Rhapsody of Fire's 'Glory for Salvation' - Album Review

Even those of us who follow the Italian symphonic/power metal band that was formed in 1993 under the name Thundercross can struggle keeping up with all of its disparate parts. Following the split between guitarist Luca Turilli and keyboardist Alex Staropoli in 2011, there have always been at least two versions of the band out there. Turilli had Luca Turilli's Rhapsody, then was a part of Rhapsody's 20th Anniversary Farewell Tour, and is now currently a member of Turilli/Lione Rhapsody. Staropoli, however, has kept it consistent. He kept control of the 'main' band, Rhapsody of Fire, and has been leading the charge ever since - albeit with a shrinking (and now totally dry) pool of classic members. Frontman Fabio Lione and drummer Alex Holzwarth stuck with Staropoli for two albums, but then jumped ship and teamed up once again with Turilli. This essentially left Staropoli as the only long-term member of Rhapsody of Fire left, meaning that the band had to be rebuilt. I had wondered if Staropoli would call it a day, but he recruited a new frontman, Giacomo Voli, and carried on. The result was 2019's The Eighth Mountain, an album which I did not hear until a few months ago. It came out very early in 2019, during a time when CDs really shot up in price here in the UK for a short while - with some albums being almost impossible to track copies down of. I think that this was all tied to HMV's impending closure (which did not end up happening), but there were some albums that came out during this period which I ended up missing out on. The Eighth Mountain was one, and I think that part of the reason that I did not pick it up more quickly was because I was not, at the time, all that interested in hearing a Rhapsody of Fire album without Lione. Lione had been the voice of the band since the beginning, so with him heading back to camp Turilli my allegiance (for want of a better word) went with him. I was only ever really a casual listener of the two Luca Turilli's Rhapsody albums, instead giving my main support to Rhapsody of Fire. What I should have done from the beginning was just to properly follow all the various versions of the band from the off - as all of the albums that have been released since the 2011 split have been very good. I will certainly be doing so from now on, and I picked up Rhapsody of Fire's thirteenth studio album Glory for Salvation when it was released last month. Glory for Salvation is the band's second album with Voli, who is a superb replacement for Lione, and the first to feature drummer Paolo Marchesich (Sinestesia) who joined the band last year. While The Eighth Mountain sounded like classic Rhapsody of Fire, with its lengthy songs and over-the-top orchestrations, Glory for Salvation feels uncharacteristically streamlined. It still sounds like Rhapsody of Fire, but with some of the fat trimmed - and more of a focus on mid-paced anthems than lengthy power metal romps. It feels somewhat akin to the sound that the band attempted on 2013's Dark Wings of Steel, but less gothic and pulled off more successfully. It is an album that flies by as a result, and it is also one of the band's easiest to digest.

The fact that the album lacks an instrumental scene-setter showcases from the off that Glory for Salvation is a Rhapsody of Fire album with a difference. Instead, the opening moments of Son of Vengeance act as the album's intro - but it is less symphonic than usual, and instead sounds like something from a progressive metal album with dramatic rhythmic stabs and some flashy keyboard leads. Despite the slight change of focus, however, there are still a lot of classic Rhapsody of Fire sounds here. Voli might not quite have the character of Lione, but his range is fantastic - and he is the perfect singer for a band as epic as Rhapsody of Fire. This is probably the band's most vocally-focused album too, which means that he gets plenty of time in the spotlight. The song's mid-paced, anthemic chorus showcases his talents perfectly - but it is possibly the more low key bridge that sees him shine the most. This portion of the song sees everything stripped back to its orchestral roots, which Voli sings over with great control. A lengthy guitar solo from Roberto De Micheli, on his fourth album with the band, follows - which again takes on more of a progressive metal feel, in contrast to the band's usual neo-classical stylings. The neo-classical sound returns for The Kingdom of Ice, however, as the song picks up the pace during the intro with a knotty lead run. The song is not a pure burst of speed, however, as once the verse starts things slow down again thanks to a crunching riff. The song is pretty dynamic though, and changes throughout. The verses are generally pretty slow-paced, with the aforementioned heavy riff and Staropoli's synth stabs creating something of a groove, while the choruses pick up the pace to accommodate some classic-sounding Rhapsody of Fire chorus vocal melodies. The Kingdom of Ice's chorus is easily one of the album's most old-school sounding Rhapsody of Fire moments - and this is all down to Voli's theatrical vocal melodies. These melodies make the song one of the album's catchiest moments, and it is sure to become a live favourite going forward. The album's title track is next, and it opens with a mid-paced modern-sounding riff which is augmented by Staropoli's keyboards. Another thing which sets this album apart from many of the band's other albums in my opinion is the fact that Staropoli's keyboards are much more important than usual. This may sound strange for a symphonic metal band, but usually the strings and orchestrations are so overpowering that the more 'organic' keyboard work gets lost. This is not the case here, and Staropoli's keyboards often fill the job of the huge orchestras of the past, which actually brings the band's very early albums to mind. There are still strings and choirs made use of throughout, and the title track's dense chorus is a good example of this, but they are used more sparingly - which actually allows Staropoli to shine more regularly, and it is also why the album has more of a progressive metal vibe overall.

Following the short, folky spoken word piece Eternal Snow, which comes across as ham-fisted as these sort of things usually do (especially as the late Christopher Lee is no longer around to deliver them), the single Terial the Hawk gets underway in a similarly folky fashion. Rhapsody of Fire seem to need to have at least one upbeat, folky rocker on each album (see The Village of Dwarves for reference), and Terial the Hawk serves that purpose here. The song mixes folky verses, with flutes and uilleann pipes backing up Voli's storytelling vocal style, with heavier choruses. The choruses really stomp along with a folk metal-esque energy, with anthemic vocal hooks and big keyboard melodies which ape some of the lines played by the flutes previously. Due to the big hooks throughout, the song is likely to be another live favourite going forward - and it is one that will really allow Staropoli to show off by re-creating many of those folky melodies. Maid of the Secret Sand ups the pace again, and goes for a more traditional Rhapsody of Fire sound. De Micheli's busy guitar lead drives the song early on, while Marchesich rarely lets up the pace throughout. There is a lot of double bass drumming throughout the song, and the energy this creates makes the track a powerful one. Most Rhapsody of Fire albums are packed with songs like this, but the focus on a more streamlined sound makes Maid of the Secret Sand a relative rarity. The style sounds as good as ever, however, and the current line-up of the band are still capable of sounding like the Rhapsody of Fire of old - even without two of its key players. The album's lengthy epic Abyss of Pain - Part II follows, and this is where the band's tweaked progressive metal sound really shines. I am not sure why The Eighth Mountain's intro track needed a ten-plus minute sequel, but the song itself is a great example of the album's more streamlined style - albeit stretched out and presented in a much more epic fashion. The song is probably the album's heaviest too, and this is apparent from the off. Following a gothic-tinged intro, packed with choirs and strings, the first verse gets underway with a mid-paced crunching riff and Voli's gritty vocals. He sounds quite different from the norm during parts of the song, and he takes on something of a rasp. While not exactly bona fide harsh vocals, the edge in his voice makes the song sound much heavier than is typical for the band - and it suits the guitar-heavy arrangement that it has. The strings instead tend to take a backseat here, which allows the song to maintain its tough, gothic vibe throughout. There is still time for Staropoli to shine, however, as the song includes a lengthy instrumental section that sees him and De Micheli trading solos back and forth. The crunchiness of the track, and the great instrumental moments throughout, stop it from feeling over-long too - and the song is an epic album centrepiece as a result.

Infinitae Gloriae returns to the album's more typical sound, and is built around another heavy-sounding guitar riff which is then embellished by Staropoli's strings and synth stabs. Despite this, however, some of the grittiness of the previous song remains. Voli's harsher vocals remain in spots, providing a call-and-response for the verses, but on the whole the song is smooth and packed full of melody. The choruses are very old-school sounding - with romantic strings and some soaring vocals from Voli. This is a song that mixes a heavy sound and a more flowery one together nicely. The verses are certainly very riff-driven, with the aforementioned vocal diversity adding to the heaviness, but the choruses take that very smooth path that only Italian power metal bands can truly tread successfully. Magic Signs starts of similarly, with a soaring guitar lead set against a backdrop of strings, but it soon morphs into an epic power ballad. A Rhapsody of Fire album needs a big ballad to feel complete, and Magic Signs is a strong addition to the band's canon. The verses are very stripped back, with classical guitar melodies providing the main base for Voli's emotionally-charged vocals, but the choruses do ramp up somewhat - with the rest of the band joining in to add some extra power to the piece. Magic Signs may be a ballad that nearly every power metal band going (including Rhapsody of Fire) has written before, but it still sounds good within the context of the album. Voli's emotional vocal delivery makes it work, and it provides a lull in pace before the album's final two songs. I'll Be Your Hero instantly ups the pace, and opens with some heroic guitar playing that fills the speakers with De Micheli's runs. At first it seems like the song will be another mid-paced, crunching track - but the pace soon increases thanks to some more urgent riffing, that is perfectly backed by Staropoli's pompous keyboard stabs. This is another song that shines the spotlight on Staropoli quite a lot. There are a lot of keyboard melodies throughout the song, and these would have likely been handled by the orchestra on previous Rhapsody of Fire albums. It is great to hear the keyboards pushed to the fore again, and Staropoli's little flourishes really help the album to stand out. The album comes to a close with Chains of Destiny (Quingdar), which is another real throwback to the band's classic sound. It is a fast-paced power metal anthem with lots of double bass drumming, busy keyboard work, and a dramatic vocal from Voli. It is amazing, though, that this is only really the third song on the album that sounds like this. Rhapsody of Fire albums of old were packed with songs of this nature, but on Glory for Salvation the sound is used sparingly. I quite like that, however, as it allows the album to feel more dynamic and varied than usual. It is still great to hear the band sounding like their old selves, but the album as a whole benefits from its more mid-paced, progressive metal vibe. It is great to hear, though, that Rhapsody of Fire are still sounding fresh thirteen albums into their career - and now without both Turilli and Lione. If the current line-up follows this more progressive metal direction going forward then the band could successfully reinvent themselves sound-wise - and Glory for Salvation shows that they are more than capable of doing so, or at least diversifying themselves somewhat.

The album was released on 26th November 2021 via AFM Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Chains of Destiny (Quingdar).