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| Also known as | Thundercross, Rhapsody |
| Origin | Italy |
| Genre(s) | Power metal Symphonic metal[1] |
| 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 |
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| Former members | |
| Cristiano Adacher - Vocals Andrea Furlan - Bass Alessandro Lotta - Bass Daniele Carbonera - Drums |
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Rhapsody of Fire (formerly known as ThunderCross and - more recently - Rhapsody) is an Italian Symphonic power metal band.
Contents |
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 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 fantasy themes. In the years that followed 1997, 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 next 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 2006, in Europe.
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."
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
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
- Paul Hendrick - Theremin on Legendary Tales
- Brandon Lavigne - Tin Whistle on Dawn Of Victory
Discography
- Legendary Tales (1997)
- Symphony of Enchanted Lands (1998)
- Dawn of Victory (2000)
- Rain of a Thousand Flames EP (2001)
- Power of the Dragonflame (2002)
- The Dark Secret EP (2004)
- Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret (2004)
- Live in Canada 2005: The Dark Secret, live (2006)
- Triumph or Agony (2006)
- Visions from the Enchanted Lands, DVD (2007)
External links
| Rhapsody of Fire |
|---|
| Fabio Lione | Luca Turilli | Alex Staropoli | Patrice Guers | Alex Holzwarth |
| Former members: Cristiano Adacher | Andrea Furlan | Alessandro Lotta | Daniele Carbonera |
| Discography |
| Studio Albums: Legendary Tales | Symphony of Enchanted Lands | Dawn of Victory | Power of the Dragonflame | Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret | Triumph or Agony |
| EPs: Rain of a Thousand Flames | The Dark Secret |
| Live Albums: Live In Canada 2005: The Dark Secret |
| Compilations: Tales from the Emerald Sword Saga |
| Singles: Land of Immortals | Emerald Sword | Holy Thunderforce | The Magic of the Wizard's Dream |
| Demos: Land of Immortals | Eternal Glory |
| Videography |
| DVDs: Visions from the Enchanted Lands |
