Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret

Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret is the sixth studio album by Italian symphonic power metal band Rhapsody, released in 2004. A concept album like all previous albums of the band, it is not a sequel to Symphony of Enchanted Lands but the first chapter of the band's new saga, The Dark Secret Saga, which would conclude with their ninth album From Chaos to Eternity.

Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret
Studio album by Rhapsody
Released	September 27, 2004
Recorded	March–June 2004, Multiple studios
Genre	Symphonic power metal neoclassical metal
Length	72:48
Label	SPV GmbH
Producer	Luca Turilli, Alex Staropoli
Rhapsody chronology
Tales from the Emerald Sword Saga (2004) Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret (2004) Live in Canada 2005: The Dark Secret (2006)
Singles from Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret
"Unholy Warcry" Released: June 28, 2004 "The Magic of the Wizard's Dream" Released: March 29, 2005

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Metal Rules	^[1]
RevelationZ	^[2]

Christopher Lee provides the spoken narration throughout this album. He is also a guest singer in the single version of the song "The Magic of the Wizard's Dream".

It is the last studio release of the band under the name Rhapsody. They changed their named to Rhapsody of Fire in 2006.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Luca Turilli; all music is composed by Turilli and Alex Staropoli, excepted where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Dark Secret" I. "The Ancient Prophecy" II. "Ira Divina (Divine Wrath)"	Staropoli	4:12 2:24 1:48
2.	"Unholy Warcry"		5:53
3.	"Never Forgotten Heroes"		5:32
4.	"Elgard's Green Valleys"		2:19
5.	"The Magic of the Wizard's Dream"		4:30
6.	"Erian's Mystical Rhymes (The White Dragon's Order)"	Turilli, Staropoli, Vivaldi	10:31
7.	"The Last Angels' Call"		4:36
8.	"Dragonland's River"		3:44
9.	"Sacred Power of Raging Winds"		10:06
10.	"Guardiani Del Destino" ("Guardians of Destiny")	Turilli	5:50
11.	"Shadows of Death"		8:13
12.	"Nightfall on the Grey Mountains"		7:20
Total length:			72:46

Personnel

Credits for Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret adapted from liner notes.^[3]

Rhapsody of Fire Fabio Lione – lead vocals Luca Turilli – guitars, production Alex Staropoli – keyboards, orchestral arrangements, production Patrice Guers – bass Alex Holzwarth – drums Additional musicians Manuel Staropoli – baroque recorder Christopher Lee – narration Toby Eddington – narration Dominique Leurquin – guitars (rhythm) Johannes Monno – guitars (classical) Stefan Horz – harpsichord Søren Leupold – lute Paulina van Laarhoven – viola Bridget Fogle – soprano vocals, choir vocals

Choir Cinzia Rizzo, Gerit Göbel, Miro Rodenberg, Olaf Hayer, Previn Moore, Robert Hunecke-Rizzo, Thomas Rettke Brno Academy Choir Dana Kurečková, Iva Holubová, Jana Klinerová, Jaroslava Zezulová, Kateřina Hudcová, Lucie Matalová, Ludmila Kieseljovová, Ludmila Markesová, Vladimíra Dolejšová, Jiří Klecker, Karel Seffer, Libor Markes, Michael Pinsker, Milan Hanzliczek, Pavel Konárek, Robert Kurečka, Serhij Derda, Tomáš Ibrmajer, Vladimír Kutnohorský, Alena Sobolová, Andrea Dáňová, Barbora Francová, Dana Toncrová, Eva Badalová, Eva Klepalová, Kateřina Nejedlá, Kateřina Pastrňáková, Magda Krejčová, Marie Vališová, Petra Bodová, Petra Koňárková, Terezie Kamenická, Terezie Plevová, Zora Jaborníková, Ivan Nepivoda, Jakub Herzan, Jiří Barták, Marek Mikuš, Matěj Dupal, Tomáš Kamenický, Vladimír Prachař, Vít Matuška

Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra

Emil Nosek – violin František Hrubý – violin Hana Roušarová – violin Hana Tesařová – violin Jan Nedoma – violin Jana Štípková – violin Jitka Hanáková – violin Milan Lapka – violin Miroslav Křivánek – violin Přemysl Roušar – violin Dana Blahutová – violin Hana Bílková – violin Jan Kotulan – violin Jaroslav Aladzas – violin Jitka Šuranská – violin Josef Geryk – violin Josef Kubelka – violin Josef Vyžrálek – violin Leo Sláma – violin Yvona Fialová – violin Dana Božková – viola Juraj Petrovič – viola Lucie Dümlerová – viola

Michaela Slámová – viola Miroslav Kašný – viola Oldřich Šebestík – viola Pavel Novák – viola Roman Janů – viola Alexandr Erml – celli David Kefer – celli Erich Hulín – celli Hana Škarpová – celli Zdenka Aladzasová – celli Zuzana Ermlová – celli Josef Horák – double bass Michal Pášma – double bass Pavel Juřík – double bass Vladimír Hudeček – double bass Vítězslav Pelikán – double bass Jana Holásková – flute Jiřina Vodičková – flute Vladimír Vodička – flute Krista Hallová – oboe Svatopluk Holásek – oboe Aleš Pavlorek – clarinet Jiří Kundl – clarinet

Jaroslav Janoštík – bassoon Václav Kaniok – bassoon František Vyskočil – French horn Jiří Zatloukal – French horn Josef Číhal – French horn Milan Kubát – French horn Rudolf Linner – French horn Vlastimil Kelar – French horn Pavel Skopal – trumpet Rostislav Killar – trumpet Zdeněk Macek – trumpet Ivan Dřínovský – trombone Milan Tesař – trombone Roman Sklenář – trombone Miloslav Žváček – tuba Lucie Vápová – harp

Production

Sascha Paeth – mixing, engineering Rob La Vaque – engineering Filip Heurckmans – mastering Stefan Schmidt – engineering (orchestra) Bernd Kugler – engineering (orchestra) Jan Wrede – engineering (orchestra) Marc Lenz – engineering (orchestra) Joey DeMaio – executive producer

Petr Pololáník – orchestra conductor Jaroslav Kyzlink – choir conductor Marek Obdržálek – orchestra director Marc Klinnert – artwork, design Eric Philippe – logo Karsten vom Wege – design Karsten Koch – photography

Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
French Albums (SNEP)^[4]	27
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[5]	70
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[6]	33
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[7]	62

References

1. "Metal Rules". Metal Rules. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
2. . Revelationz.net. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
3. (2004). "Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret liner notes". In Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret [CD booklet]. Steamhammer.
4. "Lescharts.com – Rhapsody – Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II - The Dark Secret". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
5. "Dutchcharts.nl – Rhapsody – Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II - The Dark Secret" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
6. "Offiziellecharts.de – Rhapsody – Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II - The Dark Secret" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
7. "Swisscharts.com – Rhapsody – Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II - The Dark Secret". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 December 2021.