LUCA TURILLI King of the Nordic Twilight LP PICTURE DISC Rhapsody UNPLAYED

$

149

897 visually graded PICTURE DISC vinyl Near-MINT Unplayed; jacket EX with small Hype sticker

Luca Turilli's solo project appeared to be just a Rhapsody spin-off when I heard the album "King of the Nordic Twilight". I like Rhapsody very much, and Luca Turilli was a slightly better variant on vocals, but you might have the feeling "been there, heard that". But then, when you listen to "Prophet of the Last Apocalypse", it's a complete, and pleasant, surprise! First of all, a big difference with "King of the Nordic Twilight" and Rhapsody; the classical orchestra has been changed for more keyboardsounds.
 The intro "Aenigma" has a very cosmic sound, as if you were floating through a vast and empty intergalactic space, but this quickly changes and "War of the Universe" has a nice fast tempo, the guitars and keyboards together creating an image of a space battle, the likes of Star Wars. This sound is continued throughout the whole album. One of the things I like about Luca Turilli, are the vocals. Olaf Hayer knows how to sing in English (a thing Rhapsody sometimes misses) and he has a very powerfull voice. The choirs on this album are also very important, sometimes really dominating. They have a feminin sound, as if there were no men to sing. But it adds to the eery space sound, which is definitely a bonus. On "War of the Universe", the cosmic effect would have been decimated if these choirs weren't present.
 When listening to "Prophet of the Last Eclipse", you get the feeling you're flying at near lightspeed. Most songs have a slower part, but there are only two songs that are on a low tempo. Which is fine. A cosmic album such as this one doesn't deserve to be slow, it would diminish the fly-through-space feeling. "Prince of the Starlight" and "Demonheart" are two fast-paced, powerfull songs that feel like hyperspace. The Grand Finale, "Prophet of the Last Eclipse" is a song of nearly twelve minutes, which forms a magnificent end to the album. It has bits of all songs, meaning that is consists of different parts; an eery space choir, a sole female vocalist singing, very powerfull guitar riffs
 This album is a must for people who are looking for a different power metal; one without dragons, knights or evil dark knights. Fans of space opera will like the lyrical themes and be gratefull for the choirs and keyboards present on this masterpiece.