35.
RHAPSODY
DAWN OF VICTORYSymphonic Power Metalreleased October 30th, 2000
via LMP
1. Lux Triumphans [2:00]
2. Dawn of Victory [4:47]
3. Triumph for My Magic Steel [5:47]
4. The Village of Dwarves [3:52]
5. Dargor, Shadowlord of the Black Mountain [4:48]
6. The Bloody Rage of the Titans [6:24]
7. Holy Thunderforce [4:21]
8. Trolls in the Dark [2:33]
9. The Last Winged Unicorn [5:43]
10. The Mighty Ride of the Firelord [9:16]
DAWN OF VICTORY is
Fabio Lione (Vocals)
Luca Turilli (Guitars)
Alessandro Lotta (Bass)
Alex Staropoli (Keyboards / Piano / Harpsichord)
WITHThunderforce (Drums)
Manuel Staropoli (Baroque recorder)
Constanze Backes (Baroque female vocals)
Laurence Vanryne (Child's voice on 8)
Maggie Ardorf (Violin)
Helmstedt Kammerchoir (Choir)
Robert Hunecke-Rizzo (Choir vocals)
Thomas Rettke (Choir vocals)
Michael “Miro” Rodenberg (Choir vocals)
Cinzia Rizzo (Choir vocals)
Florinda Klevisser (Choir vocals)
“Mighty warriors from the silver hills march, all led by golden winds. Elves and trolls from holy mystic woods run through the last snow. He's now coming from the middle lands, handling proud his magic sword. Glory, pride, and honor ride with him; burns the flame of north,” chants the massive choir at the start of this album. This is Dawn of Victory, the third of five chapters in Rhapsody's Emerald Sword Saga. Dawn of Victory describes the Warrior of Ice, now in possession of the legendary Emerald Sword and still mourning the loss of the mighty dragon Tharos, and his struggle against the Dark Lord Akron and his high captain Dargor.
No other Rhapsody album sounds quite like this one. It's very sharp. The synth string patches are noticeably fake but enjoyable, and the lead violin adds a distinct quality to these songs that the other albums lack, especially once they start incorporating entire orchestras. The synth lead tone is also a very flat and standard square or sawtooth lead that makes it sound more dated than it actually is. Fabio's accent is very thick here, but I also think it has one of his best vocal performances. He is clean and cuts right through the mix, and sells the sunny, triumphant choruses with aplomb and passion like a great vocalist should. Luca's guitars are loud and his baroque style of playing makes almost every note distinct and crystal clear, focusing on concise and almost mathematical musical phrasings.
This is adventurous metal; it's got choirs and keyboards and horns and woodwinds and timpanis and all the corniness of Lord of the Rings in music form. Lots of enthusiasm in the songwriting for various instruments, like the bagpipe-ish leads and repetitive campfire-like verse structure of “The Village of Dwarves,” or the violin carrying melody over heavy metal in “Triumph for My Magic Steel.” Choirs are used appropriately, both to beef up choruses and also to add a layer of chanting behind the lead vocals to invoke an operatic sound. And it all comes together in the 9 minute epic “The Mighty Ride of the Firelord” which has one of the strongest, most epic “fuck yeah” choruses in all power metal. It also has a riff that calls back to the last record, Symphony of Enchanted Lands, and toward the end the main motif of the album from “Lux Triumphans” reappears, but with different lyrics.
“Dargor...” is another wonderful song that's excellent partially because it's so memorable but also partially because it doesn't have many frills. It gets right to business with a strong riff and strong vocals and is instantly memorable with the super cheerful chorus. “Bloody Rage...” is a ballad that starts soft but builds to a gargantuan hook with choirs descending like a storm onto the swell from the rest of the band. Alex Staropoli's brother Manuel plays a real baroque recorder and has continued to do this since, and that thing is just a delight to listen to, but it's a little on the squeal-y side on this record because it's paired with the violin.
In Summary: This is my 5th – fifth! - favorite Rhapsody album and I love it to death. Please give my favorites a listen. 20 years after this album was being recorded it's still one of the greatest power metal records to date. It fuses together fantasy, adventure, and heavy metal all into one brilliantly composed package. It's a niche band and style, and it's definitely corny as hell, but it's also super fun and creative and that's exactly what music is all about. Also it has Fabio Lione and he's a stud so ya'll put some respecc on it
Katt's Favorites: Dawn of Victory,
The Village of Dwarves,
Dargor, Shadowlord of the Black Mountain,
The Mighty Ride of the FirelordListen to "Dawn of Victory" by Rhapsody on Spotify