Rhapsody Of Fire - The Frozen Tears Of Angels review
| Band: | Rhapsody Of Fire |
| Album: | The Frozen Tears Of Angels |
| Style: | Symphonic power metal |
| Release date: | April 30, 2010 |
| A review by: | Baz Anderson |
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]
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.
Fear not mighty warriors; The Frozen Tears Of Angels has life in it yet. The following trio of songs act as backbone for the album and are pure vintage Rhapsody gems. "Reign Of Terror" frightfully opens with a scream and blasting drums, and leads into arguably the fruitiest, most dynamic piece of symphonic power metal this side of Power Of The Dragonflame. "Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio" provides the mandatory folk number, and "Raging Starfire" is another top power metal classic that we'd have expected from Rhapsody in their prime years ago.
The grand and epic "On The Way To Ainor" also deserves one last honourable mention, at the end of this wonderful album. The Frozen Tears Of Angels is perhaps the band's best album since Power Of The Dragonflame. It is a good length and doesn't get bogged down with narrated interludes and other time-wasting tracks we saw with Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II, this album goes straight to the point and delivers it. With that said, The Frozen Tears Of Angels doesn't quite have the consistency or the overall solidarity of their finest days, and with a couple of exceptions aside, the album doesn't quite reach the same highs as some of the band's vast past glories.
The Frozen Tears Of Angels is a fantastic album of bombastic, flamboyant and vibrant symphonic power metal that oozes with over-the-top orchestrations and cheese - enough to satisfy anyone of the power-persuasion. Rhapsody have provided an album worth the wait; it might not be the best album they have put out over the years, but it certainly has its moments. Not perfect, not a masterpiece, but it is still a very welcome return from Rhapsody and a very fitting addition to their ranks.
Symphonic Power metal
Nuclear Blast
Italy
Length: 53:48
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 10 |
Rating:
9.3
9.3
|
Rating: 9.3 |
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. Read more ›› |
Comments page 2 / 2
- 1
- 2
Comments: 45
Visited by: 521 users
| BudDa Elite Posts: 887  |
Written by Baz Anderson on 11.05.2010 at 20:38 Will do. Thanx
---- Freeze! Step away from the hubris.
Loading...
|
| opeth771 Posts: 172 |
|
| Fat & Sassy! Elite Posts: 3857  |
Written by opeth771 on 14.05.2010 at 03:57 Pun intended? >:[
Loading...
|
| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469  |
Here's an interview with Luca Turilli. Read the reply to the fourth question if you wish to know what he has to say about cheesiness. http://www.rhapsodyoffire.com/news/44-exclusive-short-interview-with-luca-turilli.html
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
Loading...
|
| Fat & Sassy! Elite Posts: 3857 |
Written by Lord_Regnier on 15.05.2010 at 05:24 I've always known that he takes their lyrics very seriously... which doesn't stop it from being kinda "cheesy". Not cheesy in the sense of the official definition (cheap, insincere), but in a campy fashion. We don't describe music as campy, so I think cheesy is an appropriate term to use to describe their music AND lyrics.  ......... Even though Luca would probably drive his holy Emerald Sword through my stomach for saying so. XD
Loading...
|
| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287  |
Mebbe he's just starting from a cinematic standpoint as opposed to a literary one, but as far as his description of the depth of their "Sagas", well, Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time) expended more effort, time, creativity, and depth in describing a shirt than was spent on the base mythos of the albums i have heard. it's cheese. no need for a multi paragraph answer.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
Loading...
|
| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 |
Their lyrics, imagery, sagas, etc...Everything related to this band in fact, is pure cheese and an accumulation of stereotypes and cliché fantasy only a 10 year old kid would take seriously. As for explaining all this, he never did, as far as I know. And all this talk about ancient geometry, the cosmos, parallel dimensions, etc is a big pile of bull.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
Loading...
|
| opeth771 Posts: 172 |
|
| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 |
Written by opeth771 on 16.05.2010 at 19:44 Yeah, sure. Britney Spears is famous worldwide and sold millions of albums. It's surely because she's very good and extremely talented. If I commented about it, well...Let's say I had my own reasons. And it's not your business.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
Loading...
|
| Nyoink Posts: 44  |
Heh, in my opinion that album is easily the best work they did since Power of the dragonflame. The sound is more crystalized, the narration isn't long and tiring and there is SPEED in the songs. The production is flawless, of course. Awesome album 
Loading...
|
| Andreas Posts: 334 |
|
| Daggon Underpaid M.D. Posts: 1689  |
Written by Fat & Sassy! on 15.05.2010 at 08:30 It would be kinda cool to see that  Beware... 
---- "Les vers savent qu'ils n'ont pas d'ailes, c'est pour cela qu'ils se cachent sous terre"
Loading...
|
| the stranger Posts: 398  |
This album is fucking epic and kicks a lot of ass! Rhapsody is back. I have been waiting for a long time for them to do something as good as this album.
Loading...
|
| DeathnixDarkloid Posts: 1  |
This is truly the best Rhapsody Of Fire´s album since Power of the Dragonflame Reign of Terror rocks!! The best of this album 
Loading...
|
| 4look4rd The Sasquatch Posts: 840  |
Written by Fat & Sassy! on 09.05.2010 at 21:16 Personally, I listen to Power Metal because of musicianship and the over all happy feeling that the music transmits. I would shoot myself if I had to listen to it for over two/three hours, but it is still something that I really enjoy. As for the cheese, yuuuummm, cheese is pretty good every now and then (black metal can be just as cheesy, if not worse than power metal). Its like watching a comedy movie or an over the top horror movie (like saw). You don't watch the movie for the realism but for the entertainment.
Loading...
|
- 1
- 2
Hits total: 11757 | This month: 10