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 An epic opus in several acts.- |
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One of the first names to come to mind when anyone mentions Symphonic Metal of any kind would be the band Rhapsody, or Rhapsody of Fire since the legal disputes that came about in 2006 forcing them to change their name (which was never described but I firmly believe has to have something to do with the then highly popular but in my eye overly crappy music service of the same name). Of course, after that came a legal battle between the band an Manowar-member Joey DeMaio's record label Magic Circle Music, putting a hold on the band's material. Once all that was resolved, the band issued Frozen Tears of Angels, which was greeted with predominantly positive remarks. However, fans seem to be taken back by the fact that Rhapsody of Fire have another new release, which was made available overseas roughly six months after the last full-length. Given the amount of downtime from the legal disputes, the band probably had much of this material ready, so when you think about it, the whole time span shouldn't come as a shock. It also shouldn't come as a shock that this EP is an epic opus that is highly enjoyable, but probably just some b-side material slapped together for a follow-up release. The Cold Embrace of Fear is basically an "epic" conceptual release in the typical modern-day Rhapsody of Fire musical approach of heavy, over the top Symphonic and Orchestral Power Metal that the group continues to grow and expand upon with every release. While there's nothing new present on this release that isn't available on their previous full-length in the musical performance department, this release definitely shows the band coming to a far more epic story telling approach, and pulling a page from the Meshuggah's text book of expanded song lengths, but doing it right. This EP is essentially one long track, but it's split up into narrative tracks, ambient tracks, and the actual Power Metal songs that tell the most of the tale throughout the release. All of this works perfectly to establish the overall setting instead of just slamming the music into another chapter of the band's conceptual works without much of a back story to those who aren't Luca Turilli fans. Of course, the typical concept of having people play the roles created by Luca return, such as the welcome return of the now apparently Metal head but most god awful actual Metal band member, Christopher Lee, who takes on the part fo The Wizard King, among other voice talents such as Toby Eddington and Marcus D'Amico, and four other narrators, all of which do a superb job like usual and lend more of a mythical build to the characters and the fantastical tale being woven. While the voice actors do a great job, the band themselves really go over the top with the music on this release, incorporating a good deal of epic song structures combined with some simple, yet often insanely fast Power Metal, as well as parts that are just flat out jaw dropping impressive and technical, such as the guitar solo on "Act III: The Ancient Fires of Har-Kuun". The closing of this track is simply phenomenal, building up from the start of the album to total intricate musical madness, and closing with a keyboard solo that takes things into a slightly Progressive/Space approach, and ultimately sounds like the most kick ass music one could expect to hear on a Super Nintendo video game, which is more then likely not intentional, but will easily made the legions of fellow nerds who have followed this series practically orgasm in every way possible. Each track seamlessly bleeds into the next, and this is where the EP tends to seem like something recorded based on a b-side from the previous full-length. "Act III: The Ancient Fires of Har-Kuun" is the first genuine track, while many others like "Act I: The Pass of Nair-Kaan" and "Act IV: The Betrayal", play more into the epic Fantasy story telling field with well done narration and sound effects coupled with the perfect ambient keyboards that make this feel like a mini-musical Lord of the Rings. "Act IV: The Betrayal" is easily the most impressive, as Christopher Lee gives some background through narration, then the struggle between characters occurs, trying to claim a specific book, the scuffling between the two being captured nicely, and an epic build to a battle through orchestral elements and keyboards occurs to signify the importance of the book emotionally before a brief break in the fluid transitions when entering "Neve Rosso Sangue", which takes a different direction through slow, mystical ballad-like music set with soft clean singing with Italian lyrics that don't quite seem to fit the EP since everything up to this point has been in English, and the track doesn't quite seem to fit where the narrator left off with the description of events from the previous chapter. Sadly, this becomes the only part of the EP that doesn't work, especially when the music flows right into "Act VI: Erian's Lost Secrets", which immediately switches to English and right into the traditional epic Rhapsody of Fire sound. The Cold Embrace of Fear is the perfect title for this recording. Rhapsody of Fire does a superb job of setting up a wintery setting, and working on the fear and urgency the characters share through the recording towards the epic climax that seems to be more a set up to the next Rhapsody of Fire full-length. While the EP is only three actual songs, with one being just shy fifteen minutes and clearly what this release was composed around, it drops the ball once with "Act V: Neve Rosso Sangue" and it's being a little out of place in terms of language, as well as in the predetermined atmosphere from the previous track. Other then that, this is like the score and voice acting to a cinematic masterpiece pushes the music and story telling of the band, as well as all bands in general, raising the bar to a whole new level without being so over-the-top it instantly crashes and becomes a stereotypical Cheese Metal moment. While newcomers to Rhapsody of Fire may feel lost, those of us who have followed the stories in the band's albums since Legendary Tales will feel right at home and have an immediate understanding of how the EP will play out, and feel right at home with this side story built on the more recent adventures that Luca Turilli has laid out for us, making it a companion piece to The Frozen Tears of Angels any self-respecting fan of the band honestly needs in their collection. |
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Digital review copy of this release provided by: Nuclear Blast Records.
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