TRIUMPH OR AGONY

Their amazing use of symphonic metal and merging it with fantasy, soundtrack orchestration and power metal has been a successful mix and has remained their sound for over nearly 20 years.

These crazy Italians have also been fond producers of concept based albums, with this album being the 2nd part of The Dark Secret Saga.

Like Lord Of The Rings, but even more epic, there is a darklord, dragons, elves, dwarves, caves, you know all that stuff.

The story of the album tells of a journey to get the 7th book containing the dark prophecy created by the dark lord Nekron, with the blood of angels (wow very dark). Our heroes (all with weird names), led by Dagor, a shadowlord who leaves his life of evil behind. They get the book, run away from zombies & have to escape from the Darklord's army, basically.

The story is presented amazingly with narration, orchestration and amazing instrumentation. Christopher Lee (the most legendary pensioner alive), also does some amazing narration on the album.

1. Dar-Kunor ? The intro basically. The orchestration is amazing and a film vibe is present & very effective.

2. Triumph Or Agony ? An amazing start to the album. Amazing vocals from Fabio. The choir and orchestra are also incredibly hair tingling. Amazing guitar solo as well.

3. Heart Of The Darklands ? Very catchy chorus with amazing vocals. Incredibly epic. This song basically sets up the story for the album. Very powerful & epic.

4. Old Age Of Wonders ? Very folky & almost madrigal like. The female vocals in the chorus add to the Tolkienesque vibe of the song. Very beautiful. I love the cadence at the end of the chorus.

5. The Myth Of The Holy Sword ? This song is the perfect example of how the choir, orchestra and the band themselves work off each other so perfectly. Amazing chorus, catchy and epic, what more do you want.

6. Il Canto Del Vento ? An amazing composition by Fabio. Basically this song is an Italian aria, showing of Fabio's amazing tenor.

7. Silent Dream ? Very cheesy but very catchy with amazing vocals in the chorus.

8. Bloody Red Dungeons ? This song basically details a weird bloody cave. Again another amazing chorus.

9. Son Of Pain ? This song is about Dagor's change in face basically. Amazing discourse between orchestra and Fabio's amazing vocals. The cadence at the end of the chorus reminds me of Sparach Zasthura.

10. The Mystic Prophecy Of The Demonknight ? Wow, what a mother of a song. The first part of the song, A New Saga Begins is incredibly catchy with amazing choir parts. The instrumental section which follows is amazing, before it ends with some narration. The narration in Through The Portals Of Agony is amazing, creating real sense, with the actors really making the story believable. In The Dark Order, Fabio does some screaming, which to be honest is amazing, the growls aren't the best, but the screams had me reminiscing to Dani Filth. The gang vocals are incredibly epic & very powerful. The last 2 parts sum it up very well.

11. Dark Reign Of Fire ? Amazing choir sections & amazing vocals from Fabio. A nice eerie ending.

12. Defenders Of Gaia ? Ok, this is only a bonus track, but a pretty amazing one at that. Amazing chorus and some amazing instrumental work, with every member of the band having a solo basically. This song is also environmental, which is different from their usual fantasy writing.

CONCLUSION: Epic beyond belief. One of the best symphonic metal albums I have ever heard, these guys are force to be reckoned with. Amazing story, I think it is more epic than Lord Of The Rings (both did have Christopher Lee though). If you don't have it, then you should be buying it now.

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