(Germany) ACT OF THE MONTH - Soundcheck position N. 4
(Belgium) ALBUM OF THE MONTH
(Belgium) 7 / 7
(Germany) 8,5 / 10
"... Kai Hansen meets Meat Loaf meets “Carmina Burana” meets “Lord of the Rings”. Highlight of the album is the hyper-catchy “The Miracle Of Life”, that keeps running in my CD player in heavy rotation. Bravo, Luca!"
METAL CHRONIQUES (France): 10 / 10
LES SIGNEURS DU METAL (France): 10 / 10
LORDS OF METAL (Holland): 93 / 100
METAL-GUIDE: 10 / 10
RAFABASA (Spain): 9,2 / 10
Known predominantly as the lead guitarist for Rhapsody, Luca Turilli also should be renowned for his solo accomplishments. Mainly this one. “The Infinite Wonders of Creation” is his third solo album in his trilogy tht began in 1999 with “King of the Nordic Twilight”. His sound is symphonic with truly mind-bogglingly delights that will incite amazing fanaticism. In search of the next great symphony? Look no further.
LUCA TURILLI – THE INFINITE WONDERS OF CREATION / SPV 2006
Sept ans après le début de sa formidable trilogie, voilà que Luca Turilli (Rhapsody) vient conclure cette saga quatre ans après l’électronique “Prophet of the last eclipse”. Que de suspense sur cet opus : une pochette non dévoilée, et une promo un peu tardive. Cela sera sans oublier bien sur l’arrivée d’une chanteuse qui est annoncée comme ‘guest’ bien qu’elle chante sur la moitié de l’album, et parfois même en solo sur un morceau complet. Elle se nomme Bridget Fogle est a une formation gospel. Vous verrez, sa voix décape.
Petits sifflements d’oiseaux, puis la musique et un chant féminin et mélodieux vient se coller pour entamer l’intro « Secrets of forgotten ages ». Une montée symphonique se fait entendre, des chœurs païens viennent se rajouter pour un final bien puissant et envoûtant.
On le sait Luca à une inspiration débordante et d’entrée avec « Mother Nature » il nous met une grosse claque. Le clavier s’empare de nos oreilles et bim la guitare s’en mêle. Surprise, ce n’est non pas Olaf Hayer qui chante mais bien Bridget. Très bonne surprise d’ailleurs car sa voix gospellienne a une de ces puissance ! Et le morceau mélodieux, puissant, avec un fond légèrement électronique, sans oublier le refrain d’enfer. Une bombe : in your face !
La flûte entame « Angels of the winter dawn » avant que les guitares et la batterie se rajoutent. Olaf débarque calmement nous régalant, sans oublier ses montées vocales ; et le duo avec Bridget nous scotche. Le refrain une fois de plus tombe comme une enclume dans nos oreilles et reste imprégné. La basse aussi se fait titiller et nous procure de pures sensations.
Une voix douce et angélique nous ouvre les portes des « Altitudes ». La suite se rapproche plus du style du premier album ‘King of the nordic twilight’ avec un tempo calme, une batterie guerrière, et un chant très opéra de toute beauté.
Maintenant, c’est au tour de « The Miracle of life » de casser la baraque. De la dynamite à trois cent pour cent. L’eau ruisselle calmement, quelques chœurs religieux, une arrivée du clavier et le tout s’emballe avec la voix de Olaf qui nous plombe. Sur le refrain c’est un duo gagnant et fantastique qui se fait pour notre plus grand plaisir.
La synthé introduit gentiment « Silver moon » qui se trouve être un morceau d’un calme remarquable, tout en restant attrayant et envoûtant avec Ms Fogle au chant. Un moment de détente mélangé avec un brin de bonheur sur les couplets. Et les orchestrations sont dignes de Luca. Un délice je vous dit.
Toujours le clavier à l’ouverture mais le rythme est plus vif et pus puissant. Les guitares ne tardent pas à entrer en jeu, tout comme la batterie. Cette « Cosmic revelation » est bien sympathique, évoluant dans un mid tempo chanté par Bridget. Et oui, elle est encore là.
Décidément Luca aime les belles œuvres et le mystique. C’est pourquoi il se tourne vers « Pyramids and Stargates ». Son arrivée se fait très mélodique et égyptienne (forcément). Olaf prend les rennes sur cet air enchanteur qu’il y avait du temps de pharaons. Les chœurs viennent embellir l’ensemble.
Voilà pour moi, LA bombe de cet album. Et elle se nomme « Mystic and divine ». Ce titre commence tranquillement au piano puis s’en suit la voix d’Olaf qui nous dirige dans un univers calme. Break et voici l’arrivée de Bridget qui elle fait monter le tempo. Fini la rigolade, les deux chanteurs s’unissent et nous mettent un de ses revers : je vous dit pas la couleur de mes joues. Nouveau break, on calme les choses et hop ça repart des plus belles. Mes joues sont violettes maintenant.
Il faut bien conclure l’album et cette trilogie par un superbe morceau épique. On le voulait, Luca l’a fait avec le title track (comme à son habitude) « The infinite wonders of creation ». Des chœurs féminins ouvrent cette pièce, les chœurs masculins prennent le relais, avec en fond, un synthé ‘spatial’ rappelant le second album. C’est bien calme mais que né ni tout cela va changer. Un bon break et ça repart du tonnerre toujours avec des chœurs mais de telle façon que l’on est envoûté. Le mélange musical entre les vocaux de Bridget et les compos de Luca est parfait. Et cette fois qu’elle a ! Arrrrg. Le refrain avec les chœurs est incroyablement bon. Un super final.
Conclusion : après un ‘King of the nordic twilight’ très Rhapsodien, un ‘Prophet of the last eclipse’ électronqiue, voilà que Luca à trouver son style, et nous ouvre les portes vers un nouvel avenir avec ce chant féminin. Je parle bien sur de son Luca Turilli’s Dreamquest. Quoi qu’il en soit cet album est une vraie tuerie : les paroles et la musique vous donne des frissons, les musiciens et les chanteurs sont impressionnants de par leur qualité et leur technique. Luca conclu sa trilogie avec un bijou. Un des albums de mon top 10 de l’année c’est certain.
Ajouté: April 12th 2006
Critique: Lionel
Score: 
(5/5)
LUCA TURILLI - The Infinite Wonders Of Creation
This is the third solo album of the talented guitarist and composer of Rhapsody, and the final of the trilogy that started with King Of The Nordic Twilight. Therefore, the musical style is not far from the previous two releases, although moving on different lyric landscapes. Melodies are plenty, and well worked, the music is catchy, with choruses, guest female operatic vocals, and excellent keyboards played by Luca himself. Besides Luca, the other musicians are the same as in the previous release, all well known and skilled artists, something that helps the music a lot. Well hidden elements do exist on this album, little jewels to be found with cautious listening, something that works for the album. The female vocals are also a very good addition, that give an different approach on the music. An album that will please all fans of the band, and the artist, and certainly an album that needs more exploration to reveal it's secrects.
Metal-Guide.com - 10/10
LUCA TURILLI – The Infinite Wonders Of Creation (Magic Circle Music 2006)
Let me first warn you, for this will be a big pile of text. ;-) Maybe a bit too much, but I like to have a as complete as possible overview whenever possible and since "The Infinite Wonders Of Creation" (to be released on the 29th of May) is the final part of the trilogy, going back in time could help refresh our minds about the first two albums.
Luca Turilli, one of the two masterminds of RHAPSODY, has - like many other musicians - many skills, which he can't use in RHAPSODY. Therefore, one goes solo or starts a second band. What better name to choose to become more known, than his own? Assisted by the three musketeers Sascha Paeth (bass, guitars), Michael 'Miro' Rodenberg (keyboards) and Robert Hunecke-Rizzo (drums), this has been a killer combo since "King Of The Nordic Twilight" in 1999. Add the amazing vocals of Olaf Hayer (DIONYSUS) and it's pure divinity!
Luca is a man of nature and spirituality, as is shown in the lyrics and those of RHAPSODY. For his solo project, he planned a trilogy, each album in its own setting/world. While the first album was lyrically and musically inspired by a fantasy tale created by Luca, the second album represented an evolution for Luca's typical sound. Lyrically, the album was influenced by one of his favorite sciencefiction movies: "Event Horizon", directed by Paul W.S. Anderson.
While the first album was still more Metal than 'electro-Metal' - which is one of the reasons for going solo - the use of those became more apparent/clear on "Prophet Of The Last Eclipse". The theme/setting also made this more appropriate. Luca using electronic sounds on an album was a suprise for many and opinions also varied, but the album got many positive reviews and was one of the best of 2002 and maybe of the last couple of years.
But even on his own, Luca didn't forget the symphonic instrumentation, as it's one of his trademarks. See also RHAPSODY. ;-) He is a master at combining symphony and Metal.
When RHAPSODY signed to Magic Circle Music + SPV/Steamhammer in 2003 (?), there were no mentions of Luca transferring his solo project as well. Somehow it would seem logic to end the trilogy with LMP. News about the third installment was very vague and the only thing that made the fans fantasize was an announcement on his website that the album would be released in the 'Nuclear Year 2004', with a picture of a nuclear explosion. So, rumours went the album was going to be heavy and probably dealing with the world's problems and things like that. Of course, that announcement made people excited. Who wouldn't be, after the fantastic "Prophet Of The Last Eclipse"?
Sadly, the album was postponed many times and updates were... non-existent, as Luca (and/or the label) likes to keep things secret as long as possible. But then news came about RHAPSODY's next album "Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II - The Dark Secret" and derived EP "The Dark Secret", which kept the fans busy again.
News about the final part of the trilogy finally came in little bits last year, but you might as well say nothing. Tracklisting and cover artwork were only announced a couple of months ago and after much complaining from the fans on RHAPSODY's forum, a press release was posted. So far, the only place to look for the artwork is on websites of... online shops. Not Luca's site, not Magic Circle Music's site, not SPV's site. Online shops. Any logics here? Samples, although very short ones, also were added to the website very late and also after much requests.
With "The Infinite Wonders of Creation", Luca composed a symphony dedicated to Mother Nature; a topic that has inspired and invigorated him musically and philosophically. A wide range of themes are covered: life, death, good, evil, the cosmos and philosophy.
Enough for the retrospect, let's talk music... Some changes occured compared to the last album: Luca now handles the keyboards instead of Miro (although he will probably have helped Luca in a way) and 'guest vocalist' Bridget Fogle, who has done background singing for RHAPSODY, sings quite a lot on the new album, while Olaf has to take some steps back and in turn is the real guest vocalist.
While the previous two albums commenced with choir chants and/or symphonics elements, "The Infinite Wonders Of Creation" leaves this away and you hear cheerful bird sounds, like you're in a forest. A few moments later, you do get the choirs with film score music. Up next is the wonderful "Mother Nature", which starts with twinkling sounds like on a xylophone, followed by the rest of the band. Here the link with "King Of The Nordic Twilight" is very clear. The most amazing part is the chorus. Simply breathtaking and maybe even tear-producing. Also notable is that Robert plays his drums more, switching between snare and toms even more than on "Prophet On The Last Eclipse". Bridget Fogle can sing, no doubt about that. In another review it's said that she's not fit for Metal. Somehow I agree, but on the other hand, you can't deny that her voice does suit certain songs. "Mother Nature" also features Luca's typical guitar solo, which can be found in slightly different variations on other songs and some of RHAPSODY. Although it's well done, I guess it would be better if he tried something else for a change, because we all know he is capable of that, but somehow refuses to do so.
"Angels Of The Winter Dawn", another great song, starts with a flute in the intro, followed by short, repeated riffs. With the piano and symphonics following, it sounds a bit messy ttrying to make everythng sound harmonious. But after a couple of listenings, you'll get into it. And hurrah!, there's mighty Olaf. Finally. But Bridget isn't far away. Here too, the chorus is pure class and very touching. Not only have the album titles improved, it seems Luca worked on his lyrical skills as well.
Track four contains a more relaxed song, titled "Altitudes", like "Zaephyr Skies' Theme" was on "Prophet Of The Last Eclipse". Opera vocals like on one of the previous RHAPSODY albums are present here too and Bridget then takes over. When at some point in the song she sings out of full chest, you better be resistant to such a voice, because you can only gasp at her skills. Needless to say, the song is high quality. If Ronnie James Dio is the God Of Metal, Luca surely is one of the Arch Angels.
Olaf is given another chance on "The Miracle Of Life", probably the best song on the album. And this is truly a song that fits him perfectly and vice versa. You can see it in a positive way or a negative one, but here too Olaf is not left alone as Bridget joins him (again). However, the result is very good, very melodic and free from criticism. Singing along here is also possible. Luca shows us his skills on the keyboards with a very nice solo. Seems like Miro isn't missed, although he has his style which can add something extra to the songs.
Taking back some heaviness again, "Silver Moon" is the second with a calmer approach in which the piano and guitar are the key instruments. Charged again for the following song, "Cosmic Revelation"" is an uptempo song where the electronic sounds prevail. The melody of the song sounds very familiar to me, but I can't link it to whatever artist made a similar-sounding song. The computerized backing vocals when Bridget sings don't add anything positive to the song and are better left out. Because of the repetition of the chorus and its choirs, it might become annoying. Of course, a guitar solo is always nice, but you can already guess how it sounds. Luca, please, try something else. Because right now, it's like you can only play this kind of solo. It almost feels like copy-paste.
Film score music with some eastern/Indian (no, not the Native Americans) influences introducing "Pyramids And Stargates", where Olaf takes his place behind the mic again. And Bridget backing him in the chorus. While the music is fairly good, the song overall is one of the least good among the pearls that came before this one.
Feel free to sing along in "Mystic And Divine", as Olaf and Bridget form a duet in the chorus. Key instruments here is the piano/keyboards. Quite a good song.
The title track then finally is one of bombast, epicness, majesty. Angel chants, so to speak, accompanied by symphonies and opera vocals. In a way, similarities with ENIGMA are not out of place here. Soon you are drawn inside the song like you're in a movie entering a new world, unlike anything on Earth. Paradise, as they say. A midtempo song with Bridget singing in lower tones, but very remarkable is the chorus and not because of its beauty and whatever more - well, it is well done, no question about that - but this could have been taken from EPICA's "Consign To Oblivion" album. Amazing how it sounds so alike.
Conclusion? Fans will of course have no problems with the third part of the trilogy. Luca has done it again. Worldclass masterpiece, just like before. "The Infinite Wonders Of Creation" has been Luca's ultimate album so far, I think, with better titles, lyrics, compostions, a great subject and more (e.g. the artwork by Karsten Vom Wege, the webmaster). One can also be happy with the result because it mixes "King Of The Nordic Twilight" with "Prophet Of The Last Eclipse" and takes it to a higher level. Questionable aspects are Olaf not being as present as on the previous albums, where he was master of the mic. Now he has to settle for a second place, seeing his throne conquered by Bridget Fogle. Furthermore, when Olaf gets his moment of glory, Bridget is not far to assist him or take over. However, she does a very good job, but when saying Luca Turilli, Olaf Hayer is a logical response, just like Messiah is CANDLEMASS's singer, like Fabio is the voice of RHAPSODY, Kai Hansen and GAMMA RAY, and so on. O yes, and Luca's typical solo. Time for something new, in my opinion.
"The Infinite Wonders Of Creation" is definitely one of the top albums of 2006 and I'm not only saying this because I'm a big fan of Luca's works, but also because the album is really good and gets better the more you listen to it, so you can comprehend the structures, the melodies, ... the whole package.
Luca Turilli - The Infinite Wonders Of Creation
Il arrive le tant attendu troisième album solo de Luca Turilli, achevant sa trilogie de l'Odyssée Virtuel, celui ci a pour nom The Infinite Wonders Of Creation est aborde le présent contrairement à ses prédécesseurs qui évoquaient le passé et le futur. Alors que King of the Nordic Twilight était une redite de Rhapsody, proche de Symphony of Enchanted Lands et que Prophet of the Last Eclipse voyait fleurir les sonorités synthétiques, ce nouvel album se voit être la quintessence du metal symphonique si cher à Luca approchant en cela une réelle bande originale de film accompagnée comme il se doit par des éléments metal sans lesquels cet album ne figurerait pas ici. Véritable hommage à Dame Nature, cet album n’aura de cesse de prouver à tous que Luca Turilli est un maestro dans son domaine, vous croyiez avoir tout entendu et être saturé par le travail de stakhanoviste du bonhomme, vous en aurez pour vos frais, cet homme là est un monstre de la composition symphonique et mélodique, inclinez vous et savourez tant de talent.
L’intro de l’album, à elle seule, démontre pendant trois minutes la volonté de faire les choses en grand du sieur Luca, digne d’une pièce maîtresse de la musique classique, cette entame aboutit au travail le plus conséquent réalisé par l’italien, chœurs et lyrisme sont à leur apogée.
Le gros changement sur cet album est la présence quasi permanente d’une chanteuse, Bridget Fogle, à la base chanteuse de gospel au lyrisme impressionnant dont les vocaux vont à merveille aux titres développés ici par le plus français des italiens (auparavant elle était intervenue comme simple participante aux chœurs sur les deux derniers albums de Rhapsody et sur ceux de Luca). Celle-ci domine les vocalises, Olaf Hayer intervenant toujours avec un talent indéniable mais largement en duo avec la demoiselle.
Le penchant futuriste institué sur le second opus se voit limité, Luca ayant réservé ce côté prononcé pour son autre groupe Dreamquest.
Sur cinquante minutes, les compositions s’alternent alliant puissance et mélodie au fort pouvoir accrocheur (Mother Nature, The Miracle of Life) avec d’autres à l’élégance indéniable et au lyrisme prenant accompagnés de grandes orchestrations majestueuses (Altitudes, Silver Moon). La complémentarité de ces dix titres permette d’offrir un album à la saveur variée, chaque écoute apporte ses découvertes notamment le sublime Cosmic Revelation qui propose les plus beaux chœurs jamais entendu sur un album de metal au sein d’un morceau heavy, la guitare virevoltante de Luca ne se perd pas en chemin, sa présence ravit à chacune de ses interventions, en presque cinq minutes toute la science musicale instaurée par Luca se voit pousser à son paroxysme.
Par la suite, on découvre l’orientalisant Pyramids and Stargates dont les vocaux de tout bord s’entremêlent avec intelligence, le travail sur le mix fait ressortir chaque élément et la grandeur des chœurs va de paire avec la puissance du duo Bridget et Olaf. Cette dualité des vocaux féminins et masculins atteint son moment de grâce sur le tubesque Mystic and Divine au refrain entraînant et à la ligne de piano simple mais au combien prenante. Ce morceau est un tube en puissance.
L’apothéose finale désormais inéluctable prend forme avec le titre éponyme regroupant en un peu moins de neuf minutes tous les éléments présentés précédemment, la somptuosité de l’ensemble est indéniable comme à l’accoutumée sur les travaux de Luca.
Cette trilogie s’achève sur un album "bouquet final" au potentiel de séduction énorme…Avec The Infinite Wonders of Creation, Luca Turilli décline son savoir faire sous tous les angles, les fans seront conquis et les réfractaires auront tôt fait de reconnaître le talent incontestable du maître Luca Turilli qui depuis dix ans enchaîne des réalisations plus magistrales les unes que les autres.
Clayman [10/10]
Metal Chroniques - France