Rhapsody of Fire doesn’t quite flare up

By Greg Manning
Collegian Staff
October 11, 2006

First thing’s first, the band known now as Rhapsody of Fire is the band formerly known as Rhaspsody. This Italian five-piece had to undergo a name change due to copyright lawsuits.

Having gotten that out of the way, determining the value of the band’s seventh full-length album, Triumph or Agony, is complicated. Those expecting the manic, speedy symphonic metal of albums like Legendary Tales or Dawn of Victory might be somewhat disappointed, as the song-writing team of Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli seems to have made a conscious decision to slow things down. Except for a few moments, Triumph or Agony maintains a decidedly moderate pace, with plenty of softer, piano-driven moments.

Somewhere in their career, the band called Rhapsody caught a fever very common in their subgenre of metal: the fever of the “epic.” Although subtlety has never been in the band’s song-writing canon, Rhapsody decided to employ full orchestra and choir sections, starting with 2004’s Symphony of Enchanted Lands Pt. 2: The Dark Secret (yeah, I cringe at the name as well).

Dubbing themselves “film score metal,” the band started to focus less on the guitar-driven speed of the past and more on letting the orchestra and choir compositions (penned by keyboardist Staropoli) shine.

Having noted the stylistic change, Triumph or Agony is still breathtakingly and efficiently composed music. The slower pace of the album allows the talents of the Bohuslav Philharmonic Orchestra and Brno Academy Choir to be used to the utmost effectiveness.

Once the goal of the album has been clearly stated in the first song, the next song is ready for Lupe to show his ability and personality. Lupe’s flow on “Just Might Be Ok” is incredible, the chorus is catchy and he makes a Grateful Dead reference, which is a small way for him to start letting personality show through the beat.

A perfect example of this appears on the track “Blood Red Dungeons.” Starting out as a slower, guitar-oriented number, the latter half of the track picks up speed and employs a powerfully-haunting choir arrangement that is easily one of my favorite moments on the album.

Vocalist Fabio Lione also benefits immensely from the slower song arrangements. Early in Rhapsody’s career, I would have called Lione the weakest link in the band. However, he has improved as a vocalist on every release, and steals the show on more than a few occasions on Triumph or Agony. Lione shows an impressive range throughout the album, but the true power of his voice is in the way he emotes during the softer moments. His best performance arguably appears on the orchestra-and-piano-driven “Il Canto Del Vento,” a ballad written entirely in Italian.

Meanwhile, guitarist Turilli, who is usually the main attraction, gives a somewhat understated and restrained performance. His neoclassical guitar solos are of a more concise variety, and are also fewer in number than on past albums. The same is true of keyboardist Staropoli. Although I would usually complain about this, the restraint these two show works well with the band’s slower, more orchestral approach.

Turilli’s lyrics, however, are still as cheesy as ever. A continuation of the story that began with their previous album, Triumph or Agony tells the story of a band of mythical heroes out to prevent the eventual resurrection of a dark lord. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Thankfully, much of the narration (yes, there is some narration on the disc), is done by famed actor Christopher Lee, who is able to make even some of the cheesiest lines sound emotional and convincing. Those willing to take the story and lyrics with a grain of salt, however, will be smiling to themselves in no time.

So, is Triumph or Agony worth your hard-earned dollars? If you are looking for the band’s old style of speed-driven symphonic metal, I would say, “No.” Yet, if you appreciate well-composed music of a more orchestral ilk, I would say, “Yes.”

The band still has moments of speed, as the last minutes of the 16-minute epic “The Mystic Prophecy of the Demon Knight,” clearly demonstrate, yet they are used more sparingly. I can’t deny, however, that I wish the band would kick it into high gear a little more often than they do on Triumph or Agony. They are, after all, still advertising themselves as a metal band. Although I enjoy this album immensely, I wish the newly named “Rhapsody of Fire” would put a little more fire into their music.

manningg1@lasalle.edu