Search - Luca Turilli :: King of Nordic Twilight

Better than Rhapsody

Review Master | 10/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is a triumph from start to finish. Using Rhapsody's groundbreaking debut "Legendary Tales" as a template, earlier ideas such as these are expanded upon and given much further scope here. In this way, the song structures are kept simple, thus avoiding the dangers of over experimentation, from which some of Rhapsody's later compositions tend to suffer.



Another important factor to consider is that this material has an altogether much lighter and less oppressive atmosphere than the 2nd Rhapsody album which preceeded it. Even the music itself bridges the gap between what can be generally termed as Hard Rock and true Heavy Metal. The sound production on this album is also much clearer than on the two previous efforts.



Most of the melodies and hooks used here are of the happy singalong variety, as opposed to the main group, whose epic choruses tend inspire the listener into undertaking acts of great heroism! There is also much more emphasis placed on the interplay between individual musicians, such as the dueling lead guitar and violin solos which feature throughout.



Unfortunately not everything on here is quite up to scratch. It seems that Luca is unwilling to allow his rhythm section to experiment a little. This becomes most evident when the second full length track follows with almost exactly the same drum sequence as used by the first! Even some of the later ones are hardly much different, which really detracts from the genuine quality of the songs themselves.



Both male and female vocals are performed to a high standard, and really do provide the icing on the cake. However the foundations of this material without doubt are built upon the wealth of truly unforgettable choruses, which seem to welcome the listener with open arms when returning for another visit. I would strongly recommend this to anyone who appreciates powerful, yet uplifting music which enriches the very soul."