Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
It really is no wonder that Rhapsody of Fire’s Into The Legend sounds so good, that the overwhelming intensity of the album shines through like a supernova exploding in the night sky and the majesty of the unassailable creaks in pregnant anticipation; for the secret of Rhapsody Of Fire is what the past has allowed it to contain and the blistering effect it has on the soul.
Rhapsody of Fire may owe much too some former members whose own take on symphonic Metal is to listen to angels plucking at mortal heartstrings and allowing the boyish Devil to twirl a cello or two as if he was dancing with two young Irish women in a Brooklyn nightclub. However, time moves on and that jig set against plundering cellos is replaced by a bass line that is deep and dirty, drums that add atmosphere to even the most arid planet, keyboards that make an orchestra feel like packing up in protest and guitars that sing like an angel who finally realises that to be celibate is waste an afterlife.
The coup de grace of Into The Legend though lives in the voice of Fabio Lione, a plunderer of the vocal chords which reminds of Metal’s glorious past and gives absolute hope for its future. Clean, brutal, agonisingly abundant, Fabio Lione makes the hairs on the back of the neck not only stand up, but offer a seat to the old lady sporting various tattoos of Metal Gods past.
The orchestration of the album is bountiful, it allows for no quarter given to be missed in the pursuit of the fundamental absolution and the essential grasp of what Metal can realise and the joining, the almost perfect marriage, of well written lyrics, profound vocal statements and the joy of supping at the same table as musicians hitting a prime fever pitch release, is to understand what it must have felt like for those living in the shadow of stories in which Greek and Roman Gods had so much more fun with mortal hearts.
Tracks such as Distant Sky, A Voice In The Cold Wind, Realms of Light and Rage of Darkness are not just to be enjoyed, they truly are to be revered and Into The Legend more than makes the most of these symphonic created monsters.
Rhapsody of Fire are worth every penny, an opera for the soul, a classical movement in Metal; an album worth of all that has gone into it.
Ian D. Hall