Rhapsody - Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II - The Dark Secret - [SPV]

2004-09-22

Rhapsody is, to my humble opinion, one of the greatest power metal bands to arise, and this, a continuation of their second album, solidifies that fact to a great extent.
The main new item regarding this album was, of course, the participation of famous thespian, Christopher Lee in the proceedings, doing some narration, and even singing in the album, but musically speaking, the band has made a huge leap as well.

The Dark Secret is a soundtrack piece, with Lee's narration, thematically speaking; it’s a direct continuation of the story and theme that the band has been creating since their second album, an orchestral part comes in soon after lee's narration, and the band takes it from there, as usual, Rhapsody's album's always start up with a short, powerful track, and second track, Unholy Warcry, is no exception, a great choice for a single.
Sacha Paeth's sound is as clear as always, but the presence of a complete orchestra this time has a lot to do with the combination sounding richer and fuller this time around, Lee's narration is also integrated into the track itself, and his deep, imposing voice does much to add strength and pathos to the band's excellent compositions.
Third track, Never Forgotten Heroes sound very much similar to the songs on the first Symphony Of Enchanted Lands album, great, catchy melodic phrases, and Fabio's voice is as crisp and high soaring as ever.

The Magic Of The Wizard's Dream is a fantastic ballad, soft piano line giving the main melody line, a great, grandiose chorus bring to track to greater depths, with Lee's deep, operatic voice evident in the chorus, also giving it some added class, a winner track.

The Last Angel's Call has a great opening riff, with the usual Middle Ages influences running throughout, another great option for a single, while tracks such as Sacred Power Of Raging Winds are extremely epic, complex, containing some elaborate vocals and symphonic parts, with guitarist Luca Turilli's lead work doing some fast and furious neo-classical bits.

I felt that the band kind of lost its way after their third album, Dawn Of Victory, and this album did a sterling job in reminding me of their greatness, both old fans of the band, and newcomers are advised to purchase this, and hear a true metallic masterpiece.

Alon Miasnikov