Rhapsody of Fire (formerly known as ThunderCross and - more recently - Rhapsody) is an Italian Symphonic Power metal band led by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli. Formed in 1993 the band has since released seven studio albums, one live album, one EP, and a live DVD.

History

Early years (1993 - 1997)

In 1993 Luca Turilli decided to create a Power metal band that would combine elements of classical music. The first to join him was Alex Staropoli and Daniele Carbonera. These three formed a band called Thundercross. A year later they released their first demo, Land of Immortals, on which Cristiano Adacher performed the vocals. During this time, they changed the bass player a few times. The demo came to start their way to the top, because of Limb Music Products & Publishing that liked the songs. Not long after the release the band got a proposal from the record company.

The band decided to accept the offer and soon they began promoting their music. Now the group had access to more quality equipment and started recording Eternal Glory. At this time Thundercross changed their name to Rhapsody. This name is connected with classical music and poetry and suits the band perfectly. That demo pushed Rhapsody up in the business and the press started to write more about them. However, shortly after the release of Eternal Glory the vocalist Cristiano and the bassist Andrea left the band. Rhapsody found a new vocalist Fabio Lione. Fabio Lione was the solution of the major problem. As the former vocalist in a band called Labyrinth and Athena he was known by the depth and power of his voice in his songs.

Legendary Tales and Symphony of Enchanted Lands (1997 - 2000)

With these four members they started recording their debut album. In 1997 Rhapsody released their debut album, Legendary Tales. Co-founders Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli created an epic sound with this first album. Rhapsody incorporated classical music, baroque and heavy metal styles in a sub-genre they call "Hollywood metal" or "film score metal" because of its resemblance to movie soundtracks. The classical influences include such composers as Vivaldi, Bach and Paganini. The band shows strong Power metal influences, and lyrical content is centered around high fantasy themes. The album was recorded in Germany by the well known producer Sascha Paeth (Heavens Gate) who also helped Rhapsody with the bass parts. The album was also the beginning story of the Emerald Sword Saga. Turilli is the band's lyricist, as well as guitarist. His lyrics often refer to mystical lore from the medieval age and the heroic valor of those times, highlighting in particular the everlasting fight between good and evil. "Evil can be found everywhere," says Turilli. "But it will never win as long as there are enough good people who fight against it."^[1]

In the years that followed 1997, Turilli and Staropoli, and Lione developed this new sound even more with their second album Symphony of Enchanted Lands in 1998 with their new bassist Alessandro Lotta. They wrote pieces such as Emerald Sword, drawing on Russian folklore and Celtic style elements and adding to the Emerald Sword Saga. 1999 was a mid year for Rhapsody, but not for the members. Luca and Fabio both released their solo album.

Dawn of Victory, Rain of a Thousand Flames and Power of The Dragonflame (2000 - 2004)

In the spring Rhapsody started their first tour, starting in Sweden. They performed with Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica in Spring 2000 and supported by their new drummer Alex Holzwarth.

After the tour they began recording their new album, Dawn of Victory. The first single Holy Thunderforce was released in 2000 to much success. The new album reflected Rhapsody in a whole new light, with a more aggressive style and sped up tone. It continued the third part of the Emerald Sword Saga, and the orchestra still played a large part of the album, with songs such as Lux Triumphans, The Village of Dwarves and The Bloody Rage of the Titans, and played along more bombastic melodies as Dawn of Victory, Triumph For My Magic Steel, Dargor, Shadowlord of the Black Mountain and Holy Thunderforce. It had more success than any of their previous outings, and Dawn of Victory ranked at 32 in the German charts while in Japan it was in the chart at 4th place. In early summer 2001, Rhapsody did a tour through South America and Europe.

Rain of a Thousand Flames was an EP recorded and it lasted about 42 minutes, serving as a bridge between the last part of the Emerald Sword Saga and "Power of the Dragonflame". Power of the Dragonflame was released in February 2002 and had incredible success around the world. Marking the end of the Emerald Sword Saga, it contained soft ballads and upbeat metal melodies. The band was joined with another two members, Patrice Guers (bass) and Dominique Leurquin (Guitars). Alex Holzwarth, who had been playing drums for Rhapsody onstage since 2000 was listed in the official band line-up on these releases, although Holzwarth has played drums in the studio since The Dark Secret EP.

The Dark Secret and Symphony of Enchanted Lands II (2004 - 2006)

The Dark SecretEP was released on June 28, 2004. It gave listeners a taste of what could be expected from the new album, labelled Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret which was released several months later in September.Christopher Lee was involved in this project, narrating part of the storyline. Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II was a follow-up to the Emerald Sword Saga called The Dark Secret Saga. Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II features a wide variety of sounds and style.Unholy Warcry mixes the dramatic art of voluminous heavy metal with Staropoli?s opulent choral arrangements. On Never Forgotten Heroes, Gregorian choir voices and majestic piano sounds create a eerie, Black Sabbath like atmosphere before the composition turns into a straight piece which is ennobled by Turilli?s guitar leads. Erian?s Mystical Rhymes and Sacred Power Of Raging Winds are two pieces that are each more than 10 minutes long. These two could easily be considered mini rock operas. They showcase classical string sequences, as well as an orchestra, bass drum, and a choir. The violin and the cello produce dark sounds and a magicical atmosphere is created by the duels fought between the wind players and the strings. These elements are unusual for a heavy metal composition. Together with the lead guitars by Turilli and Lee?s spoken parts, they give the whole work a magical mood, which is then intensified by Fabio Lione?s flexible voice.

The band produced a new single CD in 2005 labeled The Magic of the Wizard's Dream, featuring new versions of "The Magic of the Wizard's Dream", one of the more popular songs from their album Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret. The band had Lee sing backup vocals for Lione, because Lee felt that the narrator's part of being the Wizard King was not as good as it could be without him contributing his voice to at least one song. The song was reworked into four different languages, English, German, Italian, and French. They also included the original version of the song with a duet (in English), and an orchestral version of the song. This also produced Rhapsody's third music video. The band also released two new tracks exclusively on this single, "Autumn Twilight" and "Lo Specchio D?Argento" (The Silver Mirror). This single was released March 29th.

Name change and Triumph or Agony (2006 - 2007)

In July 2006 the band formerly known as Rhapsody changed their name to Rhapsody of Fire due to trademark issues and pressure from Real Networks^[2]. The band's website goes into further detail: The band members consider this a great new start, reflecting the emboldened and increasingly grandiose direction that their music has taken. "The power of the Dragonflame will burn brighter than ever before," says guitarist/songwriter Luca Turilli. Keyboardist/songwriter Alex Staropoli adds, "The name Rhapsody Of Fire better represents the energy that has always been present in this band and its music."

The band released their latest album, Triumph or Agony, on September 25th 2006, in Europe. The second chapter in The Dark Secret Saga, Triumph Or Agony continues the bombastic Rhapsody Of Fire tradition with a live 70 piece orchestra and choir as Turilli and Staropoli continuing to self-produce the band?s work with the assistance of co-producer Sascha Paeth. New songs include Silent Dream, Son Of Pain and the epic 16-minute long The Mystic Prophecy Of The Demonknight, an example of a cinema soundtrack adapted to a metal song. In addition vocalist Fabio Lione?s gives his songwriting debut for Rhapsody Of Fire with the song Il Canto del Vento.

Legal fight with Magic Circle Music and new album (2007 - Present)

In June 2008, on their official website appears the following message, written by Luca Turilli:

"We are in the middle of a hard legal fight with Magic Circle Music and his main representative Mr. Joey DeMaio. That?s the reason why in the last months we had to keep all strictly confidential and could not release any official declaration that could obviously be used against us from the opposite side. As soon as this sad situation will be solved we?ll be ready for a great and mighty come back. A new album, a real masterpiece of Speed/Epic Metal, is already composed and ready to be recorded and after its release an immense worldwide tour will finally follow for yours and our extreme satisfaction."

Lineup

Current members

• Fabio Lione - Vocals
• Luca Turilli - Guitar
• Alex Staropoli - Keyboards
• Patrice Guers - Bass
• Alex Holzwarth - Drums

Former members

• Cristiano Adacher - Vocals
• Andrea Furlan - Bass
• Alessandro Lotta - Bass
• Daniele Carbonera - Drums
• Thunderforce - Drums

Guest members

• Dominique Leurquin - Rhythm guitar (studio and live guest)
• Sir Jay Lansford - Narration, 1997 to 2002
• Christopher Lee - Narration, Vocals, 2004, 2007
• Thunderforce - Drums, 2000-2002
• Sascha Paeth - Bass on Legendary Tales and Power of the Dragonflame
• Robert Hunecke Rizzo - Bass on Legendary Tales
• Brandon Lavigne - Tin Whistle on Dawn Of Victory

Discography

Studio albums

• Legendary Tales (1997)
• Symphony of Enchanted Lands (1998)
• Dawn of Victory (2000)
• Rain of a Thousand Flames (2001)
• Power of the Dragonflame (2002)
• Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret (2004)
• Triumph or Agony (2006)

External links

• Official site
• Russian site

References

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