Album Review: Rhapsody Of Fire - Glory For Salvation

I lose track of how many times over the years I've talked about my issues with symphonic metal. Every time an album like this comes along, I find myself wanting to be swept up in the epic scope and mammoth sounds, only to be disappointed in the ways the orchestration and the metal are put together. It's more complicated than simply adding layers of strings to a metal song, which is something Rhapsody Of Fire should know from their history, but their history is a whole other story. Suffice it to say, there's a lot of headwinds for Rhapsody Of Fire to cut through.

First and foremost, for those who aren't dedicated fans, is that this is the second album telling this fantasy story. If you missed their previous album, like I did, you'll have absolutely no idea what is supposed to be happening, not that such is unusual for a concept album anyway. Writing lyrics that tell a story is hard anyway, so you might be lost even if you did hear that album. From what I could make of the lyrics to this one, it involves fighting in a snowy kingdom. I'm not entirely sure why they are, or why I should care about this place, but I actually find thinking about what the story is distracting when I'm trying to also enjoy the songs for their own sake.

The other distracting thing about the record is the symphonic nature of it, because it doesn't come across the way it should. The synth patches that often stand in for more organic sounding strings don't have the depth, or the class, a more traditionally symphonic approach would entail. There are points where the music wants to swell, wants to be an epic backdrop, but the production choices make it sound two-dimensional. They occupy the same sonic space as the guitars, so the entire record condenses down to the same frequencies, and it's only when you have a stringed instrument take the lead briefly, that the adornments sound vital to the proceedings.

When the album doesn't get bogged down, it can deliver some great moments. The chorus to "Terial The Hawk" is fantastic, and delivers a rousing metal hymn, without sacrificing the album's vision. Those moments are not as numerous as I would like, with much of the record sounding more like a conveyance for the story than an album we would want to listen to on its own. Such is the danger of conceptual albums, as trying to serve two masters can ensure none are left satisfied. Wait, did I just go BDSM in an album review?

Perhaps I did, because one of the thoughts I had listening to this album was chastity. No, not in the medieval sense of being pure, but in the modern sense of locking your junk up for the pleasure of a dominant. As this album goes on and on, for over an hour, I keep waiting for the time when the payoff comes and it's all worth the waiting and denial of pleasure. Then I realize that moment doesn't come, and we're left without the key to ever unshackle ourselves from the burden.

The only real reason to listen to this album is if you're a die-hard fan of the band, or for some reason you loved the story from the last one. Taken on its own, I don't hear much about this record that demands our attention. Bigger isn't always better, and this is another example of that.