Album Reviews : Rhapsody of Fire – The Frozen Tears of Angels

After almost four years since the release of the “Triumph or Agony” record, as well as a lengthy legal battle with Magic Circle Records, Italy’s premier Power/Epic Metal exports Rhapsody of Fire serve up their long awaited 8th album, “The Frozen Tears of Angels”.

After the intro song “Dark Frozen World” moves into “Sea of Fate”, it’s pretty obvious that the band have decided to focus heavily on Luca Turilli’s amazing guitar work, and the songs also seem more aggressive than the band have ever delivered before, with heavier guitar riffs and even throaty vocals in some sections. Meanwhile pace on some of the songs is mind-boggling, with the breakneck speed of “Reign of Terror” and “Raging Starfire” hurdling by at a tremendous pace. In the lyrical department, the five piece seem pretty determined to try and add a few more chapters into the Lord Of The Rings saga – not that this is a bad thing, in fact it adds to the charm of the album and ties in to some of their previous releases.

The aforementioned, epic “Reign of Terror” features some truly massive orchestral vocal backings, topped off with the blistering talents of Turilli and keyboardist Alex Staropoli. The screamed vocals in certain sections might put off some of the older fans of the band, but it brings an almost Children of Bodom feel to the song. Rounding out the tune with a delicate acoustic section, and some tasty playing from Turilli, “Reign of Terror” is a clear album highlight

Like many of their earlier albums, “The Frozen Tears of Angels” is narrated by Lord of the Rings star/Hammer Horror legend, Christopher Lee – although the majority of his contributions is reduced to simply one line of dialogue that gets brought out on EVERY song on the record. It goes without saying that it quickly gets repetitive and is put into sections that really don’t warrant Lee’s booming voice over the top of Fabio Lione’s vocals. [Edit: as it turns out, this is actually a voice over which won’t be on the retail version]

The playful interlude of “Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio” shows off the bands talents on the acoustic instruments, with the folk and classical tones the song treads very finely on the line of clever and ridiculous, but it serves as a nice change and breather from the rest of the record.

While definitely an album that well appeal to the long time devotees of the band, “The Frozen Tears of Angels” more than likely won’t win over a new legion of fans for the Italians, with the songs being fairly repetitive and very over-indulgent. But, regardless of this, Rhapsody of Fire have delivered a record full of soaring vocals and vast musical landscapes – but most importantly an album to make up the four year wait for their fans. 7.5/10

Band: Rhapsody of Fire
Album: The Frozen Tears of Angels
Year: 2010
Genre: Symphonic Power Metal/Epic Metal
Origin: Trieste, Italy
Label: Nuclear Blast
http://www.rhapsodyoffire.com/

Track listing:
1. Dark Frozen World
2. Sea of Fate <- Reviewers Choice
3. Crystal Moonlight
4. Reign of Terror <- Reviewers Choice
5. Danza di Fuoco e Ghiaccio
6. Raging Starfire
7. Lost in Cold Dreams
8. On the Way to Ainor
9. The Frozen Tears of Angels