If I were to participate in a "Survivor"-like game, and had to choose only one CD to take with me on a desert island, it would have been Rhapsody's "Symphony Of Enchanted Lands". But now they have finally released their third album and things might very well change. But at the same time, since my expectations were high, I was very worried that I might be disappointed.

So, I finally have my new CD, I hit the play button and I'm transported in the heroic fantasy world of Rhapsody once again. The intro is in the style of "Carmina Burana" and if you've seen the movie Excalibur, that kind of music will certainly make you think of proud knights riding to battle. After that, starts the song that gave its title to the album, and I've to tell you that it's one of the best song that Rhapsody ever made. It's heavy and glorious with some more folky parts at the violin and the chorus is simply perfect. At that point I knew that I wouldn't be disappointed.

After another great fast song, comes the rest of the warriors with "The Village Of Dwarves". This is typical "Dungeons & Dragons"-style song so it's much more mediaeval and folk in the typical Rhapsody way. Then the albums continues in a crescendo of tragedy with only the exception of "The Rage Of The Titans" which is a great mid-tempo song.

And tragedy is the word, since for those who cares about the story, in this third part of the "Emerald Sword" tetralogy things are going quite bad. Our hero, the Warrior Of Ice, had found the Emerald Sword in the previous album only to give it to his arch-enemy Akron, this time. And Akron, King Of Chaos, has a lot of fun in this opus: massacres, torture and rapes. Are the Enchanted Lands doomed? We'll only know the answer in the next album.

Musically, Rhapsody still plays their mix of true metal and elements from classical music, hollywood movie scores and mediaeval folk tunes. But this time the symphonic part is (a little) less present and guitars are put in front for a more heavy sound. The folk part is also very present with lot of those Russian inspired melodies.

The limited box-edition comes in a 64 color pages book, with details of the story, interviews of all the band's members and a second CD. On this CD-Bonus, you'll find a Helloween cover (of "Guardians"), alternate versions of three songs and a multimedia track with videos and stuff. A must for all Rhapsody fans.

This album is near perfection, as good as the previous one although it would have been a little better if it were longer than 50 minutes but quality is more important than quantity. My big problem now is to choose which CD I would take on a desert island! Gloria, gloria perpetua Rhapsody!