Artist: Rhapsody
Title: “Live In Canada 2005: The Dark Secret”
Label: Magic Circle Music/SPV Records
Release Date: 1/31/2006
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Rating: 8/10
The Mighty Rhapsody gives the world their first full concert album which was recorded in Canada while the group supported Manowar in 2005. The group was part of a killer lineup that placed The Kings Of Metal with Rhapsody and Holy Hell (not to be confused with Rob Rock’s album) and together they toured the US and Canada for a series of sold-out capacity crowd shows. For fans of Symphonic Power Metal the name of Rhapsody is not at all a new name, it’s just the amount of music available in certain markets is limited which sadly affects the bands influence. Fortunately, SPV Records gave us “Symphony Of Enchanted Lands, Vol 2: The Dark Secret” in 2004 which continued the bands exploration into the different levels of Metal that they were well known for. On “Live In Canada 2005: The Dark Secret” the band is found in perfect form and performing for a very hungry and supportive audience. Not only are 4 numbers from the last studio album present but the album also covers some ground from their back catalog. The music from “SOELv2” is very rich in its orchestration parts and is done very well especially in the epic track of “Erian’s Mystical Rhymes”. My favorites from this album are included on this live recording and those are “Unholy Warcry” and “Nightfall On The Grey Mountains”. Their classic numbers that I leaned toward are “Emerald Sword” and “Dawn Of Victory”. I was a little sad that “Holy Thunderforce” was not performed as this was the first song that I enjoyed from this band. However given this was a supporting slot for them the luxury of time is limited. Everyone in the group is on top of their game and singer Fabio Lione showcases the level of skill he possesses as he performs an operatic number in “Lamento Eroico”. Composer/keyboardist Alex Staropoli certainly did a great job in getting all of this music together. Luca Turilli (guitars), Patrice Guers (bass) and Alex Holzwarth (drums) all perform in an effortless fashion and seem very tight for the level of speed that Rhapsody music sometimes entails.
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