A must for Luca Turilli and Rhapsody fans or a good package to introduce yourself to this group's back catalogue.

When I spoke to Luca Turilli before his last album 'Prometheus' came out, he told me "Please don't listen to it with silly little headphones on your laptop!" Wise words, because to truly appreciate the bombastic, Symphonic and Cinematic music of these Italian legends you want to feel this music vibrating off the walls. This is doubly true now that the record has been re-mixed using audio-Blu-ray-disc in Dolby Atmos. In layman terms it's like the experience you have at the cinema where there are speakers all around, including the ceiling, placing you in an "acoustic honeycomb".

As a result, this is a milestone record as it's the first album ever recorded using the technology and if you want to show what the aural technology can do then who better to demonstrate with than Turilli's cacophony of Classical music and Metal. If you've got this type of entertainment technology at home, then this is the version for you. If you don't, this package is still an attractive draw as it also contains two live CDs containing a whopping twenty-seven tracks with a running time of more than two hours, enough to satiate the appetite of even the most ardent Rhapsody fan.

This comprehensive live offering was recorded in 2012 and 2016 across Europe. The nature of recording songs from different concerts and times means you don't get the flow of a natural concert and the change from track to track has that momentary silence which breaks the immersion of feeling like you are actually at the live event.

The music covers a wide range of Turilli's output; from the very first Rhapsody album you get the likes of 'Land Of Immortals' and 'Warrior Of Ice', his solo work is covered with 'War Of The Universe', 'Demonhearts' and 'The Ancient Forest Of Elves' while 'Ascending To Infinity' and 'Rosenkreuz' from his more recent records are aired too. Not all his albums get a look in and I could do without the drum and bass solos, but it is a fairly comprehensive compilation of Turilli's live work.

There is no denying Turilli is a mercurial creative force and between the state of the art sound of 'Prometheus: The Dolby Atmos Experience' and the sheer breadth of material on offer on the 'Cinematic and Live' discs, it all adds up to make this a great document of what the Italian Symphonic maestro is capable of. It's a must for Luca Turilli and Rhapsody fans or a good package to introduce yourself to this group's back catalogue.

Duncan Jamieson