Rhapsody

The metal group Rhapsody features Fabio Lione on vocals, Luca Turilli handling guitar, Alex Staropoli at the keyboards, Alessandro Lotta on bass, and Alex Holzwarth behind the drums. Guitarist Turilli and keyboardist Staropoli assembled the project in Italy toward the end of the 1990s and brought in Daniele Carbonera as the initial drummer while they were already tracking their debut album, Legendary Tales, issued in 1997. From the studio they contacted vocalist Lione—who had recorded as Joe Terry during his stint with Labyrinth—and invited him to join. After that record the band issued the EP Emerald Sword and followed it in 1998 with the album Symphony of Enchanted Lands. Carbonera exited shortly after the latter release, and Alex Holzwarth took his place. No further material appeared until 2000, when the EP Holy Thunderforce and the album Dawn of Victory both surfaced. Rain of a Thousand Flames arrived in 2001, and Power of the Dragon Flame followed in 2002. Symphony of Enchanted Lands, Vol. 2: The Dark Secret reached stores in fall 2004; copyright complications the next year prompted the ensemble to adopt the name Rhapsody of Fire.