RHAPSODY OF FIRE
Elysée Montmartre - Paris, France
February 15 2011

Several years have passed since Rhapsody Of Fire played in Paris for the last time.

It seems that now the band's legal problems are over and they can take back their normal recording and touring activities again.

This tour was called The Frozen Tour of Angels, and it was due to promote the album The Frozen Tears of Angels, which was out in April 2010...

Rhapsody Of Fire's upcoming album, From Chaos to Eternity, will be out in spring 2011, just a couple of months after this gig, so probably the band will tour soon again.

But one never knows with Rhapsody. They're known for being great composers and virtuoso musicians who record very good albums, but they're not for their live performances.

Well this should change, as tonight's show was a really good one!

I wasn't expecting anything in particular when going to the concert.
I've seen Rhapsody a few times before and I remember some gigs being OK, one being great, and one being close to ridicoulous...

The opening band tonight was Visions Of Atlantis, and it was so boring that I couldn't forsee anything good for the rest of the evening. I was afraid that this was going to be like the latest Blind Guardian concert in Paris, which wasn't good!

Rhapsody Of Fire's show started with a narration, where I recognized Christopher Lee's voice.
It was followed by the intro song Dar-Kunor and then by the song Thriumph Or Agony.

From this moment on, everything changed. And I knew that this was going to be a special show!

Rhapsody Of Fire had a good and powerful sound, good lights ,and there was some kind of chemistry between the musicians.

It is incredible how this band has changed. On their first tours, they wanted to do too much. They wanted to bring the theatrical part of the albums on stage, and it wasn't really successful.

Now, they learnt to concentrate on what they do best, playing music, and the result is a great symphonic metal show!

Of course there are samples huge choirs with dozens of voices and it was fun to see that the only microphone on stage is the one from Fabio Lione.
But honestly, this was not disturbing, as we know it's necessary for their style of music.

Despite the long years that have passed and the problems the band has endured, Rhapsody line-up has remained solid over the years, and that's probably one of the reasons why the band is delivering such good live performances now.

Fabio Lione is a great singer on stage, and he adressed the crowd in good French a lot of times. Sometimes he used English, when he couldn't find the words.

But he still has some way to go in order to become an iconic metal frontman. For example, it's not really exciting to hear that "the next song" is a drum solo!
Especially when the drum solo, called Tharos Holy Rage is so classic and not really exceptional. I know drummer Alex Holzwarth is capable of so much better.

The other member to play his own solo was Patrice Guers, who played an impressive bass solo.

Alew Staropoli and Luca Turilli are the masterminds of Rhapsody Of Fire, but both remain quite discrete on stage.

Second guitar player Dominique Leurquin also does great on his role, and even played a few solos along with Luca Turilli.

The Elysée Montmartre was totally sold-out, which means that Rhapsody of Fire fans were really waiting for their return. They pleased us with a setlist containing several of their best songs and catchy melodies.

The concert ended with an apotheosic version of the Power Metal hymn Emerald Sword, during which the audience couldn't stop dancing, moshing... and there were even a couple crowdurfers!

To be honest, I enjoy more Rhapsody's early albums than the recent ones.
But in terms of live performance, Rhapsody Of Fire has become a great live act.
It was suprising, I didn't expect such a good show.

If you have the negative memory of an old Rhapsody gig, well get your ass to the next Rhapsody Of Fire concert. I'm sure that you will change your mind!

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Setlist Rhapsody – Elysée Montmartre - Paris, France – February 15 2011

Intro: Dar-Kunor
01. Triumph or Agony
02. Knightrider of Doom
03. The Village of Dwarves
04. Unholy Warcry
05. Guardiani Del Destino
06. Land of Immortals
07. On The Way To Ainor
—— Tharos Holy Rage (Drum Solo) ——
08. Dawn of Victory
09. Lamento Eroico
10. Holy Thunderforce
—— Dark Prophecy (Bass Solo) ——
11. Sea Of Fate
12. March Of The Swordmaster
————————————
13. Reign Of Terror
14. Emerald Sword

Rhapsody Links:

Rhapsody Of Fire Line-up: