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Alex Staropoli's Rhapsody of Fire is closing in on 30 years being a leader in the field of neoclassical power metal and Challenge the Wind is their fifteenth studio album (counting Legendary Years, which includes re-recordings of early songs with their current singer) in what has been a career of consistency. Like 2021's Glory for Salvation, Rhapsody of Fire have dispensed with some of the pretension, pompousness, and unnecessarily flowery aspects of some of their past works. Once again there's no superfluous intro, the band just roars in with the title track, a classic power metal stomper that sets the stage nicely. Other winners include tracks like the speedy "Diamond Claws" and the hooky "Kreel's Magic Staff." The obligatory long track, "Vanquished by Shadows" is slotted in the fourth spot, breaking with the tradition of opening or closing albums with the "epic" song. The way this it is put together feels like four 4-minute songs somewhat linked together rather than one 16-minute song, but that is more of an observation than a criticism. In other words, you can think of Challenge the Wind as having 10 songs with one long one or 13 regular length songs, your call. At the end of the day, Rhapsody of Fire is still one of the premier neoclassical power metal bands, so Challenge the Wind is still flowery, pompous, over the top, etc. but with more restraint than in the past and I feel that approach has served the band well on the past couple of records. If you don't like this kind of power metal, you aren't going to get much from Challenge the Wind, but if you do, Rhapsody of Fire have got another good one for your collection right here.