Band : Rhapsody Of Fire
Album title : From Chaos To Eternity
Label : Nuclear Blast Records
Distributor : Pias
Release date : 17/06/2011
Release : CD

The Italians of Rhapsody Of Fire, one of the oldest symphonic power metal bands, are back with a brand new album, entitled From Chaos To Eternity, a nine-song-epos telling us something more about heroes and legends (obviously). And 'eternal' they truly are. Starting their musical blast in 1997, the band is still more than alive. Rhapsody Of Fire are still ruling the world as the pioneers of a genre called 'Film Score Metal'. The reason for this is quite obvious. Guitarist Luca Turilli, vocalist Fabio Lione and keyboarder Alex Staropli were the first ones to successfully combine their epic power metal with elements derived from classicism and film music, adding some folkloric touches to make it sound even more creative and fresh.
This time, the fans only had to wait one year for the successor of the previously released The Saga of the Emerald Sword. When you compare both albums, it immediately shows that Rhapsody Of Fire have cut back on the bombastic parts in favour of the guitars. This gives a whole darker sound to the music on From Chaos To Eternity. Just give Tempesta Di Fuoco a try. The variety in guitars makes it sound a lot darker than, for instance, the last song, Heroes of the Waterfalls' Kingdom. This last song reminds us more of the old Rhapsody of Fire, which certainly is a good thing. The band prove to be traditional and innovative at the same time, which is something a lot of same-aged bands tend to forget about.
Another truism about this album: it's far from boring! There's an incredible variety in the songs: some are musical-like songs which make you burst into tears of laughter after every single note, while others are purely made to darken the soul.
As a conclusion, I can firmly say that From Chaos To Eternity is not the best album Rhapsody Of Fire have ever created, but it's most certainly worth the purchase; not only for the true fans.

80/100

Tim