Review Summary: Rhapsody's re-release of their debut album turns out to be better than one would expect.
As funny as it is, Rhapsody of Fire isn't most well-known power metal bands out there. True, “Through the Fire and Flames” did give the genre more of a “mainstream edge” if you will, but people were more focused on Dragonforce than other artists of the same musical style. The stereotype that has practically cursed power metal for years is still in effect today and audiences are just assuming that it’s nothing more than the band doing to same thing over and over again and that these bands will never change. Sadly, this is partially correct, at least in some cases.
Enter
Symphony of Enchanted Lands, the second album by Rhapsody. This is one of those albums in which the band doesn’t really change anything in their style or structure in any way shape or form. It practically follows the same exact formula from their debut record
Legendary Tales with its typical speed-riffing of the guitars, fast-paced drums, and its operatic vocals. It’s everything you would expect from a record such as this. The improvements are relatively few while any changes don’t seem to fix nor infect any problems that Rhapsody had in their previous album. It doesn’t make the album any better, but it doesn’t make it worse either. If anything,
Symphony of Enchanted Lands just as good as the
Legendary Tales.
Even if there isn’t as many changes as there should be, it doesn’t make the overall record any less enjoyable. The instrumentation is still spot on with everything it needs to be while most of the songs hit their mark on hooking the audience into listening to the music. The guitars still keep the flow with their complex riffs and solos such as in “Emerald Sword” while the drums once again keep the energy alive throughout the album. Fabio’s vocals are also a non-changing factor, yet it’s not necessarily a bad thing. His voice still mixes well with the instrumentation, still keeping the wonderful musicality throughout. And once again the orchestrations help backup the music and keeps the epic tone from before. The album’s corny lyrical themes are omnipresent, yet they’re part of the charm of Rhapsody and they don’t affect the album negatively in anyway, as long as the audience doesn’t mind that kind of style that is.
If there is one change I can certainly fathom, it’s that the sound is more focused on the orchestrations than they were in
Legendary Tales. Last time there was more of a raw tone while much of the songs (mainly in the beginning of them) in this record focus on the orchestral instrumentality, such as in “Enteral Glory” and “Beyond the Gates of Infinity.” They mostly hit on the tone that they bring, but on occasion they seem more distracting than enticing, and they don’t really add anything that was present beforehand.
There’s really nothing more to be said on this record, at least nothing that hasn’t been said before. It is practically
Legendary Tales: Part Two and many people would think that such a situation would end up ruining the experience. However, in a strange way, it doesn’t, but it doesn’t improve the quality that Rhapsody had brought last time. It’s predictable in every way, but it’s enjoyable in its own right. If Rhapsody didn’t catch your attention before, then this album won’t either. Once again, the band makes a solid and entertaining effort, but next time, they should at least make some recognizable changes.
