The list has landed. I repeat, the list has landed!
Rhapsody of Fire
Rhapsody of Fire – Glory for Salvation Review
“If Turilli was the flighty artist constantly on the move, Staropoli was the guy who’s kept writing choruses which were an innovation in 1997. Combining these two artistic visions created something special. But the split left Rhapsody of Fire with three problems. First, Staropoli needed to become a better composer; second, he had to replace his band; and lastly, he needed to forge a path forward.” How many of these things does Glory for Salvation accomplish?
Winterage – The Inheritance of Beauty Review
“You know when you lose a bet and find yourself wearing a Red Sox jersey and forced to eat a hundred cocktail weenies until you purge yourself in the tub? Well, that’s nothing compared to the Paw of Steel punishment for picking on Kenny. Ken told me it was corset-core. Cool, I like corsets. There may or may not have been the mention of Nightwish, but I cataloged that as trollarchy. So, I took the punishment and rolled with it. Well, you know those times when a movie character comes to a dramatic realization? When the camera zooms in, and they look up at nothing and whisper, “Dear GOD”?” Cheesy justice.
Operus – Score of Nightmares Review
“What do you get when you cross a cellist who has performed on stage alongside the Trans-Siberian Orchestra with the bassist of thrash metal band Annihilator? Theatrical power metal would not be my first guess.” Stage and scream.
Astralium – Land of Eternal Dreams Review
“Not often do shivers ripple up my spine on my morning commute. I’ll admit this feeling isn’t alien to me. Discovering transportive music that makes my heart swell is my lifeblood. I seek out shiver-inducing music, so much, in fact, that I wonder if I will one day grow immune to it. Despite this, I couldn’t contain my excitement when I rediscovered the response, known as frisson (French for “shiver”), while listening to the orchestral intro track of Astralium’s debut album Land of Eternal Dreams for the first time.” Wishes and dreams.
Turilli / Lione Rhapsody – Zero Gravity: Rebirth and Evolution Review
“Luca Turilli—the primary composer and guitar hero of various versions of [Luca Turilli’s] Rhapsody [of Fire]—represents one of two types of successful musicians, for me. I suspect that if one groups successful artists by attitude toward music, you’ll find two attitudes that can be grouped as either high or low openness to experience.” Guess who’s back to wax poetic about the new Turilli/Lione Rhapsody record? This motherfucking guy!
Rhapsody of Fire – The Eighth Mountain Review
“Rhapsody’s history has all the operatic drama required of its Italian heritage. Rhapsody, one of the ‘90s and early-aughts’ finest power metal bands, rose to prominence on the back of outstanding material before suffering a string of setbacks in the mid-2000s. After some legal drama and a triumphant return with two brilliant albums in two years, the band’s primary composers—Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli—split the world in two.” Now Rhapsody of Fire is back with its third post-split album and first with a band new vocalist. What could go wrong?
Elvellon – Until Dawn Review
“Elvellon is a quintet that consciously or not follows closer than I previously believed possible in the shoes of Nightwish’s mid-period. Their debut album Until Dawn is a stone’s throw from both Century Child and Once, while offering a distinct character through some small changes in compositional technique. This statement alone is not an indication of quality, however, and gives rise to the most important question of all. Do Elvellon manage to fill a gap left by Nightwish?” Dawnwish!
Preludio Ancestral – Oblivion Review
“Next up on the AMG stack of rotating power metal promos is the fourth studio album from Argentinian independent sympho-heavy/power entity Preludio Ancestral, a band heretofore bound to digital obscurity in the South American underground. The band’s past fits with my general impression of many underground metal acts from South American nations: a strange amalgamation of Spanish and English lyricism, bizarre album cover art, and a penchant for very eccentric, almost anarchical musical stylings that run the gamut from alternative rock, Manowar-hailing shirtless heavy metal, and Euro-styled power metal across individual albums.” Hail, hail the shirtless.
Bloodbound – War of Dragons Review
“Bloodbound has been altering their approach from album to album in an attempt to find some mythological metallic sweet spot. Starting life as a cracking traditional metal group, they subsequently drifted into borderline Euro-power and back several times with varied results. On 2014s Stormborn they took things quite deep into D&D Euro-puffery territory with a threadbare Game of Thrones concept.” When you play the Game of Cheese, you win or you fry. Mmmm, fried cheese….
