Rhapsody of Fire – The Frozen Tears of Angels

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It’s been four years since the last Rhapsody of Fire album, only the second since they were forced to change their name, and makes up the third part of ‘The Dark Secret Saga’, which began in 2004 with Symphony of Enchanted Lands II. If it weren’t for the recording of this album being held up by unspecified legal issues with former label Magic Circle Music it would be difficult to see why it took so long, and it should come as no surprise at all to know that it was written very quickly after the release of Triumph Or Agony, which was released in 2006. The Frozen Tears of Angels is simply another Rhapsody of Fire album. Everything here, right down to the occasional narrative provided by acting legend Christopher Lee, has been heard before, and several songs could easily have come from other albums. Some of Fabio Lione’s vocals here are amongst his best to date, and there are occasional moments of brilliance, like emotional ballad Lost In Cold Dreams, but mostly this is retreading old ground. They haven’t fallen into the ever-present trap of focusing so much on storytelling that the songs suffer, far from it, there just isn’t as much originality here as the third part of a concept trilogy should have. Rhapsody of Fire fans should be ecstatic though. Four years is a long time and this is pure Rhapsody of Fire up to their usual standard, with all the usual bombast, astonishing guitar work from Luca Turilli, and soaring choruses, and while in the context of power metal this is an average entry, in the context of Rhapsody of Fire it’s as good as they’ve been.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2010, Albums, Power Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Rhapsody of Fire