Rhapsody - Dawn of Victory

"Extremely formulaic and cheesy, but entertaining."

The music of Rhapsody is definitely cheesy, but it's a good kind of cheese. Here we have a bunch of Dungeons & Dragons geeks amalgamated into a metal band whose albums are a continuing saga revolving around all our favorite fantasy archetypes, like warriors, magic swords, demons, and dragons. The lyrics are laughably overwrought and horribly articulated (English isn't this band's first language). The foreign vocals are technically skillful but handicap the music thanks to horrible pronunciation. Simply put, it's almost embarrassing to listen to these guys.

Sure, this band is lame. But hey, it's guilty pleasures aplenty. It's just fun to listen to because the band plays with reams of energy and they write entertaining music. Most songs are fast and vigorous, teeming with intensity. The grandiose symphonic interludes and operatic choirs give the music a cinematic quality. Luca Turilli, the principal songwriter behind the band, has a great ear for melody and the album produces a good number of catchy hooks (though not as many as on Symphony of Enchanted Lands, Rhapsody's last album). Many of the songs are catchy, but don't sing the lyrics too loud or people will think you've been on cheap drugs.

As always, Rhapsody's music kind of defies classification. Most would call it metal, but at length I would not call it that. It's more like "heavy symphony", because it lacks the heavy riffing focus of staple metal. Though this album is more traditional as far as metal goes, the band still preserves its originality.

I fear the band might be running low on ideas, because Dawn Of Victory doesn't have the song diversity of Symphony Of Enchanted Lands nor does it feature the inventiveness behind said album's orchestral moments. Heck, the title track that opens the album basically copies antecedent song "Emerald Sword" from Symphony Of Enchanted Lands, albeit at a slower tempo. Despite the predictability in each song, they are intense enough to offer an entertaining spin in your CD player. By the time you get halfway through the album, the songs actually start to sound a little too similar.

Listen to me; I know what I'm talking about. Rhapsody's music is so bad it's good.