Rhapsody Of Fire
Everybody Can Be A Hero

27.05.2024

“There can be only one.” This quote from the “Highlander” movie turns out quite suitable to the latest developments around the two Italian bands that shared the word “Rhapsody” for years. After more than a decade of running his own versions of Rhapsody, guitarist Luca Turilli decided to call it quits, but the version led by keyboardist Alex Staropoli is still around, and, as their latest offering called “Challenge The Wind” makes perfectly clear, they still have plenty of shot in the locker. We haven’t spoken to Alex for five years, so we had a lot to catch up - two new albums, the pandemic, and of course, the new situation that the veteran musician and his later day cohorts have found themselves in.  

When we spoke last time, it was in February 2019, a year before the pandemic hit. How did the corona years with their lockdowns and cancellations impact the band? You obviously had to reschedule a lot of shows, but apart from that, did it change the way that Rhapsody Of Fire functions as a band?

We were on tour, and we still had five shows to finish, actually they were one of the most important shows - Munich, Milan and Paris, but we had to stop in Zagreb and just go home, because it was becoming very difficult to drive the bus around those countries. This was very hard to accept, and of course, it created an economic loss that was relevant. In the end we made it home, and once we were home, my main plan was to start writing music, and that is exactly what I did. My program was just to be in the studio and write new music, and living in the UK, it was not so bad, it was not like in Italy, where you couldn’t even put your nose out of the window. Here it was a bit easier, you could go out and run, breathe some fresh air… In the end it went down pretty well, because I used that time to write new music. There was a period when I couldn’t go to the gym for a few months, and at that time I was writing more music. Musically speaking, it was a good period.

Your new album, “Challenge The Wind”, is coming out in late May, and it’s probably the heaviest and fastest one you have done so far. Why did it turn out that way? Was it your intention from the very beginning to have no ballads or spoken parts this time, or did it just happen naturally?

Let’s say that normally I have a plan, I have ideas that I want to fulfill, but normally I don’t decide beforehand - “OK, this time I don’t want to have an intro, I don’t want to have a ballad”, or “I do wanna have a long song”. I let it go in a way. This time I didn’t wake up one morning and felt like doing a ballad, and I didn’t make one. Actually we have so many ballads that we can play live. So I said, “You know what? This time let’s do an album that is made up of only fast songs. In the end, we had 60 minutes of music, and I was really happy about it. Sometimes it’s good to have a little change.

On “The Eighth Mountain” (2019) you had a full orchestra, and on “Glory For Salvation” (2021) you had classical soloists. And what about the new album? How did you work with the orchestral component this time?

This time I didn’t have a full orchestra. I just had a few guests like my brother, as always, and the same guy who played Uilleann pipes on the previous albums. Probably because the album is more metal, and the songs are very fast, it did not require the presence of an orchestra, which is something I start missing again. In my plans we need to use a real big orchestra again in the future, it’s something that really gives a different sound to the music.

One of the most unusual and the most successful tracks on “Glory For Salvation” was “I’ll Be Your Hero” with its sort of danceable rhythm. How did you come up with that song, and why aren’t there any songs like that on the new album?

Yeah, that is funny. For example,there is a similar story that happened with the song “Rain Of Fury” (off “The Eighth Mountain” - ed.). At the end of the composing process I had to write one more song, and this song was supposed to be a bonus track for Japan, so I knew that I needed a song that we would sing in English and Japanese as well. I needed a fast song, and I did something really quick, and it happened to be “Rain Of Fury”. It was a song I really did in 15 minutes. Sometimes when you are in need, you are more creative, more prolific. The same thing happened to “I’ll Be Your Hero”. Those are really magic moments. It’s so refreshing, so surprising, and it’s not something that you cannot just do automatically on demand. I hope in the future I will write more songs like that as well.

“Challenge The Wind”, as far as we understand, will be the final part of the Nephilim trilogy…

This was wrong information that came out from AFM Records, and when I saw that, it was too late to correct it. It is the third part, it’s true, but it’s not the last part, because we are developing the story for another album, maybe two.

Maybe then you could say a few words about what is happening in the lyrics on this album?

(laughs) Well, that’s a very difficult job for me, more difficult than writing an entire album. I’m responsible for the music together with Roby (De Micheli, guitar), but it is Roby who came up with the idea for this saga. In the beginning we sit together and we say, “What do we do in term of lyrics?” After that we sit together with Jacomo (Voli, vocals), we discuss it, and he comes up with fantastic lyrics. The job Jacomo did for “Challenge The Wind” is really incredible. In the end it’s a complex story, and I can say that for me what really matters is the usage of nice words, words that have meaning, that are respectful, that are positive, and the message within the music that is a positive message. Everybody can be a hero in their life, you don’t need a sword to be a hero. Since we started writing music, we have always tried to set an example of positive attitude towards other people, towards life in our lyrics, and this is something that we like to keep on doing, because I think it is important.

It’s interesting that you put out such a message as the world is coming out of the pandemic, because during the pandemic we personally had a feeling that nothing depended on us. Some people, and we don’t have any idea who they are, decide whether we can come out of the house, what we are allowed to do and so on. Your message seems totally contrary to that, would you agree?

Yeah, well, you know… When decisions like that are made, it’s very hard to understand where the truth is and where the real facts are. It’s a very difficult topic to talk about, because if you start talking about it, you will spend days. I have my ideas, but I don’t feel like I wanna share them. In the end, it’s important to stay positive and have your own integrity. Sometimes things like that happen, but you don’t have to be discouraged. For some people it’s like a test to see how they would react being forced to be at home. I know that a lot of people suffered, but personally, when I am at home, I am perfectly fine. It’s really important for me - and I think it’s a message that’s relevant for many people, especially people that search for a partner in life… Many people search for a partner, because they don’t feel complete, they want to be completed by somebody else. This is the biggest mistake ever, because I personally am happy even alone. When you are happy by yourself, you can connect with somebody - not because you need something, but because you really want to elevate your friendship or partnership. As far as I’m concerned, I was OK to be at home, but I know that for some people it was very difficult to be forced.

For the new album you got a new cover artist, Ville Assinen from Finland. What happened to Alex Charleux? He did such a great job on the previous Rhapsody Of Fire cover artworks…

Yeah, absolutely! I’m collecting fantastic artwork designers. (laughs) The first one was Paul Thureau, then Alex Charleux, and now Ville. These people are really good graphic designers, but most of the time they have a job, and they have deadlines. Alex Charleux worked for Ubisoft, Paul worked for another very famous company, so they have a lot on their plate already. It was actually Paul Thureau who told me that he had a friend, and that this guy was very good. Indeed, this guy is fantastic. It’s important that there is a kind of… similarity isn’t the right word, but rather some elements, some graphic touch that brings to mind the previous cover, to have a continuity, and this guy did a fantastic job at that. Now I have three graphic designers to choose from! (laughs)

It’s interesting that neither Alex nor Ville are famous as metal illustrators…

Right! They are super-busy with their main job. That’s what makes them special. As far as I know, they work for Rhapsody Of Fire only.

What do you think about the use of artificial intelligence in doing cover artworks? It’s a topic that’s been very much discussed in the metal community lately…

It depends on how you use it. But I’m personally disgusted by the fact that when you look at so many cover artworks, they all look the same. This is so annoying! I would prefer to have just a totally black cover like Metallica did, I would really prefer that. It’s not the fact that it was generated by artificial intelligence, it’s the fact that now everybody can create their own cover in a matter of two minutes. Indeed, in a matter of two minutes you can create four or six different covers, they look beautiful, but there’s no soul inside, there’s not really a message. So, you can use artificial intelligence for sure, but on top of what you have already created, you still need a hand to give personal elements to it. It it’s 100 percent artificial intelligence… I saw some incredible examples, but I’m not really convinced that it’s something unique that you wanna have as the cover artwork of your own music, unless your music is also made with artificial intelligence. (laughs) In heavy metal you really shed sweat, tears and blood to create music, and you want the cover to be in line with that.

To continue with the visual aspect of the band, we would like to ask you about the music video for the title track of “Challenge The Wind”. It’s a pretty straightforward video with just the band playing. Why did you decide to do it like that this time? Was your purpose just to show the band in action, without any storyline?

In this case, yes, we wanted to do two performance videos. It gets more difficult every time to create something new. Previously we went to different places, for instance, we went to the mountains, at 2,000 meters it was freezing cold, but it was beautiful… I think for the next productions we want to offer a story as well. I think the time has come to do something more special than just a performance video. We will be working on that.

Last year you released a Rhapsody-themed board game. Can you say a few words about how it came together? Did the band come up with the concept, or were you approached by game developers?

Yes, we were approached, and the result is really fantastic. They had worked for other bands before, and it was really cool, we saw an example. It took a lot of work to finalize it. We gave them the freedom to use our graphic designs, elements of the story and lyrics, but they really worked on the game to make it playable and entertaining. I have never held it in my hands yet, because it was shipped to Italy, and I live in the UK, so I have yet to see it myself. But I know that the print and all the characters are beautiful. It was very engaging to see the little details that they created for the promotional video, many people thought this was a new video clip by Rhapsody Of Fire, but in fact it was just a promotional tool for the game. It was well done.

Board games are something quite unusual for rock and metal bands. But a lot of bands come up with their own computer games or comics. As long as the music of Rhapsody Of Fire is very cinematic, have you considered branching out like this and doing your own comics - or graphic novels, whatever you wanna call it?

Yes, we have thought about that. Let’s say we felt it was still too early. Maybe in the future. You really want to have the right people to work on that, and to have the right occasion. We have many things that we would like to do in the future, and for sure this is one of those. For sure we would like to be involved in video games. We have been strongly involved in the fantasy world for our lifetime, and I think that board games and video games are really something that connects fans together as they listen to the music. This is fun. I thought this would slowly decrease but in reality I remember than even in the 90s when we started there were a lot of people playing role games and listening to our music, and this is still going on today. It’s a strong market, it’s a strong community, and we would really love to do that. We are in touch with that community, and this is already fantastic - to be able to excite fans with our music while they are playing their favorite games, board games or role games.

By the way, are you personally a fan of comics, or have you been a fan in your teenage years? Have Rhapsody Of Fire ever been inspired by comics in any way?

Not, not really, not personally. I know they were relevant, but I was never caught by that. I was more into movies, the experience in the cinema was always more immediate for my understanding, for my enjoyment - to see something and immediately have a reaction to that.

In the beginning of this interview we asked you about the changes that the pandemic made to the band. But there is yet another change not related to the pandemic - for the first time in more than 10 years there is just one “Rhapsody” around, as Luca Turilli is not doing his own version anymore. Have you or the band felt any change because of that?

Well, not yet. To have two bands with the same moniker is always difficult. It was difficult for both sides. I must say that if Luca Turilli has found his dimension in doing what he does, I’m happy for him. What we do as Rhapsody Of Fire is something that we do because we love it, not because it’s a fashion or whatever, and we create this music in a humble and honest way. Of course, it’s better for us.

Do you expect to get more tour offers because there is just one band called Rhapsody around?

I don’t really know. What I know is that 2024 is already fully booked. We have a lot of festivals this year, and we are planning tours from September to the end of November. I hope this is a good sign, not because the other band is not active anymore, but people realize that Rhapsody Of Fire is a band with its own identity and its own numbers, and that we do this music because of passion. That is the most important thing.

Last year you toured North America for the first time in many years. We’ve heard from many bands that North America is a very difficult market for European artists. What were your impressions from that tour?

It was one of the best tours I have ever done in my life, it was incredible, it was fantastic in every aspect. There was huge interest from the fans, they were interested in buying merch, they were really crazy about it, they wanted a piece of us. It was incredible even compared to the previous tour that was in 2012. I was very surprised and very happy to do this tour. Canada and the U.S. were really fantastic. Maybe in terms of album sales it is more difficult, but people really want to see bands live, I’ve seen it myself, and it was incredible.

Our next question is about Japan. We haven’t heard about a Japanese release of “Challenge The Wind” or any bonus tracks for Japan this time…

We continued with the tradition of doing songs in Japanese. This time we did the song “Challenge The Wind” in Japanese. It’s easier for Jacomo to sing in Japanese than to sing in Italian. Japanese fans are really happy when a band makes an effort, and we love to do it. We are actually planning to go to Japan this year, and we are looking forward to it, it’s fantastic every time.   

Some years ago you did orchestration for a song by Orden Ogan, the band of your producer and mixer Sebastian Levermann. According to the Metal-Archives website, this is your only guest appearance ever. How did Sebastian get you to play on this track, and why aren’t you cooperating with anybody else outside Rhapsody Of Fire?

As you know, Sebastian is mixing our albums, and we have done some exchanges, some favors between us. For example, Roby De Micheli recorded a guitar solo for their last album. It’s fun to do it when you know the person you are doing it for, but generally I’ve been really detached from other artists and bands, we have always been working by ourselves and never had much contact with other people. This is still the case today - I don’t know many people around. Of course, sometimes I receive some offers, but I’m so busy with the band all the time, and I don’t feel like participating just for the money. I like the involvement more than just being paid for a keyboard solo, for example.

In our previous interview we discussed the score you did for the “Robot Fighter” movie a few years ago. Have you managed to do anything for other movies since then?

No. The result was amazing, because I loved that experience, and I got a few prizes for it. The movie is being released in 4K now, and when I listen to it, I still get excited. If I pretend I didn’t write it, I get really emotional about it. But the soundtrack world is very hard to enter. First of all, you need to get an agent, then - you don’t have to, but maybe you’d wanna - move to places like L.A. to be more connected with people and start getting to know some famous composers. There’s a lot of work behind it, and I find myself incapable of doing that, because I’m so busy with Rhapsody Of Fire. It’s sad, but I have no time for that.

Let’s wrap up this interview with outlining the future course of Rhapsody Of Fire. You already told us that there will be more albums in the Nephilim saga. How much have you advanced with these? Do you already have the concept for them? Do you have any new music written? Is there a tentative timeline?

Not, not really. It took me three years from the moment I started composing this album to the release. Now I’m preparing a new setup that I will work with, a new computer, so I’m searching for technological solutions for the new environment to compose new music. This is a good start already - after that I will have a lot of weapons in my hands to do better quality sounds. For the story, of course, there are some ideas, because we knew that it could take three to five albums, and we have some elements of the story, some characters that we want to explore and eventually develop. The next album and the one after that - I can say they will be masterpieces, even though I don’t have anything on my hands yet, but that’s the idea - to do something thicker, with a real orchestra and maybe some new narrators, something that breaks another level up, to raise the bar, so to say.  

Rhapsody Of Fire on the Internet: https://www.rhapsodyoffire.com/

Special thanks to Irina Ivanova (AFM Records) for arranging this interview

Interview by Roman Patrashov, Natalia “Snakeheart” Patrashova
Photos courtesy of AFM Records
April 15, 2024
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