SONG Comments

there re-echoes the mighty "cry of war" against the evil forces of abyss, returning once again from the darklands to conquer Algalord and its surrounding lands. The threat of a terrible war is again present, this time worse than before, but the brave brothers of the holy lands are ready to give their life to stop the madness and the thirst for blood of the hellish hordes, led by the cruel king Akron.

At the beginning the quavering organ and the harpsichord express the state of tension noticeable in the enchanted regions, whilst the orchestral break represents the cry of the land: the lament of forests, lakes, rivers, mountains and valleys. The army of abyss is att acking the holy lands from two strategic points. One part, under the command of the "black prince", successfully crossed the middle mountains and the people of Ancelot are already bewailing thousands of fallen innocents, while another part is marching thr ough the lands of chaos, although fortunately still far enough from the dusty villages of the middle plains. In the meantime the Algalord's "council of the kings" decides the best strategies to face this dramatic situation...

Harold III of Algalord, Argon IV of Elgard and Eric, king of Elnor, decide to reconstitute the "alliance of enchanted lands", as their fathers had done an age ago, to succeed in stopping the "black king's" offensive. The council takes another fundamental decision: the time has fin ally come to call upon the ancient secret of "emerald sword". The prophetic pages of the legendary "holy book" is quite clear: a brave warrior should search for the three "keys of wisdom" and open the magic "ivory gates" located somewhere in the lands of c haos. Only by doing so would be be able to enter the "holy kingdom" where the emerald sword is hidden. The fate of other valorous heroes who tried to reach the "ivory gates" in the past is unknown - they never returned. But now the situation is deperate a nd the council decides to make the attempt once again. But who would have a chance to complete this terrible search?

The choice is simple because the old, wise Harold has no doubts: the mighty warrior of nordic blood is one of the most valorous fighters of the enchanted lands, the only one capable of being successful where others failed. His destiny is so decided. A messenger rides to distant Loregard: the "son of ice" is called immediately by the council and, proud to have been chosen by his wise kings, he soon leaves his green valleys. On the way the warrior will have also the second task of leading some troops of Irengard to Algalord to reinforce the alliance. And so the legend begins...

WARRIOR OF ICE

The army of enchanted lands has to be prepared to face the enemy as soon as possible. All the towns of the holy kingdoms are sending their troops to Algalord to reinforce it. In the meantime, after a long ride in a land that now reeks of war, the chosen one finally reaches the mystic Irengard. There he receives from the old king Arius "The Tolerant" the command of some of the town's troops ready to serve the cause of enchanted lands. This song is just a long ride where different frames of mind alternate: the fast guitar expresses the tremendous rage of the warrior, the mighty choirs of the chorus express the holy voice of conscience always ready to lead him in the right and positive direction.The bridge is one of the most solemn points of the entire CD: the warrior calls the troops of Irengard inciting them with inspiring words filled with pride.
In the solo section the melodic guitar alternates with the strings, painting an emotional picture while a baroque-style bass surrounds it all. Finally the Algalord's hills offer an incredible spectacle.. . the "holy alliance", the mighty army of enchanted lands, is alive once again and is waiting proudly for the will of its kings. These decide the best strategy for the offensive.

The warrior of ice receives the task of leading a part of the army to Ancelot, passing through the regions of the unicorns. There he will consign its troops to Arwald, hero of the middle lands, now engaged in the defence of the unfortunate citadel. In that moment he will have to leave the battlefield and ride to nearby Elgard w here he'll meet the old wizard Aresius, one of the keepers of the ancient secret of the "ivory gates". Only then, with his help, can the search for the three "keys of wisdom" begin. Now is time to leave Algalord... heartrending cries of women and children beseech their men... but it really is time to ride...

RAGE OF THE WINTER

Crossing the hills of Algalord, the wind begins to blow whilst the falling snow caresses the now visible valleys of unicorns. The mighty warriors and its soldiers admire the wo nderful landscapes knowing once again that for many of them this will be the last time... whilst the winds of night begin blowing stronger and the fury of winter screams its rage the valorous troops finally reach the southern side of the middle forests.
The difficulty of the journey is recompensed by what the horizon offers the eyes... The chords of the verse attempt to comunicate to the listener the sense of mysticism of a wintry twilight, whilst the more "reassuring" chorus expresses all the love and visual joy of this wonderful gift of mother earth.
The solo is a short opus and the altercation between guitar and harpsichord resolves itself with fast runs on minor scales and darker tonalities. Now is the time to sleep and the villages of the holy v alley offer the best solution for letting the horses rest. Ancient dances welcome the tired soldiers and makeshift jesters do their best to lower the general tension that inevitably fills the air. The warrior of ice is restless and he decides to fulfil a strong desire that he has felt for a long time. The place where the father of the father of his father fought for the freedom of the enchanted lands is not far away and the opportunity is unique: the chance to reach the mythical forest of unicorns, the forest that inspired numerous legends and where the wisdom of the kings prevailed in a long, bloody battle against the unrestrained violence of the black king's hordes.

So our hero leaves the village and begins riding through the long valley, which ends where the middle forests begins. Darkness is all around and the atmosphere is spectral but suddenly the flowing waters of the holy river announce that the magic forest is close at hand.
...the warrior's heart begins pounding faster...

FOREST OF UNICORNS

The forest is finally ahead of him and what the nordic fighter feels inside is indescribable. A mystical light allows to see a large part of the forest whilst the whispers of nightfall reach it, murmuring wise words. A strange but also a sense of extr eme well-being is all around. The spell goes on and the warrior decides to remain in that magic place all the night. He sits at the foot of a tall tree and soon the reign of dream opens its gates to him.
Echoes of ancient battles fought by the old ones c ross his mind before the first light of dawn, when a sudden noise awakes the fighter... and in that moment it appears in all its splendour: the white unicorn galloping on the other side of the hill offers a unique spectacle, one witnessed by only very few lucky people. The warrior remains spellbound by the beauty of the forest bathed in the first light of the rising sun. And he immediately begins praying to those proud trees, silent witnesses of past glorious times, to receive from them the strength of th e ancient memories: memories of epic battles and epic victories for the army of enchanted lands.
The blood of countless soldiers flowed on this grass to defend the forests, rivers, lakes, valleys and mountains... and their sacrifice gave these regions peace for an entire age. But this time the evil forces of abyss are stronger than ever and this peaceful day could be one of the last...

This is a medieval song of an acoustic nature divided into two parts: the vocal lines of the verse are built on a sug gestive background of strings and a recorder, whilst the chorus is a genuine ancient dance with the presence of a female voice. It is difficult to leave this wonderful place but the sun is now high in the sky and in the holy valley the soldiers are awaking: the march to Ancelot must go on...

FLAMES OF REVENGE

When the holy army finally reaches the white "Valley of Heroes", a tragic sight greets Ancelot's eyes. In the citadel the victims are countless... and this increases the thirst for revenge of the brave warrior and his soldiers.
This fast raging song expresses his absolute hatred for the hordes of the beast coming from hell to bring death and pestilence everywhere. An adrenalinic harpsichord duets with the jumping rhythm guitar to the sing-along chorus, when the increasing tension pyramids in a final scream. Here, too, a big string section preludes a fast challenge between guitar and harpsichord. The psychotic final chord of the song recalls the evil around him and he has to be prepared to face it at any moment.

VIRGIN SKIES

Consigning his troops to Arwald of Ancelot, the mighty warrior begins his long ride to the green valleys of Elgard, the wonderful town where his search for the three "keys of wisdom" will begin. The journey is difficult b ut when the first blades of grass come into view on the horizon the warrior is unable to constrain his emotion. Soon the sun warms his body and the blue sky gives him magical sensations. Sensations turned into music with the help of a real cembalo, a magi c cello and a sweet flute for a little fantasy piece of medieval taste.

LAND OF IMMORTALS

The green Elgard makes its appareance in all its beauty. Here the little peaceful town gives the warrior a fantastic welcome. Receiving full honors, he meets the mi ghty wizard Aresius. The following day he will lead the chosen one to the dusty Argon's glade where the search for the keys will begin... This mystical journey will be full of obstacles and the braveheart will also have to challenge his deepest fears befo re facing unsolvable enigmas and ancestral creatures of darkness.

This is another fast but extremely melodic track. In the pre-verse section the string quintett paints the warrior's inner tranquillity while a more raging verse with a jumping bass part expresses his absolute determination. A baroque interlude and a melodic "russian-style" solo lead to a middle dramatic bridge where a pipe organ and crossed voices express the thirst for wisdom of the mighty hero, ready to give his life for his lands. And w hen his time comes... the land of immortals, the heaven of heroes, will be finally his.

ECHOES OF TRAGEDY

The search will soon begin whilst the tragic vision of Ancelot is still alive in the warrior's mind. But the echoes of this cruel tragedy are now carved on his steel and the holy blood of the fallen innocents calls for revenge.

This is another epic hymn where a sad verse characterized by a sweet piano melody contrasts with a powerful epic refrain, sung by a majestic choir.

LORD OF THE THUNDER

Wa iting for the night the mighty warrior rides around Elgard to calm his thoughts. Suddenly, on the return journey, echoes of a distant thunder reach his ear and the wind begins blowing wildly. Adrenalin fills his veins and, raising his sword to the sky, th e hero recites his prayer.

And this really is an adrenalinic song, with a total speed verse enriched by a fast melodic violin. The choirs of the chorus express the strong voice of conscience and the most intense moment. In the solo part an orchestral interlude eastern-folk oriented breaks the majesty of the song and introduces a long duel between guitar and keyboard.

LEGENDARY TALES

Night falls and in the forest near the castle's walls the people of Elgard are celebrating another day of peace.The jest ers sing about the legendary old battles against the "black king". The knights sing and toast to the warrior, now ready to face the unknown. Soon he falls asleep and, in the last peaceful night, the nordic hero's dreams are dreams full of tragedy and sadn ess, where the blood of innocents never stops flowing and the will of revenge is more alive then ever.

This is a real medieval suite divided into two sections: in the beginning and in the middle part the flute paints a wonderful melody of ancient taste ov er a cembalo and cello part. The verse retains this gentleness but in the section immediately after, the guitar comes in and the double bass section assails the listener leading one to the powerful refrain where the choir has the lead role once again.

The solo is totally medieval and, apart from flutes, strings, etc., a characteristic bagpipe also lends its sound to the song increasing the sensation of being lost in a different fantastic dimension. This song ends the first chapter of the enchanted lands' saga, ready to be continued on the second incredible Rhapsody's album.