Rhapsody
Symphony Of Enchanted Lands

THE REVIEW

"Epic fury!
Epic... epic... fury... fury"

It begins with majestic choirs, grand orchestrations, and a crescendo of strings, the second legendary (master)piece by Rhapsody, the Italian power-epic group born back in 1997, and in this second album sees worldwide consecration.

The brief intro perfectly introduces the second track, the mythical "Emerald Sword", a very fast song, a true trademark of the group, which unfolds between Turilli's loose and lightning-fast riffs, Lotta and Carbonera's very fast tempos, respectively the bassist and drummer of the group, and a lavish and grand chorus.
Next is "Wisdom Of The Kings"... the slow beginning of a flute reminds us of distant times, then the track suddenly changes into an instrumental and vocal crescendo. An easy-listening track, like the previous one, which unfolds between Turilli's simple and lively solos, Lione's very clean and brilliant vocals, and really lavish keyboard atmospheres by the great Staropoli.

"Heroes Of The Lost Valleys" is a little instrumental track reminiscent of medieval times... a spoken part introduces us, accompanied by "the pride of the ancient and valiant heroes who fought before us" into the eternally glorious "Eternal Glory" (excuse the wordplay...), a small gem of the album. Epic, imposing, makes us dream, think, admire. The wonderful tempo changes (first slow, then fast, then more measured) make one only able to congratulate all the musicians in the group, including (and especially) the singer Mr. Lione. Truly to be framed is the dialogue of guitar and keyboard solos by Luca and Alex, something unimaginable, wonderful... fantastic.

"Beyond The Gates Of Infinity" begins with Staropoli's keyboard, to which the other band members add themselves to create a dark, mysterious, and obscure atmosphere, yet very attractive.

This leads to "Winds Of Infinity," a poignant ballad, moving, passionate for its simplicity, for those piano lines and Lione's voice so particularly emotional and poignant. Truly touching in its stillness and in the slow, cradle-like finale, which remains suspended as in an infinite wind (personally, I consider it one of the best on the album).

"The Dark Tower Of Abyss" is a difficult, unpredictable track, full of metallic and classical sounds (the emphatic, baroque instrumental part is truly worth mentioning) while "Riding The Winds Of Eternity" is an easier, catchy track, endowed with a slow but effective interlude.
After just two minutes of speech, a truly imposing organ introduces Lione's evocative vocals... thus begins the magnificent suite "Symphony Of Enchanted Lands," truly epic and grand. Indescribable crescendos and decrescendos orchestrally or of the individual instruments, majestic choirs, female voice, Lione's insane range...
And thus ends the second (master)piece by Rhapsody, with the suggestive image of a valiant warrior riding the wings of wisdom through the central valleys to defeat the lord of chaos in the name of cosmic justice, accompanied by a battle-ready flute melody.

Surely "Symphony Of Enchanted Lands" is a great album, there's no denying it, perhaps not the best in terms of writing (between one song and another at least half the words are the same), but certainly on a musical level an exceptional and exciting work. An album sincere, played with heart, rare, precious. It is not a pompous album like the ones that follow, but I would rather define it as rich, sumptuous, full of nuances and characteristics, it is not an album for its own sake, but an album played with heart, it is a complex, difficult, particular album, nonetheless fascinating, now a unique and legendary album.
Of course, only for lovers of this genre... (but I recommend a listen to everyone).

"Epic fury!
Epic... epic... fury... fury"