Reviews list for Rhapsody - Legendary Tales (1997)

1997 was a life-changing year for metal, and one significant part of that year was the debut albums of 3 bands that would popularize symphonic metal; Nightwish, Within Temptation, and of course, Rhapsody of Fire. The lattermost band would combine the genre with power metal, and take listeners through different fantasy sagas...

Rhapsody of Fire, then known as Rhapsody, have made a great start to their journey with their debut Legendary Tales. This album and Symphony of Enchanted Lands were my two favorite albums by the band long ago. With my cheese enjoyment decreasing a bit nowadays, I give a little more love to the 3 albums after those two, especially Power of the Dragonflame. Still, Legendary Tales displays the incredible talents of guitarist Luca Turilli, keyboardist Alex Starpolli, and the gifted vocalist Fabio Lione.

The saga begins with an ominous synth and choir intro which was unusual for metal albums at the time but would become common in symphonic power metal. It segues to one of my favorite songs by this band today, "Warrior of Ice". If there's a song to really kickstart symphonic power metal as we know it, THIS IS IT. The operatic vocals and fast instrumentation of power metal are mixed with genuine orchestration. An epic start to a new era of metal! Some of the more Celtic elements first appear in "Rage of the Winter", which has a catchy rhythm.

After all that metal power, the band calms things down with a cheesy folk ballad, "Forest of Unicorns". Then "Flames of Revenge" restores the heaviness and includes neoclassical melodies. Midway through is where things get really interesting. Orchestral symphonics and choir become more dominant and keep you hooked before the instrumentation becomes metal again. The one track I find weak, even back in my earlier days of listening to power metal, is "Virgin Skies", just a useless interlude. There should've been a bard singing that would make it slightly less boring. Luckily, "Land of Immortals" makes up for it as another true symphonic power metal classic. It's still enjoyable to me to this day, and I'll never forget it.

"Echoes of Tragedy" is another cheesy ballad, this time more melancholic as opposed to that other happy-sappy ballad. It works as a prelude to another great heavy dramatic piece, "Lord of the Thunder". And finally we have the 8-minute closing title epic. Its progressive structure consists of slow folk-ish verses and fast heavy choruses, plus a Celtic bridge complete with bagpipes. Lots of interesting variation to make a fantastic ending to this chapter of the saga and foreshadow their later longer epics.

All in all, Legendary Tales is a great start for Rhapsody (of Fire) and their Emerald Sword Saga. 3 epic anthems, 3 splendid heavy songs, two OK yet cheesy ballads, and two pointless interludes, all of which make a solid offering that is recognized as a memorable gamechanger in 90s metal....

Favorites: "Warrior of Ice", "Flames of Revenge", "Land of Immortals", "Lord of the Thunder", "Legendary Tales"