Dark Wings of Steel
Studio album by
Rhapsody of Fire
ReleasedNovember 22, 2013 (Europe); December 3, 2013 (America)
RecordedAugust–October 2013
GenreSymphonic power metal
Length59:27
66:23 (Digipak version)
LabelAFM Records, Roadrunner Records
ProducerAlex Staropoli
Rhapsody of Fire chronology
From Chaos to Eternity
(2011)		 Dark Wings of Steel
(2013)		 Into the Legend
(2016)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com [1]
MetalTraveller [2]
Nightfall in Metal Earth [3]

Dark Wings of Steel is the tenth studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody of Fire. It was released on November 22, 2013, in Europe and December 3, 2013, in the United States via AFM Records.[4] Following the various line-up changes since the previous album From Chaos to Eternity in 2011, Dark Wings of Steel is the first album by the band to not feature guitarist and founding member Luca Turilli, the first with guitarist Roberto De Micheli, and the only album with bassist Oliver Holzwarth.

Background

Due to Turilli writing the lyrics and co-composing the songs with keyboardist Alex Staropoli in the previous albums, the lyrics are written by singer Fabio Lione, with Staropoli now composing the music with his brother Manuel.[5] Following the departure of other guitarist Tom Hess earlier in the year, the album also marks the return to one full-time guitarist only.

Alex Staropoli stated: "Fabio from now on will be in charge of writing the lyrics and I think this is really important for a singer to be able to write and sing its own lyrics". He also noted about his brother Manuel: "I knew my brother had lots of talent and he proved himself by submitting me with many great songs, which some of them I had to arrange and to use. I am so proud of him and there is a lot more to come".[6]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Fabio Lione; all music is composed by Roberto de Micheli, Alex Staropoli and Manuel Staropoli

No.TitleLength
1."Vis Divina" ("Divine Strength")1:28
2."Rising from Tragic Flames"6:16
3."Angel of Light"7:05
4."Tears of Pain"6:27
5."Fly to Crystal Skies"5:13
6."My Sacrifice"8:05
7."Silver Lake of Tears"5:00
8."Custode di Pace" ("Keeper of Peace")5:07
9."A Tale of Magic"4:18
10."Dark Wings of Steel"5:51
11."Sad Mystic Moon"4:37
Total length:59:27
Digipak & vinyl edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."A Candle to Light" (English version of Custode di Pace)6:56
Total length:66:23
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Voler Vers Toi" (French version of Custode di Pace)5:07
Total length:64:34

Personnel

Credits for Dark Wings of Steel adapted from liner notes.[7]

Rhapsody of Fire

Additional musicians

  • Manuel Staropoli – baroque flute, baroque oboe, recorder, duduk
  • Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra – orchestra
  • Vito Lo Ré – orchestra and choir conductor, scoring

Choir

  • Hao Wang, Matjaž Zobec, Noémi Boros, Paola Marra

Production

  • Sebastian Roeder – engineering, mixing, editing
  • Giorgi Hristovski – engineering
  • Boban Apostolov – engineering
  • Alberto Bravin – engineering, editing
  • Christoph Stickel – mastering
  • Luca Balbo – choir contractor
  • Severin Schweiger – photography
  • Karsten vom Wege – logo
  • Felipe Machado Franco – cover art, layout, cover concept

Charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[8] 125

References

  1. ↑ "Rhapsody Of Fire - Dark Wings Of Steel Review". About.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-11. Retrieved 2014-07-05.
  2. ↑ MetalTraveller. "Rhapsody Of Fire - Dark Wings Of Steel". Metaltraveller.com.
  3. ↑ "Wings Of Steel review". Nightfall in Metal Earth.
  4. ↑ "RHAPSODY OF FIRE To Release 'Dark Wings Of Steel' In November". Blabbermouth.net. September 16, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  5. ↑ "RHAPSODY OF FIRE announce new studio album "Dark Wings of Steel"". Archived from the original on 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
  6. ↑ Interview with Alex Staropoli, by Grande-Rock.com retrieved on January 10th, 2014.
  7. ↑ (2013). "Dark Wings of Steel liner notes". In Dark Wings of Steel [CD booklet]. AFM.
  8. ↑ "ダーク・ウィングス・オブ・スティール | ラプソディー・オブ・ファイア" [Dark Wings Of Steel | Rhapsody Of Fire] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
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