Rhapsody - Dawn Of Victory (2000) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fabio Lione - Lead and Backing vocals Luca Turilli - Electric, Acoustic and Classical Guitars Alessandro Lotta - Bass Alex Staropoli - Keyboards, Harpsichord, Piano Alex Holzwarth - Drums, Percussion All Drums Played by Thunderforce. The Helmstedter Chamber Choir - Choir. Sir Jay Lansford - Narration. Thomas Rettke, Robert Hunecke-Rizzo, Miro Rodenberg, Cinzia Rizzo, Florinda Klevisser - Epic Choirs. Helmstedt Kammerchoir conducted by Andreas Lamken - Church Choirs. Constanze Backes - Female Baroque Voice. Laurence Vanryne - Childish Voice on "Trolls in the Dark". Manuel Staropoli - Baroque Recorders. Maggie Ardorf - Lead Violin. Produced and Engineered by Sascha Paeth and Miro. Executive Producer: R. Limb Schnoor. Recorded at Gate and Pathway Studios in Wolfsburg, Germany between June and August 2000. Mixed and Mastered by Sascha Paeth at Pathway Studio. Orchestral Arrangements by Alex Staropoli. Cover Concept by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli. Logos and Cover Artwork Design by Marc Klinnert, Studio Oxmox, Cologne. Sleeve Design by DLP, Hamburg. Photos by Karsten Koch, Hannover. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Track Listing 1) Lux Triumphans (Staropoli / Turilli) 2:00 2) Dawn Of Victory (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 4:47 3) Triumph For My Magic Steel (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 5:46 4) The Village Of Dwarves (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 3:52 5) Dargor, Shadowlord Of The Black Mountainm (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 4:48 6) The Bloody Rage Of The Titans (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 6:23 7) Holy Thunderforce (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 4:21 8) Trolls In The Dark (Turilli, Staropoli) 2:32 9) The Last Winged Unicorn (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 5:43 10) The Mighty Ride Of The Firellord (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 9:15 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hail to everyone!!! ...do you remember me? Yes, that's right, me, your friend Aresius of Elgard, ancient (but not too much, eh?...ha, ha, ha!) wizard of my beloved enchanted lands. I told you about the situation of the enchanted lands threatened by the hellish army of Akron, known as the 'black king', in the first chapter of these chronicles. In the second one I revealed to you the secret of the emerald sword and how my valorous friend, known to you as the 'warrior of ice', was able to open the ivory gates and to finally handle it ! I want to tell you straight off that this third chapter will be no less valorous and tragic than the previous ones... probably too tragic even for my taste...! So now is the moment for you to learn everything that has happened since the chosen one left the magic portals behind him, riding to Ancelot with the magic weapon in his hand... Enjoy this new tale of courage and pride and abandon yourself to the green valleys of the enchanted lands... where the mystical journey is about to begin again...! - Part III - The emerald sword was glinting wildly in his valorous hands and his ride to Ancelot began at the first light of the new dawn. In village after village The Warrior of Ice was able to find new fighters ready to demonstrate their pride for the safety of the holy town of the Enchanted Lands. So, when he finally reached the rocky mountains surrounding the citadel, the chosen one could count on a real army ready to face the demonknights led by Dargor, prince of the darklands serving the cause of Akron. The hero of Loregard didn't want to waste time anymore because the cries of Ancelot and its defender Arwald were desperate and touched his brave heart deeply. At his command the entire army of the enchanted lands raised its steel to the sky glorifying the holy war in the name of a future long peace with no innocent victims falling to satisfy the thirst for power of the darklands' lords. From that moment onwards only king chaos dominated... ...after the legendary fight of the bravehearts against Dargor's army Ancelot was free once again and the warrior of ice could finally raise his divine steel in the air reeking of blood, as a sign of victory. Two proud warriors, the chosen one and Arwald, hero of the northern lands, led the valorous men of the enchanted lands to another great day that will be sung and remembered at the court of the kings by all the royal jesters in the following ages... But, as usual, war means free violence and cruelty and both could not restrain their tears of anger for all the innocent victims who fell on the dusty ground surrounding the citadel. And the nightmare never seemed to end... Airin, Arwald's beloved princess of Ancelot, captured during the siege of the town together with another dozen of proud knights known in all the southern regions of the enchanted lands for their valour, was on the way to Hargor, hellish town of the darklands, located in the heart of chaos. Dargor and his prisoners were now marching through the dragonlands and it seemed impossible to reach them before they reached the Akron's nest. So in the following days, whilst organizing plans to free their imprisoned friends, The Warrior of Ice and Arwald could do nothing but wait for the inevitable demands advanced by the cruel black king... The messenger of chaos finally came and the fear of all became tragic reality: the demons of Akron would impale, one by one all the prisoners if he didn't receive the legendary steel of the gods... yes, my friends, that's right... the mystical emerald sword. Oh, god... what hellish use could be made of that precious weapon...! But anyway something had to be done, and as soon as possible... so the decision was taken! Arwald and the warrior of ice would meet the black king in the center of Hargor, that godforsaken town of the darklands, and Akron would guarantee the life of the prisoners by exchanging it for the mystical emerald sword. But The Warrior of Ice knew that in the wrong hands this precious weapon could help the hellish king and his dreams of conquest... And I can confirm to you that his thinking was correct, because, as I already told you in the first chapter of these chronicles, a bloody war between the 'Holy Alliance' and the hordes of Akron's empire was raging on the border between the southern lands and the darklands, and, as you also know, the power of the emerald sword could have also decided the destiny of wars! So, my dear friends, it is time to raise your faces to the sky and to call the mightiest of all the rages... oh, yes, that's right!... the bloody Rage Of The Titans!!! Yes, dear friends, this is exactly what really happened, although your friend Aresius would never have liked to have told you... When our two heroes finally arrived in Hargor, they immediately understood that it would have been really difficult to go back! The vision was tragic... of the knights imprisoned during the siege of Ancelot nothing was left except their heads and limbs impaled in awful hellish geometry... The message was clear and my two friends could do nothing other than attack as Furies about to die in the proudest way. But no... what the black king had planned for them was even more terrible... and I can assure you, I felt that something was not going right, being in mental contact with them most of the time ! Captured and imprisoned, after many days of torture the two warriors awakened in a dark cavern lit by seven torches. Heavy steel chains were limiting their movement. Airin, oh my god, yes, right, poor Airin, was in front of them, covered only by a black veil, on an unholy stone altar. Akron, his dream of handling the mighty emerald sword satisfied at last, was laughing before the altar together with all his demonknights shadowing the cavern and no sane mind would like to imagine what could have happened in the next moments... No, I don't want to tell you...! but I have to..., because you all, my friends, have to understand how cruel and blasphemous the acts of a man can be, ...although it's difficult for me even to consider him as a man..., possessed by the evil forces of cosmic oblivion! So... Airin, Arwald's beloved princess, was brutally raped by all the evil creatures of that hellish place in front of our two heroes and by Akron himself, still laughing and increasing his dark energy by the pain of suffering innocence. Even the valorous Dargor, already trying to convince his king about the inanity of the trap and all this unfettered violence, felt himself constrained to condemn this horrible ritual of bloody depravation... the prince of the darklands, even if he swore his faithful to the cult of evil being educated by one of my biggest enemies, the wizard known as Vankar of Helm, had always tried to conciliate his acts with some ideals that often contrasted with Akron's philosophy... and now once again! Returning to our tale... the ritual finished even more tragically... Airin was forced, with her last breath of life and looking for the last time at her beloved Arwald, to sink in the Sgral, a magic substance able to corrode the strongest steel. And, after a while, her death was a reality... Excuse me, my friends, if in this moment a tear is filling my old eye, but the tragedy is too big for an elderly, tormented heart like mine... Arwald prayed to all the gods of the cosmos to be freed of that unholy vision and, being unable to endure the pain of it, he soon lost his senses.. Akron had prepared something special for everybody ...so the hero of the northern land was also tortured in every way possible and in the end he also was forced to become a victim of the terrible corrosive substance... But in that moment the gods of the cosmos heard his call... with his last divine inner energy, with his legs burning in the acid, Arwald used his arms, already showing the white of the bones, to throw some of the green acid towards The Warrior of Ice. Destiny would have it that part of it splashed on the chains imprisoning the chosen one... The steel corroded and our hero was able to free himself... Arwald, with his death, had thus saved the life of our mutual friend. Armed only with stones from the cave, his mighty rage led him against the horde of evil and he was only able to avoid the deadly fury of Akron by throwing himself into the subterranean river, known as Aigor, which flowed through the cave and which carried him to the free air outside Hargor. After many moons, escaping through dark marshes and then over rocky mountains, he was finally able to reach his beloved valleys and then the forest of unicorns... only there could he feel himself finally safe... Sad, tired, hungry, enraged, furious... but at least safe... The emerald sword was now brightening in the hands of Akron and something had to be thought up and done before it was too late for our beloved enchanted lands! Alright, my dear friends, my old body endured too much stress this time telling you this tragic tale, and so it is better if I rest for a time between the magic trees of this green valley, which have offered me hospitality for some moons. I will be back to you soon for the last chapter of these chronicles... I think the most intense, dramatic and epic that I will ever tell you! So prepare yourself and in the meantime try to live your life with the same ideals of honesty and justice which fill the hearts of my valorous friends, ready to use the rage of the thunder to fight unfettered violence, so that another old wizard will be proud to tell the chronicles of your existence with the same epic enthusiasm...! Forever yours ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1) Lux Triumphans (Staropoli / Turilli) 2:00 "At the court of king Chaos only blood can write its own tragedy..." Mighty warriors from the silver hills march, all led by golden winds Elves and trolls from holy mystic woods run through the last snow He's now coming from the middle lands handling proud his magic sword Glory, pride and honor ride with him Burns the flame of north They will all meet in the Kazar ruins not so far from Ancelot In the temple of the fallen one their hope will be born Born from the ashes of ancient glory ... Born! They all hail the mighty chosen one reaching the skies with their cry They are ready to reach Ancelot Arwald's calling loud "Glory ride with us! Lux Triumphans! Magic and steelgods lead us to a new dawn..." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2) Dawn Of Victory (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 4:47 Fire is raging on the battlefield while Arwald is fighting the war of the kings The army of Dargor, the thunder, the storm... so people are calling the brave and his sword No time left to save the wise throne! Shades of a past not so far to forget... the rise of the demons from their bloody hell! So come mighty warrior to light the lost hope for Tharos the dragon and your cosmic soul... Now handle your emerald sword! For Ancelot the ancient cross of war for the holy town of gods Gloria, gloria perpetua in this dawn of victory The ride of the dead and their practice of pain is pounding in him as a terrific quake You're closer and closer now follow their smell with your holy armour the steel in your hand Fly angel of bloody revenge! For Ancelot the ancient cross of war for the holy town of gods Gloria, gloria perpetua in this dawn of victory Tragic and furious the clash of the steel of the gods and so magic the power, the sword in his valorous hands Oceans of fire are blasting the throne of the demons and from distant red skies the thunders are calling his name the name of the master of pain! For Ancelot the ancient cross of war for the holy town of gods Gloria, gloria perpetua in this dawn of victory ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3) Triumph For My Magic Steel (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 5:46 Flies to where old dragons are lying the cry for the triumph for my magic sword Burns the pride of my mighty conscience while rises the sceptre of our wise lord So thunder and storm, the rage of the sword the fury of my war The axe of the dwarf, the blood on the stone the scream for the eternal Rage in the wind at the triumph for my magic steel you will taste the blade of the ancient sword... and Rage in the wind at the triumph for my magic steel led by hundreds of mighty and fallen lords Dead, laments and unholy sorrow The heads of the fallen are staining the snow May this be the last hated cruel war I'm looking at my skies but they answer not! So thunder and storm, the rage of the sword the fury of my war The axe of the dwarf, the blood on the stone the scream for the eternal Rage in the wind at the triumph for my magic steel you will taste the blade of the ancient sword... and Rage in the wind at the triumph for my magic steel led by hundreds of mighty and proudly fallen brave lords Old cathedrals dusty graves where nest the seeds of holy victory Blood from old crypts gushing out to drown the deadly cosmic enemy Steel all around for the king and his crown Winds of the dawn are caressing us all... Ancelot smiles at the knights' epic cry Thanks to the old and their emerald sword The kingdom is now hailing the triumph over Dargor and he the man from Loregard he stands in front of all... of all! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4) The Village Of Dwarves (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 3:52 The dwarves of Lork are showing all their honour when you walk on the Gandor secret hill The dance for fire and wind and the stories about old kings are pleasing our brave lords down in the village of dwarves The elves are playing under timeless willows while blue and red paint all my beloved land The dance for fire and wind and the stories about old kings are pleasing our brave lords down in the village of dwarves The eagle's eye is hiding something tragic but in this night the red wine rules in me The dance for fire and wind and the stories about old kings are pleasing our brave lords down in the village of dwarves And all night long me Arwald and Aresius we speak, we laugh, we honor our king The dance for fire and wind and the stories about old kings are pleasing our brave lords down in the village of dwarves And time has come now to ride before the end of the night the march of the swordmaster to the unholy fight ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5) Dargor, Shadowlord Of The Black Mountainm (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 4:48 Not so far from the wide dragonland Where the valleys breathe the smell of dark gate Dargor is marching with the poor Airin There where dark has ruled forever for the demonknights Fire's rising to valleys of death While shadows are rising from bloody hells Fire's riding to Hargor, the town Where evil and terror conquered the clouds We sing to the wind the legend of the king To spread out heart to the kingdom of dust Where heroes are lost, where now reigns the shadowlord Carved in shadow is his magic throne Kron disciple nor extreme at all Gothic his kingdom told by old jesters Pride and terror live together in his stormy heart Fire's rising to valleys of death While shadows are rising from bloody hells Fire's riding to Hargor, the town Where evil and terror conquered the clouds We sing to the wind the legend of the king To spread out heart to the kingdom of dust Where heroes are lost, where now reigns the shadowlord Cry with me to fill the crystal sea Cry for all the victims of these stones Shed your tears to fill the silent fall And wash it in your swords Fire's rising to valleys of death While shadows are rising from bloody hells Fire's riding to Hargor, the town Where evil and terror conquered the clouds We sing to the wind the legend of the king To spread out heart to the kingdom of dust Where heroes are lost, where now reigns the shadowlord ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6) The Bloody Rage Of The Titans (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 6:23 Between my trees the unicorn runs from the highest mountains the water falls Flowers and plants now caress my eyes along these holy valleys kissed by light And I am victim of this spell wonderful symphony of enchanted lands... The whisper of spring is now carried by winds the winds from the land of the fire Where peace is a gift from the king of the kings It seems so strongly unreal... unreal! Dragons and demons beware! It's the rage of the titans... Is the titans' bloody rage! Warlords and steelgods beware! It's the rage of the titans... Is the titans' bloody rage! The oak, my sister, smiles at the sun now free from the weight of winter The eagles fly from mountain to mountain enchanting my heart... brave heart! Dragons and demons beware! It's the rage of the titans... Is the titans' bloody rage! Warlords and steelgods beware! It's the rage of the titans Is the titans' bloody rage! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7) Holy Thunderforce (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 4:21 Face me evil bastard, smell the hate of angels Glory, pride and bloodshed Cowards and beholders, rapers of my wisdom mix of dust and bones Go back to your abyss, Algalord will not fall but your heads will soon roll Test the blade of heroes, fury of the thunder hit my golden shield So we'll fight against the wind for the glory of the kings to defeat the evil enemies And we'll ride with our lord for the power and the throne in the name of holy thunderforce Arwald and Aresius with the nordic warrior on their way to Hargor Chaos and oblivion, turmoil and disorder will have now their name The last fallen heroes will defeat your forces Thousand spirits calling On the furthest mountain I will see your fire quenched by holy frost! So we'll fight against the wind for the glory of the kings to defeat the evil enemies And we'll ride with our lord for the power and the throne in the name of holy thunderforce ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8) Trolls In The Dark (Turilli, Staropoli) 2:32 Instrumental ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9) The Last Winged Unicorn (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 5:43 The seven red flames of the cave are lightning the horrible torture constricted to see he regrets to have had the life from his god Airin sheds black tears supporting the terrible rape the fury of the sons of the thunder is breaking the mystical chain Arwald falls so to his knees while Akron the black king is laughing the princess falls down on the stones with no breath of life anymore May your ambition lead you to the unholy name So my soul will fight you forever in one of the many new hells From the holy sea of golden flames flies the last winged unicorn With its magic breath of innocence rising to the crystal throne Skies are spitting holy fire wisdom cries and deadly whispers flow Flow down to silent mystic shores Shores of spirits thirst for vengeance waiting for their holy crystal gate Gate to the sunny holy lands "Lands of a timeless world... an enchanted timeless world like no other... there where magic flowers paint the cosmic landscape and noone knows the word... pain!" Tears of blood and sadness formed the wonderful silent lake Swans and birds in water games will call Airin's name... her name! And now is the time to decide on a way to escape from the cavern the old silver chains on the wall are now also trapping their souls Airin my princess I can not endure all my pain but I swear to you on my proud name... you'll open the mystical gate! From the holy sea of golden flames flies the last winged unicorn With its magic breath of innocence rising to the crystal throne ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10) The Mighty Ride Of The Firellord (Turilli, Staropoli / Turilli) 9:15 Cruel Akron bloody bastard I now spit on you You can turn my bones to black ash but I'll move the moon I will light your evil kingdom and your heart will burn in flames Mutilated or dismembered we'll soon rise to eat your brain You will pay for your victims and for Airin's bloody rape For Arwald my dear friend and all my crying wasted land I call the rage of my dead I call the black angels' tears Also Dargor can't endure all... goes out from the cave while the demons take the hero for their tragic game Gods of earth save me from madness from these rites of total shame while descending in the red flame Arwald dies but not in vain They will pay for this nightmare, for the symphony of pain For Airin, my dead friend and all my crying wasted land I call the Tharos' fire I call the thunder roar Raise your voice and ride all ride all brave, raise your sword to the sky and sing the epic symphony for the mighty and proud firelord i Arwald's acid broke the silver chains before his very last breath Akron laughing really doesn't know what now waits for him... Gods are raging leading my red steel heads and limbs are falling down It's in me the mystic messenger bringer of revenge "Black angel, I call you! King Chaos is raging in the torment of my heart... I call the holy earthquake to end this bloody hell!" Gods are raging leading my red steel heads and limbs are falling down It's in me the mystic messenger bringer of revenge while she comes, beloved sunlight On the river known as Aigor our hero found his way All the demons desperately search for him now but in vain They will pay for this nightmare, for the symphony of pain For Airin, my dead friend and all my crying wasted land I call the Tharos' fire I call the thunder roar Raise your voice and ride all ride all brave, raise your sword to the sky and sing the epic symphony for the mighty and proud firelord ------------------------------------------------------------------------