Let me make my apologies now. I hate to trash anyone's album, cause I know they have worked long and hard to make it happen. For the life of me, I cannot figure why, Elisa Martin, left "Dark Moor" for this. Especially, on the heels of what was probably "Dark Moor's" best release to date, "The Gates of Oblivion". Don't be mad at me, Elisa, for I still love you very much and I think you still have, one of the most recognizable voices, around today. But how do you explain this. It's not all bad (except for the band name), I just thought you would throw your old band aside, for something more special, than this. Before I go any further, let me just say, if you like "Rhapsody", which I do, then you too, will be insulted by this rip-off, as I was when I first put it in my player. Yes, that's what we have here, ladies and gentlemen. Right down to the operatic male choirs and narration. And believe me, this criticism of mine, has nothing to do with my love for the French, of whom the band has three members. They even went as far a ripping off one of my favorite horror movies of all time, at the beginning of the album. Remember the movie from the '50s, about the giant ants called "Them"? Gosh! It doesn't get any lower than this.

Where should I begin? "And So Came the Storm" is the name of the first intro track. Do you remember the chirping sound the giant ants made in "Them"? Well, here it is, I warned you. Thank God it's short at 1:25. I can't take anymore than that. Wonder if they violated any copyright laws or just threw this in without consulting anyone. Horrible! OK, here comes the complete 360. Being a BIG fan of Rhapsody, I like the rest of this album. I just had to spew some venom, for the loss of Elisa in "Dark Moor". OK, I'm better now. Where was I? OH, track two. From here on the listener is treated to some outstanding Rhapsodian Metal. No need for a track-by-track description, the album must be experienced as a whole. Bombastic, symphonic, epic Power Metal that will blow your doors off from start to finish. Center of attention are the vocals of star Elisa C. Martin. They made one slight mistake though. Elisa seems to be drowned out a bit by the instrumentation and backing male choirs, which are more upfront than her voice, for some reason. I guess the musicians didn't want to make this an Elisa type solo project, they wanted to be heard. And all are fine musicians at that. Nothing more needs to be said about Elisa. For all of you who are familiar with her vox, she does her part quite convincingly throughout this project.

The rest of the band members; let me begin with Keyboardist Philippe Giordana, who also contributes backing vocals. His playing is at the forefront of this production. He is quite accomplished and began playing the ivories at the tender age of 14. He is ex member of a band called "Absurd". I have never heard of them, but they must have suffered a great loss, when Philippe left them. He is like a one-man orchestra, adding allot of atmospherics to the sound. Anthony Parker who plays all the guitars, is ex member from the band "Heavenly", whom I have heard of, but do not have any of their works. Just a few MP3's. He is your average kind of Power Metal guitar player, nothing spectacular. Willdric Levin is the drummer and founder of the band, who used to be called Fantasy, according to the bands bio. Levin also contributes backing vocals. He is an accomplished skin pounder, make no mistake. Fast and furious with allot of doublebass, kick ass, drumming. They all have something in common, that they are all ex of some band, and are French. Except for Elisa, whom we all know, is from Spain.

All kidding aside, if you are a fan of Rhapsodian Metal, then you’re going to love this album. Some may be a bit offended, if they are die hard fans of Rhapsody, as I was on first listen. Putting that aside, I enjoy good music such as this. But I cannot give this album a high rating because of its unoriginality. As far as I'm concerned, the band Rhapsody, are the true Kings of Epic Fantasy Power Metal and all others are just pretenders and copiers. For the musicianship, though, I give a high recommendation. They just need to get more original with their songwriting and style. The talent is already there.