Search - Rhapsody :: Rain of a Thousand Flames

Yes, definitely cheesy, but can any of you do better?

Christian M. Jones | Southern California | 04/18/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I do agree that Rhapsody should hire someone else to do the narration--perhaps someone like Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden or Russell Allen from Symphony X (just listen to Russell's narration at the beginning of "King of Terror" on The Odyssey album). By the way, Christopher Lee, The Lord of the Ring's Saruman, will be doing narration on the forthcoming mini-album, "The Dark Secret" (May 24th), as well as the full length album due to be released in September, '04.But come on, no one can claim these guys to be less than adequate musicians and actually back it up with solid info. But I suppose it's all personal opinion . . . so why even argue about it? Basically, if you like this type of music, then you'll enjoy this album--which by the way, is not intended to be a full length album (so there's no cause for complaint there)!!!Also, let's please not criticise bands for labels placed on them by other entities, or for that matter, even the labels they give themselves! Just listen to the music as it is, and enjoy the beauty of it. Music is a personal endeavour, so everyone is going to view it in a personal way. Who are we to judge another's view on music, especially when it's the artist's own point of view!?! Bottom line, if you enjoy Rhapsody's other work, then buy this album. It is full of their usual powerful content, id est, beautiful vocals, tight musicianship, and though at times cheesy, Luca Turilli's on going saga of the struggle between good & evil entities of his fantasy world. The masterpiece on this album is "Queen of the Dark Horizons" (more than 13 minutes). Also to be praised is "The Wizard's Last Rhymes" (more than 10 minutes), full of epic flavor and even a solo from Lotta. "Elnor's Magic Valley" is a brief yet beautiful journey into the sounds of a Medieval village, reminiscent of "Forest of Unicorns" from the band's first album. And it all begins with the high-energy "Rain of A Thousand Flames" to pump you up for the coming onslaught of music."

Constant, in-your-face energy!!

Wolfmaster | NY, USA | 06/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This Album starts out very atypically from all the other Rhapsody albums. Instead of the normal "Intro track", This CD gets right into the action with "Rain of A Thousand Flames" which has some amazing enery and amazing guitar in it.



Then there is a rather fitting transition into Queen of The Dark Horizons, Rhapsody's second best song in my opinion.



Then Tears of a Dying Angel is a very atmospheric song, which has quite a bit of Narroration, and a great energetic tune. I actually think the voice acting is great in this song- don't listen to those other reviewers- It's very entertaining. Don't be dissin' Sir Jay Lanslord.



Elnor's Magic Valley is rather pointless in the scheme of things, and just seems like a filler to put this over 41 minutes.



The Poem's evil page returns to the energy of previous songs, with a memorable guitar solo about a minute in.



The Wizard's Last Rhymes is an amazing song, but 2 to 3 minutes of it is taken DIRECTLY from New World Symphony by Dvorak. On the other hand, without this song, I would not have discovered the Symphony, which is a GREAT symphony. (The main melody if Queen of the Dark Horizons is also taken from something, although I don't think there is anything taken DIRECTLY from it.)



The CD goes out as atypically as it came in- I'll let you find out for yourself. :-)



Overall it is a great buy, and ALWAYS fun to listen to. It is second only to Symphony of Enchanted Lands 2."