Rhapsody of Fire

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Background information
Also known as	Thundercross, Rhapsody
Origin	Italy
Genre(s)	Power metal Symphonic metal
Years active	1993 - present
Label(s)	Limb Music Magic Circle Music SPV
Website	http://www.rhapsodyoffire.com/
Members
Fabio Lione Luca Turilli Alex Staropoli Patrice Guers Alex Holzwarth
Former members
Cristiano Adacher - Vocals Andrea Furlan - Bass Alessandro Lotta - Bass Daniele Carbonera - Drums

Rhapsody of Fire is an Italian symphonic power metal band, formerly known as Thundercross and - more recently - Rhapsody.

1 Musical career
- 1.1 Name change
2 Lineup
3 Discography
4 External links

[edit] Musical career

In 1997 Rhapsody of Fire released their debut album, Legendary Tales under the name Rhapsody. Co-founders Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli created an epic sound with this first album. Rhapsody, they 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 also shows strong power metal influences and fantasy themes.

In the years that followed, Turilli and Staropoli, joined by Fabio Lione on vocals, developed this new sound with their albums Symphony of Enchanted Lands (1998), Dawn of Victory (2000), Rain of a Thousand Flames (2001), and Power of the Dragonflame (2002). They wrote pieces such as "Emerald Sword", drawing on Russian folklore and Celtic style elements and creating what was known as 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."

From Dawn of Victory to Power of the Dragonflame, the drums on Rhapsody albums were played by 'Thunderforce'. There was some debate as to whether this was a drum machine, but it is actually a pseudonym for a drummer who could not be named for contractual reasons. Alex Holzwarth, who had been playing drums for Rhapsody onstage, was listed in the official band line-up on these releases. Holzwarth has played drums in the studio since The Dark Secret EP.

Christopher Lee was involved in their last project, narrating part of the storyline. This album, labeled Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret, was a follow-up to the Emerald Sword Saga and was released in 2004.

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.

The band released their latest album, Triumph or Agony, on September 25th, in Europe.

[edit] Name change

In July, 2006 the band formerly known as Rhapsody changed their name to Rhapsody of Fire due to trademark issues. 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."