06.2015 at 23:11 haha  Then you can come back and tell me what it all means 
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| Yavanna Posts: 616 |
Written by Belegûr on 17.06.2015 at 23:22 Hahaha I have not listened to this album yet, but we might try to translate it in my next class  
---- Carry me to the shoreline Bury me in the sand Walk me across the water And maybe you'll understand
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| CoFVe Posts: 4 |
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| Belegûr Arise In Might! Posts: 365 |
Written by CoFVe on 21.06.2015 at 17:55 I gave it an above average score for originality. 6 isn't bad, but I certainly wouldn't give this album a higher score for originality personally. Luca Turilli has ran out of tricks and none of it was surprising.
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| jtowne1968 Account deleted |
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| Belegûr Arise In Might! Posts: 365 |
Written by [user id=156071] on 28.06.2015 at 01:44 I do agree. Hopefully my review didn't come across as "too negative". A lot of people online see a score of 7 as being bad, though to me a 7 means "good", just not great, excellent of perfect etc etc. The album is good, it's just not anything better than that in my opinion. I did give Production and Performance 9 out of 10 as I do think like you say "this album is really well put together and extremely well played." Obviously I would never expect Rhapsody (either one) to just keep doing what they have always done, but a part of me does miss the catchy albums from Legendary Tales to Power of the Dragonflame. One thing I will say, if I give this album a 7.2, I would have to give the Rhapsody of Fire album "Dark Wings of Steel" a 5 or something...
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| jtowne1968 Account deleted |
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| Creativinity Posts: 79  |
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| Belegûr Arise In Might! Posts: 365 |
Written by Creativinity on 22.11.2015 at 11:23 It's a made up genre really though isn't it? haha. Didn't Rhapsody say they were "Hollywood Metal" at some point. This is just symphonic power metal really isn't it?
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| NahuelBenvenuto Posts: 7 |
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