Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody – Prometheus – Symphonia Ignis Divinus (2015)

Delivering one of the most bombastic and ridiculously epic releases of 2015, today we have Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody with “Prometheus”. Vastly improving over their 2012 “Ascending to Infinity” the band elevates its game to reach new heights in terms of lush cinematic experiences. If you could imagine Therion paired with Blind Guardian and old Stratovarius, that is exactly what this album sounds like.   

Building a very dramatic opening with “Il Cigno Nero”, the band’s signature intense tempo and theatrical vibe is felt instantly through Alessandro Conti’s vocals and Luca Turilli’s talented musical composition skills. The extreme usage of orchestrations and choir arrangements greatly pays off on tracks like “Anahata”, the dramatic “One Ring to Rule them All”, and the majestic “Prometheus”. The basic Power Metal core aspect of the band’s sound is kept very tidy through Alex Landenburg’s drumming and Patrice Guers’s bass guitar lines.

If you are looking for more classical oriented tracks, “Il Tempo Degli Dei” and “Noturno” are perfect examples of the band’s unique attention to detail and great skill in mixing multiple different elements seamlessly giving them a very dramatic and cinematic feeling. Luca Turilli and Dominique Leurquin do a great job in handling the guitars with some killer leads on tracks like “Yggdrasil” and “King Solomon and the 72 Names of God”.

Closing with the monumental “Of Michael the Archangel and Lucifer's Fall Part II: Codex Nemesis” a track that continues the closer of the band’s 2012 release, Luca Turilli pulls all the stops in making this a true epic and massive song that is nearly as grandiose as this whole album (just by itself). With a crystal clear production and extremely detailed arrangements, this is one hell of an album that takes more than a couple dozen of listens to fully digest all of it.

As a whole, “Prometheus – Symphonia Ignis Divinus” is one killer and extravagant release. Luca Turilli is an excellent musician and composer and his two Rhapsody releases are a testament to this. If you are a fan of Symphonic Metal, this album will make most of the releases out there sound like they were recorded using MIDI keyboards. Clocking in at 70 minutes, this is one of the best musical experiences of 2015.

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Release: June 19th, 2015

Genre: Symphonic Progressive/Power Metal

Country: Italy