The Infinite Wonders of Creation is the third and final album in a trilogy by Italian Symphonic Power Metal Composer / Musician Luca Turilli. It was released in mid 2006 in both Europe and the United States. The first two releases in the trilogy included the 1999 release King of the Nordic Twilight followed in 2002 by Prophet of the Last Eclipse. Both were hugely popular in Germany, Italy and throughout much of the continent. The first was based on a fantasy tale developed by Turilli, the second is reported to be an interpretation of the Science fiction movie, Event Horizon by Director Paul W.S. Anderson. Personnel on those titles and the one under review here are somewhat similar with Turilli covering guitars, keyboards and composing, Olaf Hayer doing male vocals, Bridget Fogle covering female vocals, Sascha Paeth on base and Robert Hunecke-Rizzo on drums. Of course there are other participants but these are the main artists.

If you’re thinking you’ve heard the name Luca Turilli elsewhere, you probably have. He has a number of projects working at any given time, the most famous of which is probably the Rhapsody of Fire work. He also wrote and performed Dreamquest, a performance reviewed elsewhere on this site. The female vocals on that work are by a vocalist calling herself Myst who sounds decidedly like the Bridget Fogle on this title. It is interesting to note that the work reviewed here places more emphasis on the female vocals than either of the previous works on the trilogy or on any of the Rhapsody offerings, thus making it somewhat more of interest to readers on this site.

Creation has drawn its share of positive and negative reviews. The positive tend to come from reviewers like myself who appreciate the truly classically inspired sound and feel that serves to drive the entire production. The negative tends to come from those who feel the emphasis on the Wagnerian musical direction is too heavy and leaves too little room for the metal. Oh well, you can’t make everyone happy. But, there is no denying the Wagnerian influence. Any number of these tracks is clearly screaming out to be considered for a movie sound track, and that can lead to charges of Blasphemy from the metal heads.

But, the music is what it is. With the focus in the previous two works being on the past and the future respectively, Turilli made the decision to take this one in a direction that looked at the present. And what better topic to accomplish that end than to focus on Mother Nature. With that objective in mind, the work deviates from past efforts that focus on experimental musical themes to focus more closely on atmospheric sounds, operatic vocals and symphonic themes that draw the listener to a variety of concepts ranging from life and death to good and bad and the cosmic reality that encompasses them. Interestingly enough, this work sees Turilli move from a focus on the guitar to a combination of guitar work and keyboards. It proves to be an interesting development and one that enhances the contemporary theme of the material.

Musically, Creation begins with Secrets of Forgotten Ages. It almost sounds like the themes from the movie Excalibur, the Arthurian epic, with its Gregorian chants; it’s Wagnerian symphonics and its thrilling choral work. This is the direction that sets the tone for the music that follows, even if that music does take the occasional side road. The comparison on this track, however, to Tristan and Isolde is also valid and there are those who see that as a singularly frontal assault on the more directed approach often found in metal. Oh well.

Mother Nature follows and there is nothing of the wandering German Classical on this title. This is Bridget at her best, a preview of the Dreamquest work she will do later. Hers is a voice that is remembered, one that begs for listening. The backgrounds are limited, more metal in flavor, more supportive than competing. She sings:

Much of Turilli’s previous work emphasized the Baroque and there is some of that here. Miracle of Life begins this interpretation with a natural theme that leads to a classical male vocal, Latin of course. This leads to a keyboard movement into Baroque metal with a male vocal line. Again, the movie theme is clear. There is less choral work, less orchestration but the sound is consistent. Turilli uses some strong male vocals and, although I don’t put Hayer in the same category as Fabio Leone of Rhapsody, he does have his moments. Frankly, I like him best when he sings with Fogle here, they do a nice symmetry. Mystic and Devine is another of these Baroque moments. The intro is keyboards, of course, with male vocals introducing the song and driving it to the duet with Fogle.

The title track takes us back to the Wagnerian. We return to the Gregorian chants, the full symphonic meandering through the ethereal, the dance of the lost which eventually takes us to full choral realms driving us into some classical work by Fogle. You either like it or you don’t, and, with a voice like hers, it’s hard not to appreciate the quality. The title moves to some extensive exploration of the Wagnerian sound device positioned against a metal guitar and the operatic vocals. A tour de force and one that has to be heard to be appreciated.

Turilli drew some negative reviews from many in the industry for this effort. I beg to disagree. I certainly have no opposition to the emphasis on the female vocal as others have. Nor do I condemn the philosophical discussion with its movement between the Existentialist and the Romanticist. You really don’t have to choose. And the work does what art is supposed to do; it makes you think. And, more importantly, it makes the effort enjoyable. Some may question the lack of heavy metal, the limitations of the classical rock format. But this is music that drives in new and different directions. Classical enthusiasts will appreciate the work, others may not. Ether way, it’s worth a listen, if for no other reason than to hear one of the finest female vocalists in the business doing it her way.

Creation indeed.

9.5 / 10