Alex Holzwarth

Rhapsody of Fire (formerly known as Rhapsody) is an Italian symphonic power metal band formed by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, widely seen as a pioneer of the symphonic power metal subgenre.

It was more successful than any of their previous outings, and "Dawn of Victory" ranked at #32 in the German charts, while in Japan it peaked in 4th place.

Since forming in 1993 as Thundercross, the band has released twelve studio albums, two live albums, three EPs, and a Live DVD.

The power metal band Thundercross was formed in 1993 by Luca Turilli, Alex Staropoli, and Daniele Carbonera.

Turilli has said in interviews that both Thundercross and the early Rhapsody material were heavily influenced by Helloween, Crimson Glory and Manowar's style of heavy metal, and that Yngwie Malmsteen and Jason Becker were a big influence from a guitar playing perspective.

In 1994, Thundercross released their first demo, Land of Immortals, with vocalist Cristiano Adacher.

During this period of time, they went through a few bassist changes in their lineup.

After accepting a proposal from Limb Music Products & Publishing, the band started recording their second demo, Eternal Glory.

At this time they also changed their name to Rhapsody.

Shortly after the release of Eternal Glory, Adacher and bassist Furlan left the band.

Former vocalist of Labyrinth and Athena Fabio Lione joined Rhapsody afterwards.

Rhapsody of Fire is known for its conceptual lyrics that constitute a fantasy story throughout all of their albums from 1997 to 2011.

With these four members, the band started recording their debut album, Legendary Tales, which was released in 1997.

Rhapsody incorporated classical music, baroque and heavy metal styles in a subgenre they call "film score metal" due to its resemblance to movie soundtracks.

The album was recorded in Germany by the well-known producer Sascha Paeth (Heaven's Gate), who also helped Rhapsody with their bass parts.

The album was also the beginning story of the Emerald Sword Saga.

The lyrics on the album (written by Turilli) often refer to mystical medieval folklore and the heroic valor of those times and are centered around high fantasy, highlighting, in particular, the everlasting fight between good and evil.

In the years that followed, Turilli, Staropoli, and Lione developed their new sound even more with their second album, Symphony of Enchanted Lands, in 1998, having been joined by bass player 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 quiet year for Rhapsody, but Luca and Fabio both released solo albums.

In the spring Rhapsody started their first tour, starting in Sweden.

They performed with Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica in Spring 2000 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 with some success.

The new album showed Rhapsody in a whole new light, with a more aggressive style and sped-up tempo.

It continued the third part of the Emerald Sword Saga, and the orchestra still played an important part of the album, with songs such as "Lux Triumphans", "The Village of Dwarves" and "The Bloody Rage of the Titans", played beside more bombastic melodies as "Dawn of Victory", "Triumph for My Magic Steel", "Dargor, Shadowlord of the Black Mountain" and "Holy Thunderforce".

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.

In early summer 2001, Rhapsody toured through South America and Europe.

Rain of a Thousand Flames served 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 saw incredible success worldwide.

Marking the end of the Emerald Sword Saga, it contained soft ballads, upbeat metal melodies, and the epic 19-minute-long concluding song, "Gargoyles, Angels of Darkness".

The band was joined by another two members, Patrice Guers (bass) and Dominique Leurquin (guitars).

The Dark Secret EP was released on 28 June 2004.

It gave listeners a taste of what could be expected from the new album, labeled 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.

After using the moniker of Rhapsody for nearly ten years, the band changed its name to Rhapsody of Fire in 2006 due to trademark issues.

In 2011, following the release of their album From Chaos to Eternity which concluded The Dark Secret Saga, and after 18 years as co-leader of the band, Turilli left Rhapsody of Fire (on good terms) to form a new Rhapsody band, Luca Turilli's Rhapsody, along with two other members who left with him, Dominique Leurquin, Patrice Guers.

They describe their discography as a parallel continuation of Rhapsody of Fire's discography, with their first album being their own "Rhapsody's 11th album" and consider that they didn't leave the band, rather that it amicably split in two.

In 2016, other long-term members Fabio Lione and Alex Holzwarth left the band, and reunited with Turilli, Leurquin, and Guers, to play again under the name Rhapsody for their 20th Anniversary Farewell Tour; in December 2018, several months after announcing that Luca Turilli's Rhapsody was now inactive, Turilli announced the creation of a new Rhapsody band named Turilli / Lione Rhapsody, with the lineup of the 20th Anniversary Farewell Tour (recreating, minus Staropoli, the original band's 2002–2011 lineup).