Rhapsody of Fire - Triumph or Agony   

I'll have the cheese special thanks

Is laughter an appropriate reaction to have to an album when you hear it for the first time? Or more to the point is laughter the sort of reaction you want your listeners to have when hearing your new album for the first time? I would imagine not, however that's exactly what Triumph Or Agony elicited from me.

I find it extremely hard to take any band seriously when they sing about elfish this and elfish that whilst playing upbeat, happy music. I know that to an extent this is what goes on in power metal but for some reason it seemed so much more ridiculous when I heard it on this disc. I felt like I was listening to the soundtrack to Willow or some other 80's children's movie rather than a band with a serious agenda. You could liken the experience to the last time you went to a pantomime and were just waiting for that evil witch to pop out and make life hell for the little trolls or whatever the characters happened to be at the time.

This is a clear cut example of the fact that even if you are a great musician, there is no guarantee that you will write great music. I'm not entirely sure whether this is meant to be uplifting or not but it all felt a bit pompous and self-indulgent to me. Maybe it's just that I don't get this genre of music, which would be pretty accurate in some respects. Though of all the power metal I have heard this album in particular sticks out as one that I can form no kind of connection with.

I realise that Rhapsody is quite highly regarded within this genre so I am left to ponder whether all of their music is like this or whether this is a departure from their normal sound. In either case I wonder how Triumph Or Agony will be received by both fans of Rhapsody and your average punter. It may well be that my stance on this album places me squarely in the minority, but irrespective of this I have to call them like I see them and as far as I'm concerned there isn't a lot on offer here that hasn't been done much better by others and in much less cheesy ways.

(Magic Circle Music/Riot! Distributors)

Added: February 15th 2007
Reviewer: Michael O'Brien
Score:
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