"Dawn Of Victory"
LIMB
By Jonathan Mariante Rhapsody are an Italian band who blazed onto the power metal scene a few years ago and have made quite a name for themselves. They play what they call "symphonic epic Hollywood power metal." Symphonic, epic, power metal it is indeed. But, I don't know where the "Hollywood" part comes in as the band are from Italy. Although one could say their music is like a Conan movie or an episode of "Xena" set to heavy metal. Their latest album, "Dawn Of Victory," is probably their strongest to date. All the members of Rhapsody are brilliant musicians. Singer Fabio Lione has a very strong and powerful voice (the voice of a lion, one could say) and guitarist Luca Turilli and keyboardist Alex Strapolli are very talented as well. They play well together as well as individually and their work realy shines in some places. As one can guess, there is also a lot of classical and orchestral influences on this album, which is one of Rhapsody's trademarks, as well as some elements of medieval folk music. A violin and recorder are used quite frequently. That does not take any of the "metal" impact out of their music, however. Rhapsody rock as hard and heavy as ever on "Dawn Of Victory" and don't stray at all from their trademark sound. And why should they? After all, if it ain't broken, don't fix it. Some standout tracks include the title song, "Triumph For My Magic Steel," "Dargor, Shadowlord Of The Black Mountain," "Holy Thunderforce" and "The Last Winged Unicorn." All these songs are strong, hard rockers with some great guitar and keyboard work and nice vocal harmonies. This is Rhapsody's third full length album. So, hopefully, this will be the one to solidify their niche in the world of power metal and their "Dawn" will rise into a brightly lit day of victory.
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