For the love of rock
Vol III, Issue 19 – The temple of the king (01 Oct 2018)
www.intheloveofrock.com
Name of song– The temple of the king
Band – Rainbow
Album- Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
Writers– Ritchie Blackmore & Ronnie James Dio
Release year– 1975
The temple of the king
Reviewers- Bikash Shrestha/Nirab Kayastha
“Rainbow” may be not a common name to a hard rock fan, but it is a band having a significant contribution in the rock world since the late seventies. With over 28 million records sales worldwide, they have been voted no. 90 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. The band was the brainchild of “Deep Purple” guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. In 1975, Ritchie Blackmore felt alienated from Deep Purple with some musical differences and he teamed up with Ronnie James Dio’s band “Elf”, creating “Rainbow” (Also known as Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow). The band had various ups and downs with numerous line up changes and produced many albums and are still going strong. Their most notable numbers include “Since you’ve been gone”, “Jealous lover”, “Stone cold”, “Street of dreams” etc.
“Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow” is the debut album of Rainbow produced in 1975. The album has been critically praised for the innovative rock style with various themes of heroic tales and fantasies. This is not one of the most successful albums by “Rainbow”, however, this is Ronnie James Dio’s as well as fans’ favorite “Rainbow” album.
“The temple of the king” is one of the best songs of the album “Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow.” Penned by Blackmore and Dio, it is a rock song with theme of the medieval ages. It describes a heroic journey of a young man who is confused and searching for the answers. He reaches his ultimate destination and gets the light he has been looking for. With masterful words, it describes our lives and the final destination where all of us are heading to.
The song takes pace with beautiful guitar plucking by Blackmore, backed with drums and bass. The initial guitar plucking is the main backbone of the song. Then, Ronnie James Dio’s soothing vocals start to narrate the story of our lives. The variation in voice which Dio can display according to the theme and style of the song is one unique quality which very few hard rock vocalists have. The second verse follows in the same manner and in between comes Blackmore’s magical solo. The solo drives song to a different high and leads back to the same verse smoothly without any flaw. After the last verse, the song ends with the repetition of the main chorus and the guitar plucking.
Yes, “Rainbow” is a band which has contributed numerous memorable singles to the rock fans. Among those wonderful rock masterpieces, “The temple of the king” would always remain the king amongst all!!!!
Happy listening!!
Resources– Wikipedia.org, Allmusic.com
The temple of the king
One day in the year of the fox, came a time remembered well
When the strong young man of the rising sun, heard the tolling of the great black bell
One day in the year of the fox, when the bell began to ring
Meant the time had cometh for one to go, to the temple of the king
There in the middle of the circle he stands, searching, seeking
With just one touch of his trembling hand, the answer will be found
Daylight waits while the old man sings, heaven help me
And then like the rush of a thousand wings, it shines upon the one
And the day had just begun
One day in the year of the fox, came a time remembered well
When the strong young man of the rising sun, heard the tolling of the great black bell
One day in the year of the fox, when the bell began to sing
It meant the time had cometh for one to go, to the temple of the king
There in the middle of the people he stands, seeing, feeling
With just a wave of a strong right hand, he’s gone
To the temple of the king
Far from the circle at the edge of the world, he’s hoping, wondering
Thinking back from the stories he’s heard, of what he’s going to see
There in middle of the circle it lies, heaven help me
Then all could see by the shine in his eyes, the answer had been found
Back with the people in the circle he stands, giving, feeling
With just one touch of a strong right hand, they know
Of the temple and the king
Lyrics link- https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/2751036/Ritchie+Blackmore/The+Temple+of+the+King
Video link – https://youtu.be/xIPWHmj4L7M