EP Review: Rhapsody of Fire – I’ll Be Your Hero (AFM Records)

Italian symphonic power metal masters Rhapsody of Fire return with the EP “I’ll Be Your Hero” and a brand new single of the same title. Their trilogy, which they kicked off in 2019 with successfully releasing their last album “The Eighth Mountain”, will be continued this year.

Beside this new track the EP includes 7 other songs: the Japan bonus track “Where Dragons Fly”, 2 live songs (“Rain Of Fury” and “The Courage To Forgive”) recorded on the original “The Eighth Mountain”-Tour in 2019 and all the 4 versions of the ballad “The Wind, The Rain And The Moon”, which includes the previously released English version and the previously unreleased versions in Italian, Spanish and French language.

The EP will be released on June 4th 2021 via AFM Records.

The showcase of this EP is, of course, the brand new song – I’ll Be Your Hero and it’s the track that opens things up. A suitably epic and cinematic portrayal of power metal, it’s classic Rhapsody of Fire. With a massively upbeat chorus and that ever present sense of grandeur.

Of course ‘grandeur’ oozes from every single pore of Rhapsody of Fire. So much so that even a bonus track on a specific countries’ release can still sound so ‘large’. This is of course, Where Dragons Fly, a wicked showcase of folkish melody and harmonious vocals.

Having never seen Rhapsody of Fire live, I’ve often wondered if the cinematic quality that is so strong on their records would be as strong, live. Well, if Rain of Fury and The Courage to Forgive are anything to go on, the answer is an emphatic, yes. The two live recordings added here make Rhapsody of Fire sound like a must see.

The last four tracks are different versions of the ballad “The Wind, The Rain And The Moon”. The previously released English version and the previously unreleased versions in Italian, Spanish and French language. The song is very nice, very melodramatic and comforting. Each version will have its own impact based on the language you speak.

It’s all about the new track though and while the rest of the EP could be called ‘filler’, it’s a collection of Rhapsody of Fire music anyone can enjoy.

Rhapsody of Fire – I’ll Be Your Hero Full Track Listing:

1. I’ll Be Your Hero
2. Where Dragons Fly (Re-Recording)
3. Rain of Fury (Live)
4. The Courage to Forgive (Live)
5. The Wind, The Rain and the Moon
6. Senza Un Addio
7. Sin Un Adios
8. La Force De Me Battre

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