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Does anyone remember the old slogan, "Is it live or is it Memorex?"?
The underlying message in that statement is that Memorex tapes sound just as
good as the original source and that you can't hear any difference between the
two. After listening to Rhapsody's "Live In Canada 2005: The
Dark Secret" CD , I was scratching my head wondering just how much
of this album is really live.
Anyone can create their own live Rhapsody album. Just take all of their
studio albums, pick a few songs from each one, then add some crowd noise. With
all sarcasm aside, it isn't fair of me to make judgments about this live CD
without also watching the live DVD. I figured that would give me a better perspective
as to what is exactly "live". Unfortunately, the promo I received
at Metal Reviews only highlights certain aspects of the DVD. However, based
on some of the clips I viewed, it was enough in order for me to be able to make
some comments that will hopefully help interested readers decide on whether
or not this is a worthwhile purchase.
The CD portion of "Live In Canada 2005: The Dark Secret" was
recorded at the "Metropolis" in Montreal, Canada on June 14, 2005
during their "Demons, Dragons and Warriors World Tour 2005" with Manowar.
It contains a total of eleven tracks: "Emerald Sword" and "Wisdom
of the Kings" from "Symphony of Enchanted Lands",
"Dawn of Victory" and "The Village of Dwarves"
from "Dawn of Victory", "Lamento Eroico" and
"The March of the Swordmaster" from "Power of the Dragonflame"
and "The Dark Secret", "Unholy Warcry", "Erian's
Mystical Rhymes" and "Nightfall on the Grey Mountains"
from "Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II - The Dark Secret". Unfortunately,
there are no songs from the albums "Legendary Tales" or "Rain
of a Thousand Flames".
Personally, I would have preferred some more songs from "Dawn of Victory"
as well as something from "Rain of a Thousand Flames" and "Lengendary
Tales". Also, I feel that this album would have been better and more
in depth if it was released as a double live CD. But being that Rhapsody
was an opening act for Manowar during this tour, they were only able
to pick ten songs that they could play within an hours time. The live performance
on the CD was recorded in one night, so it's not like they took different performances
over numerous shows and edited them all together to sound like one concert,
though Rhapsody could have if they wanted to release a double CD. I don't
think they did because they wanted to stick with a consistent set list night
after night.
The renditions of the tracks presented here are nearly flawless, from the vocals
to the musicianship. Rhapsody incorporates a good mixture of songs from
fast and aggressive to epic and orchestral. This album is so good live that
it is hard to believe. The album has that Symphonic Epic Hollywood Metal production.
What you find on the studio albums is translated to near perfection in the live
setting. I think the fact that Rhapsody was able to accomplish that transition
with ease is a true testament to the real talent of this band. The crowd is also very energetic and into the music.
I'm disappointed with the CD cover. It is very dark and has a maple leaf on
the front, which is almost unnoticeable unless you have the booklet close to
your eyes. I would have loved a fantasy cover with dragons and warriors like
most of the ones on their studio albums.
As for the DVD, it will include twelve songs recorded during shows in the USA,
Canada, Czech Republic and Germany. There seems to be plenty of footage that
covers stuff like sound checks and preparation before shows, interviews with
band members like Luca and Alex, band interaction with the fans, stone arches
with fire breathing dragon heads, images projected on a wide screen in the background,
documentaries, live bonus tracks and music videos.
After watching the highlights from the DVD promo, the one thing I was able
to conclude was that most of the big symphonic aspects of Rhapsody's music,
(like the orchestral parts, big vocal choirs, etc.), are mixed in live during
the actual performances through either pre recorded sound samples played through
the keyboards or through pre recorded tapes. In any event, it gives Rhapsody
the dimension needed to recreate anything recorded in the studio.
I still feel that any die hard Rhapsody fan is going to want to purchase
this CD/DVD, especially for the visual aspect. "Live In Canada 2005:
The Dark Secret" will really make you appreciate this band's talent.