Haggard于1991年成立于慕尼黑。吉它手Asis是乐队的核心，1994年发表了一张MCD，并
在Amorphis的巡回演唱会作暖场表演。在这期间，Asis一直在探讨如何加入更多的古典
元素，其结果就是他不断找来越来越多的提琴手、钢琴手、女高音以及其它古典乐器演
奏者丰富Haggard的音乐风格。到了1997年发表首张概念专辑"and thou shalt trust…
the seer"的时候，乐队已经拥有了16名正式成员，真是不厌其烦啊。这张专辑以法国著
名的预言家Michael Nostradamus（诺查丹玛斯）的生平与著作为主要内容，在音乐风格
上也显得古风盎然，钢琴、提琴等古典乐器与吉它、鼓等金属乐器错落有致，其间并无
主次之分，同时大量运用了唱诗班、圣咏、歌剧女高音等人声因素，与男声低音、念白
以及黑死唱腔结合起来，构成了非常独特的魅力，引人入胜，使人时而仿佛置身于中古
世纪的繁华市集，时而又在冷峻阴森的教堂中漫步，充满了深邃神秘的氛围感。
2000年发表的"Awaking the Centuries"是上一张专辑的延伸，此时的时间是在1546年左
右，Nostradamus的第一任妻子与孩子都去世了，这也正是Nostradamus开始撰写《诸世
纪》的时候，专辑的名字即来自于此。在本张专辑中，Haggard把它善于整合不同风格的
音乐元素的特长发挥到极致，团员已达到20人，同时还邀请了3位guest乐手、5位口白及
9人的歌剧唱诗班，真可谓宏大之极。
专辑是以改编的Rachmaninov唱诗开始，于是时光倒流，我们仿佛置身于中世纪法国那泥
泞的城镇中，紧跟着的"Pestilencia"（瘟疫）则充满了歌剧的张力，尤其是女声的嘶叫
"c\'est la peste"（这是瘟疫！）更是让人透不过气来。第三首"Heavenly Damnation"
是前卫金属网站长评为的超级爱歌，我们来听听他的评价："以强劲的弦乐、大键琴对弹
开场，紧接带出男女唱诗班大合唱，soprano的一阵拉高后，death腔也随后喷出，精彩
的弦乐、oboe、单簧管对奏，伴随强力双大鼓接续登场，death腔、声乐腔大合唱，弦乐
、长笛、oboe、大键琴、双大鼓，真的是有够美啊！"
我最喜欢的则是第6首"awaking the centuries"，开场是以小提琴与双簧管等乐器的协
奏为引子，接着转向欢快的旋律，在这美妙的奏鸣中，吉它与双大鼓悄然现身，带来一
阵震撼性的气息，似乎在预示Nostradamus眼中所看到数百年后的战火。在忧愁的女声吟
唱"Awaking the centuries"过后，一段凄美的旋律引出了Asis的黑暗唱腔，在两位女高
音的伴唱之下，旋律转向激昂，似乎在倾吐Nostradamus内心的不安--恐怖的景象不断叠
现，而那参破生死的平静则更显得无奈。
本首歌曲直接引用了大段Nostradamus《诸世纪》的原文，诸如：
"When I open my eyes
I see soldiers in the fields
Dead bodies on the ground
There are children inbetween
Explosions shock the land
And the evil shows its face
The one called Hister rises
This is the fall of grace..."
令人听后，如有阵阵寒意袭背。
总的来说，本专辑唱念俱佳，不仅充满了浓厚的古欧洲气息，氛围感十足，同时旋律优
美，编配合理，除了时间太短以外（38分钟），几乎挑不出什么毛病，无疑是张"五星级
"的专辑。

芬兰旋律/力量/交响金属乐团Nightwish即将由Nuclear Blast Records发行乐迷眾所期待时隔4年之久的第七张录音室专辑"Imaginaerum”，芬兰/日本地区将抢先在2011年11月30日上市。12月2日（欧洲其他地区）。专辑在北美地区将由Roadrunner Records发行。
Nightwish的灵魂人物，键盘手/词曲创作Tuomas Holopainen表示：“最初这应该是专辑的一张内页插图，但是有一次我和团员们看到了最后完成的图画，我们立刻就知道了我们一直苦苦寻找的专辑封面就在这了。我相信这是Toxic Angel(芬兰插画设计师)最棒的一幅作品，捕捉到了´Imaginaerum´最实质的精髓。这充满了想像力，这是无言的奇观，充满了魔法与敬畏，渴望与超现实。

HAGGARD have been a big band for a while, who else can say to have a line-up with 17 musicians? And if that was not enough yet, master mind Asis Nasseri has invited ten more guest musicians into the studio and “Eppur Si Muove” also musically has turned out to be a big album, a damn big one even!



When you compare their 1994 MCD “Progressive“ with “Eppur Si Muove“, then the Munich based band has come a long way, a very long way, starting out as Progressive Death Metal, but now the only band that I could compare HAGGARD’s evolution with would be THERION, even though you cannot compare their sounds, still they have walked a comparable path.



“Eppur Si Muove“, Latin for “and it does move“, is based on the life of Galileo Galilei, after so far paying tribute to Nostradamus they have chosen the Italian philosopher and mathematician as topic, who had found out that Earth revolved around the sun and not the other way around, as the Catholic church said. As he was adamant about his standpoint, Galilei was tried for heresy and in the end executed. Allegedly this, “eppur si muove”, had been his last words…



Now there is a lot of bands, which incorporate medieval and classical instruments into their sound, but only very rarely they play such an important role as with HAGGARD, because just as rarely we get such a homogenous sound as with this, ehm, seventeen-tet? But seriously, befitting the epoch of Galileo, we also get a whole bunch of baroque influences and melodies, which homogenously are amalgamated with the electric guitars and Metal.



And so I reach my big problem with “Eppur Si Muove“: Every song is a class of its own, so which one should I point out? To mention them all most probably is the only chance for me. “All'Inizio È La Morte” covers all possible bases, starting out with a big choir and a lot of classical instruments, followed by acoustic guitars and rough, yet clear German vocals, before a violin together with opera vocalisation follows. Then the song sets out with symphonic Metal, big choir and some growls, the choir partly in Latin, the growls partly in English, then a very calm passage, which they build on again, clean vocals and growls, incredible!



And after the short, classical interlude “Menuetto In Fa-Minore“ we have a right-out classic with “Per Aspera Ad Astra”. Rarely I have heard classical music and heavy Metal combined this well, with incredibly variable vocals, choir, female and male solo voices, growls, plus a tremendously dynamic and variable song structure, the tension within the song is just breath taking! “Of A Might Divine”… Covering everything from very quiet to furious, including a baroque interlude, huge choirs and all, ouf, I think I have fallen for this album!



Then we have the Swedish traditional song “Herr Mannelig“, some of you might still know it from IN EXTREMO. It starts out with dark keyboards, kettledrums and soprano, incredibly intense, before the song is transported into Metal, with really heavy guitars and drums, great! On we go, “The Observer”, introduced by violin and cembalo, is more rooted in Death Metal, as the sluggish and very heavy song really steps on the pedal in the middle and from all the classical instruments the violin is put into the foreground, before the title track gives me the rest. Dramatically starting with string instruments, we have a very, very dynamic composition here, very variable, with HAGGARD firing on all creative cylinders, another true masterpiece!



The shorter version of “Herr Mannelig“ in my opinion is superfluous, but does not take away anything from this huge album, as we also get an almost fitting sound, where only the guitars at times lack a bit of power and the drums sound a bit too triggered, but overall all the instruments have their room to unfold and even though the album is gripping right away from the start, there are enough details hidden in the sound, which only surface after several listening sessions.

2周前，先听的那首单曲就已经让人满心期望。这是一张值得你侧目的金属专辑，风格可以看作Blind Guardian, Rainbow, Blackmore's Night, Helloween、Dio和Malmsteen的混合体－－完美的力量金属、浓郁的民族味和大量的古典管弦乐。
另一个Rhapsody的标签是像标题一样独特的史诗般的歌曲、规模盛大的唱诗班、金属Riff段、古典乐材质和一位奇异的歌手－Fabio Lione，他的歌声可以凌驾于任何高度。
这张专辑YDSS是历经了长久的等待才得以听到的。专辑风格变得更加"Progressive"，比《Legendary Tales》（首张专辑）加入了更多的古典段落。Fabio Lione的嗓音更为纯清，是专辑的一个亮点。歌曲的演奏十分感性，为听者赋予独特的感觉（特别是用耳机）。制作人还是Sascha Peath和Miro，封面艺术则出自teriffic之手。值得注意的是整张专辑其实是一部叙事概念剧，讲述了一个中古时代光明与黑暗、英雄与邪恶的斗争，玩过魔法门英雄无敌系列游戏的朋友可能会感觉十分亲切。具体的故事可以由听者自己去体会，歌词不像死亡金属那么难懂。
专辑第一、二首歌曲是一体的，"Epicus Furor"是"Emerald sword"的序曲，唱诗班是主角。第二首"Emerals Sword"早于专辑几周前作为单曲上市。
第三首"Wisdom Of Kings"以木吉他伴长笛拉开序幕，紧接着，电声乐协着速度与力量演奏出绝妙的旋律。过门是许多小提琴交织成的古典段落，之后有小提琴和吉他的精彩对弹。
第四、五首歌也是可以合而为一的。"Entering The Waterfalls' Realm"是"Heroes Of The Lost Valley"的第一个段落。这是一个长笛和大提琴合作的器乐部分。第二个段落是"Dragon's Pride"，其中有一段人声诵读。第五首歌"Eternal Glory"由吹奏乐器开场，Rhapsody的Happy-Speed-Metal再一次跳跃其中。当然，里面的合唱也相当精彩。
"Beyond The Gates Of Infinity"却是用一段狼的哀号作为开场白。随后的演奏十分"progressive"，和疏缓的歌唱形成速度上的巨大反差。4分钟后，音乐才柔和起来。当然，速度很快就又回归，这次带来的是更美的编曲和精彩的吉他SOLO。歌曲再次终结于古典段落。
随后的"Wings Of Destiny"换做以钢琴和十分感性的歌声开场。歌曲中的贝司段落和长笛的独奏都很完美。
"The Dark Tower Of Abyss"是Rhapsody的一首名曲：古典气质的小提琴和大提琴序曲后便还有同样编曲格式的速度金属片段，阵容庞大的唱诗班和教堂管风琴也不甘寂寞。
"Riding The Winds Of Eternity"是一首宿命歌曲，开始于管弦乐却终止于一只长笛，其中还有最好的一段合唱。
最后的不是最短的－－"Symphony Of Enchanted Lands"用13分钟的长度演绎了4段乐章。第一段"Tharos Last Fight"是1分52秒的人声开场白。第二段"The Hymn Of The Warrior"，小提琴和教堂管风琴伴着歌声，结尾有十分夸张的效果。Part III－Rex Tremende长6分52秒，混合了几乎Rhapsody所有擅长的风格，Constanze Vaniyne担任客座女声。最后2分18秒的"The Immortal Fire"为整部概念剧完成了古典风的结尾。
对我来说，这张专辑要好于上一张《Legendary Tales》。听过《Legendary Tales》的听者，这张专辑不会令你们失望。

1991年組成，來自於德國慕尼黑的Haggard，其在音樂內大量融合中世紀(Medieval)、民謠(Folk)、古典(Classical)、歌德(Gothic)、毀滅(Doom)、死亡(Death)和鞭笞(Thrash)等多種元素形成的獨特風格，順利得到各個不同層級聽眾、樂評與媒體的大力讚揚，轟動了當時整個歐洲金屬樂壇！
創團初期Haggard只是支純粹以Death Metal來表現的樂隊，但在靈魂人物Asis Nasseri大膽構思下，陸續加入了小提琴、大提琴、鋼琴與女高音等古典樂科班成員，再算上本身自有的鼓、貝斯、吉他和主唱位置，樂團總編制最多高達近20人之多，至今仍未有任何其他樂團能夠突破此紀錄！音樂方面，金屬與古典相互擦出的音樂火花讓Haggard在1997年發表的首張專輯「And Thou Shalt Trust ... The Seer」名符其實成為交響金屬跨界的究極示範大碟；而後相繼推出的「Awakening The Centuries(2000)」與「Eppur Si Muove(2004)」兩張作品中，樂團更加鑽研古典編曲鋪陳上的優美與交響的磅礡，猶如一場場栩栩如生的電影畫面呈現在眼前。
自從2007年起，網路上就不斷流傳著Haggard將會有新作誕生的訊息，果真不負眾望，今年Haggard終於帶來睽違許久的第四張全新專輯「Tales of Ithiria」回歸樂壇！這次更打破過往皆由詮釋歷史作為主題的習慣，改以Asis Nasseri所構思的中古世紀故事為創作，並用運五段口述分別來引出六篇蕩氣迴腸的史詩樂章；"Tales Of Ithiria"、"Upon Fallen Autumn Leaves"營造力與美的絕佳景象；演奏曲"In Des Konigs Hallen"為正統古典樂句，與純美聲"Hijo De La Luna"共同散發出濃郁文學氣質；"The Hidden Sign"內含大量死亡金屬成份，殘暴又悲愴之景象令聽過的人始終久久無法忘懷。

Sensational sales figures, almost a cult status amongst their fans all over the world, sold-out shows, high chart positions and thrilling performances at almost every important European metal Festival: The Italian formation Rhapsody, with their three previously released albums, Legendary Tales (1997), Symphony Of Enchanted Lands (1998) and Dawn Of Victory (2000) as well as the speciallly priced Album, Rain Of A Thousand Flames released last Autumn, has been able to create a totally new and unique style called 'Hollywood Metal' and to fascinate fans all over the world with it.

Power Of The Dragonflame, their fourth full length album is another episode of the exciting Emerald Sword saga and one which brings the saga to an end. Power Of The Dragonflame took form in familiar surroundings, namely in the Wolfsburg 'Gate Studios` with Sascha Paeth and Miro, themselves experienced musicians (Heavens Gate, Virgo etc) and who have been closely tied to the success of the Italian band since the beginning of Rhapsody's career. Similar to their previous releases, the musicians Luca Turilli (guitar), Alessandro Staropoli (keyboards), Fabio Lione (vocals) and Alex Holzwarth (drums) let off a spectacular firework display of ideas, showing themselves not only as heavy, fast and aggressive, but also epic and orchestral. After the sensitive intro, 'In Tenebris' and exciting tracks such as 'Knightrider Of Doom`, 'The March Of The Swordmaster' and 'Steelgods Of The Last Apocalypse' the album culminates in the closing, over 19 minute long 'Gargoyles, Angels Of Darkness', which begins with a calm acoustic guitar prologue, accelerates in typical Rhapsody fashion and which includes the expressive, unusually theatrical voice of singer Fabio Lione. 'Gargoyles, Angels Of Darkness' combines all of the band's strengths: their rhythmic finesse, their epic basic structures and the hymn-like vocals.

Fabio Lione - Vocals
Luca Turilli - Lead Guitar
Patrice Guers - Bass
Alex Staropoli - Keyboards
Alex Holzwarth - Drums
Guests:
Dominique Leurquin - Rhythm Guitar
Christopher Lee - Narration
The limited edition digibook comes with a 40 minute DVD:
DVD tracklist
- Making of "Symphony of Enchanted Lands II - The Dark Secret" (that includes
footage of the recordings in Czlin; extended interview with Christopher Lee;
the recordings in Wolfsburg; recording with the orchestra and more)
- Unholy Warcry (short version video)
- Unholy Warcry (EP version)
- Unholy Warcry (extended version video) [actually, this is the album version
with the inclusion of the Ira Divina intro]
- Making of "Unholy Warcry" video
- Building of the Dragon - Making of the Artwork
The first album on which Alex Holzwarth actually recorded the drum parts.

2000 release for Italian symphonic power metal act. Standard jewel case.

这么大牌的乐队介绍不多说了，唯一罗嗦一句，因为版权问题，他们乐队的名字由Rhapsody改为Rhapsody of Fire，这也是他们用此乐队名发行的首张专辑。