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Rhapsody is an Italian band performing music in the Symphonic metal / power metal style. The group was founded by guitarist Luca Turilli, keyboardist Alex Staropolli, and drummer Daniele Carbonera under the name Thundercross, then renamed Rhapsody. In 2006, the group was forced to change its official name to Rhapsody of Fire due to a threat of a lawsuit regarding the name as a trademark.
All albums by Rhapsody and Rhapsody of Fire are conceptual rock operas with a continuous plot, telling the story of the magical land of Algalord.
Rhapsody's style combines elements of several genres, such as Power metal and Symphonic metal. The group noticeably imitates classical composers such as Paganini, Bach, and Vivaldi, using the guitar to simulate virtuoso violin playing. In their arrangements, the musicians use keyboards as well as flutes, violins, and cellos, recording with symphonic orchestras. Due to the similarity to Hollywood movie soundtracks, critics dubbed their genre "Hollywood metal." They are also defined as epic metal, since their lyrics have the structure of an epic story with a continuous plot. The foundation of the guitar parts and rhythm is melodic power metal. From progressive metal, the group borrowed the active use of classical instruments, long compositions, conceptualism, and, in later albums, complex rhythmic changes within pieces.
Most Rhapsody songs are written in English, but traditionally the group includes one or two songs per album in their native Italian. In the early period, vocalist Fabio Lione was criticized for a strong Italian accent when performing songs in English. Singles usually feature versions of songs in both languages. Additionally, lyrics often contain insertions in Latin and fictional languages.
History
Early Years
Guitarist Luca Turilli, who comes from a family of classical musicians, met keyboardist Alex Staropolli in 1990 at meditation courses. After writing several songs together, they founded the group Thundercross in 1993. Cristiano Adacher became the band's vocalist, their old acquaintance Daniele Carbonera became the drummer, and famous producer Sasha Paeth—who later collaborated with Kamelot and After Forever—became the manager. In this lineup, already under the name Rhapsody, the group recorded the demo singles Land of Immortals and Eternal Glory, released on the Limb music label.
Before recording their debut album Legendary Tales in 1997, the vocalist left Rhapsody. The new frontman became Fabio Lione, who had previously sung in the band Labyrinth. Fabio was not previously acquainted with Luca Turilli and Alex Staropolli, so their relationship began with a scandal: the vocalist refused to perform the song Land of Immortals, which he did not like. However, relations within the group soon improved, and Lione became Rhapsody's permanent vocalist on all the band's albums.
The debut album marked the beginning of a multi-part fantasy saga "Chronicles of Algalord," written by Turilli, who is the group's primary lyricist. The album was kept in the style of melodic power metal, using some elements of folk music and Baroque music. The following year, the group released their second album Symphony of Enchanted Lands, which continued the first both plot-wise and stylistically. A choir of Don Cossacks participated in the recording of the album.
Lineup Changes
Starting in 1999, Turilli began releasing solo albums without stopping his intensive work with Rhapsody. In 1999, drummer Carbonera left the group and was replaced by session drummer Alex Holzwarth (brother of Blind Guardian bassist Oliver Holzwarth), who was officially included in the lineup only in 2003. On subsequent albums, Dawn of Victory and Rain of a Thousand Flames, the group continued the plot saga about the land of Algalord, the Ice Warrior, and the Emerald Sword. The sound of the songs became noticeably "heavier," which is especially apparent in the album Power of the DragonFlame. Turilli even mentioned a desire to record an album in the sympho-black metal style, but due to disagreements with the studio, this project was not realized.
Until 2000, Rhapsody rarely performed live. The musicians were unsure about the possibility of fully transferring all elements of their music to the stage due to the large number of instruments and complex arrangements. But in 2000, the group embarked on its first full European tour with Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica. Shortly after the tour, bassist Alessandro Lotta left the lineup, ending his musical career for the sake of his family. On the album Power of the DragonFlame, bass parts were performed by Turilli himself; for live performances, Frenchman Patrice Guers was invited. Rhapsody's first South American tour took place with his participation.
The group's fame spread far beyond Italy and even Europe, and the band soon left the small Limb music label. Their last release with this company was the hits collection Tales from the Emerald Sword Saga. The new 2004 album Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: the Dark Secret was released on SPV Steamhammer. For it, Rhapsody invited famous Hollywood actor Christopher Lee (Saruman, Count Dooku) as a co-writer of the album and to read accompanying text "from the narrator." Christopher Lee also sang a duet with Fabio on the ballad the Magic of the Wizard’s Dream and appeared in two of the group's music videos. The collaboration between the group and the actor continues to this day, including joint live performances.
New Name
The musicians of Rhapsody are closely acquainted with the musicians of the American heavy metal band Manowar, and their music influenced each other. The bands repeatedly conducted joint tours under the general name "Demons, Dragons and Warriors," where their third partner was the group Holy Hell. A recording of a concert in Canada as part of this tour was released on DVD Live in Canada 2005: The Dark Secret. In 2006, Rhapsody signed a contract with the label Magic Circle Music, owned by Joey De Maio, the leader of Manowar and an Italian-American by origin, who personally became the group's producer.
Shortly after this, in mid-2006, the group was forced to lengthen its official name to Rhapsody of Fire due to certain claims regarding trademark rights. The members did not disclose exactly who made this demand. Many observers linked it to the move to Magic Circle Music and possible contractual obligations to Steamhammer records or Limb music. However, Turilli stated that the group has no problems with the label. Another common version is a lawsuit from the company Real Media, which owns a music search service called "Rhapsody." The name change was parodied by the Italian comedy group Nanowar, who began adding the words "Of Steel" to their own name.
Under the Rhapsody of Fire brand, the group released the album Triumph or Agony (2006), on which they continued their collaboration with Christopher Lee and a new saga.
Group Lineup:
Luca Turilli (guitar)
Alessandro Staropolli (keyboards)
Fabio Lione (vocals)
Patrice Guers (bass)
Alex Holzwarth (drums)
Discography
Title
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 (as Rhapsody of Fire) 2006
Demos, singles, EPs
Land of Immortals (1994)
Eternal Glory (1995)
Emerald Sword (1998)
Holy Thunderforce (2000)
The Dark Secret (2004)
The Magic of the Wizard’s Dream (2005)
Compilations, live albums
Tales from the Emerald Sword Saga (2004)
Live in Canada 2005: The Dark Secret (2006)
Visions from the Enchanted Lands (DVD, 2007)
Music Videos
Emerald Sword (live, 1998)
Wisdom of the Kings (1998)
Holy ThunderForce (2000)
Rain of a Thousand Flames (2001)
Power of the DragonFlame (2002)
Unholy Warcry (featuring Christopher Lee, 2004) The video exists in two versions: a 10-minute Epic Version, which includes the full introductory track "The Dark Secret," and a short five-minute TV Version.
Magic of the Wizard’s Dream (featuring Christopher Lee, 2004)
Ancient Forest of Elves (1999) The video belongs to the Luca Turilli project.
Side Project Discography
Luca Turilli
King of the Nordic Twilight (1999)
Prophet of the Last Eclipse (2002)
the Infinite Wonders of Creation (2006)
Lost Horizons (2006) (Luca Turilli’s Dreamquest project)
Fabio Lione
Fabio has not released official solo albums, but he participated in the albums of many other groups:
Labyrinth — Piece of Time (1995)
Labyrinth — No Limits (1996)
Athena — a New Religion (1998)
Vision Divine — Vision Divine (1999)
Vision Divine — Send me an Angel (2002)
Ayreon — Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator (1999)
Beto Vбzquez Infinity — Beto Vбzquez Infinity (2001)
Tribute to Helloween — The Keppers of Jericho (2000)
Info from last.fm, where it, in turn, came from Wikipedia.
In general, I like the group. The performance quality is good, and besides, I love fantasy themes (epic). The vocalist is good, very impressive, sings beautifully. But I don't really like the rest—the musical accompaniment of the vocals itself. However, overall the group is cool)
Strange, I didn't find a thread in this section, although it seems there was one.
What is your opinion?
All albums by Rhapsody and Rhapsody of Fire are conceptual rock operas with a continuous plot, telling the story of the magical land of Algalord.
Rhapsody's style combines elements of several genres, such as Power metal and Symphonic metal. The group noticeably imitates classical composers such as Paganini, Bach, and Vivaldi, using the guitar to simulate virtuoso violin playing. In their arrangements, the musicians use keyboards as well as flutes, violins, and cellos, recording with symphonic orchestras. Due to the similarity to Hollywood movie soundtracks, critics dubbed their genre "Hollywood metal." They are also defined as epic metal, since their lyrics have the structure of an epic story with a continuous plot. The foundation of the guitar parts and rhythm is melodic power metal. From progressive metal, the group borrowed the active use of classical instruments, long compositions, conceptualism, and, in later albums, complex rhythmic changes within pieces.
Most Rhapsody songs are written in English, but traditionally the group includes one or two songs per album in their native Italian. In the early period, vocalist Fabio Lione was criticized for a strong Italian accent when performing songs in English. Singles usually feature versions of songs in both languages. Additionally, lyrics often contain insertions in Latin and fictional languages.
History
Early Years
Guitarist Luca Turilli, who comes from a family of classical musicians, met keyboardist Alex Staropolli in 1990 at meditation courses. After writing several songs together, they founded the group Thundercross in 1993. Cristiano Adacher became the band's vocalist, their old acquaintance Daniele Carbonera became the drummer, and famous producer Sasha Paeth—who later collaborated with Kamelot and After Forever—became the manager. In this lineup, already under the name Rhapsody, the group recorded the demo singles Land of Immortals and Eternal Glory, released on the Limb music label.
Before recording their debut album Legendary Tales in 1997, the vocalist left Rhapsody. The new frontman became Fabio Lione, who had previously sung in the band Labyrinth. Fabio was not previously acquainted with Luca Turilli and Alex Staropolli, so their relationship began with a scandal: the vocalist refused to perform the song Land of Immortals, which he did not like. However, relations within the group soon improved, and Lione became Rhapsody's permanent vocalist on all the band's albums.
The debut album marked the beginning of a multi-part fantasy saga "Chronicles of Algalord," written by Turilli, who is the group's primary lyricist. The album was kept in the style of melodic power metal, using some elements of folk music and Baroque music. The following year, the group released their second album Symphony of Enchanted Lands, which continued the first both plot-wise and stylistically. A choir of Don Cossacks participated in the recording of the album.
Lineup Changes
Starting in 1999, Turilli began releasing solo albums without stopping his intensive work with Rhapsody. In 1999, drummer Carbonera left the group and was replaced by session drummer Alex Holzwarth (brother of Blind Guardian bassist Oliver Holzwarth), who was officially included in the lineup only in 2003. On subsequent albums, Dawn of Victory and Rain of a Thousand Flames, the group continued the plot saga about the land of Algalord, the Ice Warrior, and the Emerald Sword. The sound of the songs became noticeably "heavier," which is especially apparent in the album Power of the DragonFlame. Turilli even mentioned a desire to record an album in the sympho-black metal style, but due to disagreements with the studio, this project was not realized.
Until 2000, Rhapsody rarely performed live. The musicians were unsure about the possibility of fully transferring all elements of their music to the stage due to the large number of instruments and complex arrangements. But in 2000, the group embarked on its first full European tour with Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica. Shortly after the tour, bassist Alessandro Lotta left the lineup, ending his musical career for the sake of his family. On the album Power of the DragonFlame, bass parts were performed by Turilli himself; for live performances, Frenchman Patrice Guers was invited. Rhapsody's first South American tour took place with his participation.
The group's fame spread far beyond Italy and even Europe, and the band soon left the small Limb music label. Their last release with this company was the hits collection Tales from the Emerald Sword Saga. The new 2004 album Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: the Dark Secret was released on SPV Steamhammer. For it, Rhapsody invited famous Hollywood actor Christopher Lee (Saruman, Count Dooku) as a co-writer of the album and to read accompanying text "from the narrator." Christopher Lee also sang a duet with Fabio on the ballad the Magic of the Wizard’s Dream and appeared in two of the group's music videos. The collaboration between the group and the actor continues to this day, including joint live performances.
New Name
The musicians of Rhapsody are closely acquainted with the musicians of the American heavy metal band Manowar, and their music influenced each other. The bands repeatedly conducted joint tours under the general name "Demons, Dragons and Warriors," where their third partner was the group Holy Hell. A recording of a concert in Canada as part of this tour was released on DVD Live in Canada 2005: The Dark Secret. In 2006, Rhapsody signed a contract with the label Magic Circle Music, owned by Joey De Maio, the leader of Manowar and an Italian-American by origin, who personally became the group's producer.
Shortly after this, in mid-2006, the group was forced to lengthen its official name to Rhapsody of Fire due to certain claims regarding trademark rights. The members did not disclose exactly who made this demand. Many observers linked it to the move to Magic Circle Music and possible contractual obligations to Steamhammer records or Limb music. However, Turilli stated that the group has no problems with the label. Another common version is a lawsuit from the company Real Media, which owns a music search service called "Rhapsody." The name change was parodied by the Italian comedy group Nanowar, who began adding the words "Of Steel" to their own name.
Under the Rhapsody of Fire brand, the group released the album Triumph or Agony (2006), on which they continued their collaboration with Christopher Lee and a new saga.
Group Lineup:
Luca Turilli (guitar)
Alessandro Staropolli (keyboards)
Fabio Lione (vocals)
Patrice Guers (bass)
Alex Holzwarth (drums)
Discography
Title
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 (as Rhapsody of Fire) 2006
Demos, singles, EPs
Land of Immortals (1994)
Eternal Glory (1995)
Emerald Sword (1998)
Holy Thunderforce (2000)
The Dark Secret (2004)
The Magic of the Wizard’s Dream (2005)
Compilations, live albums
Tales from the Emerald Sword Saga (2004)
Live in Canada 2005: The Dark Secret (2006)
Visions from the Enchanted Lands (DVD, 2007)
Music Videos
Emerald Sword (live, 1998)
Wisdom of the Kings (1998)
Holy ThunderForce (2000)
Rain of a Thousand Flames (2001)
Power of the DragonFlame (2002)
Unholy Warcry (featuring Christopher Lee, 2004) The video exists in two versions: a 10-minute Epic Version, which includes the full introductory track "The Dark Secret," and a short five-minute TV Version.
Magic of the Wizard’s Dream (featuring Christopher Lee, 2004)
Ancient Forest of Elves (1999) The video belongs to the Luca Turilli project.
Side Project Discography
Luca Turilli
King of the Nordic Twilight (1999)
Prophet of the Last Eclipse (2002)
the Infinite Wonders of Creation (2006)
Lost Horizons (2006) (Luca Turilli’s Dreamquest project)
Fabio Lione
Fabio has not released official solo albums, but he participated in the albums of many other groups:
Labyrinth — Piece of Time (1995)
Labyrinth — No Limits (1996)
Athena — a New Religion (1998)
Vision Divine — Vision Divine (1999)
Vision Divine — Send me an Angel (2002)
Ayreon — Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator (1999)
Beto Vбzquez Infinity — Beto Vбzquez Infinity (2001)
Tribute to Helloween — The Keppers of Jericho (2000)
Info from last.fm, where it, in turn, came from Wikipedia.
In general, I like the group. The performance quality is good, and besides, I love fantasy themes (epic). The vocalist is good, very impressive, sings beautifully. But I don't really like the rest—the musical accompaniment of the vocals itself. However, overall the group is cool)
Strange, I didn't find a thread in this section, although it seems there was one.
What is your opinion?
