RHAPSODY OF FIRE return soon after their latest release with and E.P. entitled "The Cold Embrace of Fear - A Dark Romantic Symphony". It essentially is a work of dramatic orchestration filled with narrators, symphonic parts and a ton of dramatic flair. This is their "Stairway To Heaven". This is their attempt to produce the greatest piece of music they could ever hope to possibly achieve. This is not just a very long song split into several parts. It is much more than that. RHAPSODY OF FIRE has set themselves apart from all the rest of the symphonic Power Metal bands by creating in their own words;

"This album is dedicated to all the positive and respectful people living on our planet with great respect for themselves, for our brothers and sisters in need of help, for Mother Nature and the supreme gift of life. It is intended to be a testament of pure love for the angels of the cosmic horizons, pure entities, gentle but severe eyes of the primordial Essence filtered to us by the sacred words of the Ancients. Divine rhymes, carved in pure light and echoing eternally in the soul of the living despite the rise and the fall of their civilizations. Our music is a declaration of raging and passionate love for all you beloved angels... with you until the end of time and to a new beginning... with you forever!"

Now, I know such grandiose statements cause many people's eyes to glaze over, or perhaps their eyes roll at the sheer pomposity of it all, but that's the point. RHAPSODY OF FIRE is out to make music that can only be described as epic. Even if you totally hate the band, you have to admit that their releases and especially this one in particular are much more than any typical Heavy Metal release. This isn't just five guys on guitar, bass, vocals, drums, keyboards. This is a band that goes all out and hires people like Christopher Lee to narrate their songs and tries to compose what they call epic film score Metal. This album's theme started out as the "Dark Secret Saga". It continues on like a series of fantasy novels like "The Lord Of The Rings", and "The Wheel Of Time". They manage to tell a story much like an author only they also use music as well as just text/words."The Cold Embrace Of Fear" is a fantasy novel made into a musical release. This started out in 2004 as I stated earlier as the "Dark Secret Saga". The story has been ongoing for over six years now and shows no sign of abating anytime soon. I think it is truly amazing that a band can make an epic film score type album on a repeated basis based on a self authored story, not the works of someone else. They have eclipsed what would be to any other band a concept album, with this newest release. Now it has gone full into fantasy novel series mode, and I for one and quite happy with the results.

The story this time tells the tale of five heroes that travel into the icy north parts of a mythical land. They must reach and ancient fortress known as Har-Kuun to find the book of the angels in an attempt to get a grasp on what evil they are confronting that threatens the existence of all the known world. Yeah, it may sound like a one hundred pound aged wheel of cheese, but it's great for people that appreciate this type of music. If you find yourself feeling as if you turned on a movie in the "Chronicles Of Narnia" series and start to laugh, this is not for you. One needs to buy into the grand scheme of things in order to fully appreciate what is being offered here. Yes there are heavy moments to this E.P. and they mostly take place in the longest song on the album entitled, "The Ancient Fires Of Har-Kuun" . It goes not only into the realm of power chord crunching Heavy Metal, but also with some pretty fast double bass drumming. They cannot hide who they are. Even in what is supposed to be a work of orchestration, they manage to slip in a good amount of guitar. The choir is amazing. The production is amazing and so is the detail, the scope, and the final result.

If you love symphonic Power Metal, this is an absolute must have on all levels. RHAPSODY OF FIRE has paved a path filled with exceptional music that may not be for all people, but it is certainly an amazing spectacle no matter how you feel about it. I highly recommend this album. It is an amazing achievement from these fantasy masters from Italy. I love it and hope this will put a damper on the bands' detractors.