Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody

In August 2011 Rhapsody of Fire’s two founders, Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, announced that they would go their separate ways. Staropoli kept the Rhapsody of Fire name, while Turilli started a new band in Trieste with guitarist Dominique Leurquin and bassist Patrice Guers. Drummer Alex Holzwarth was initially part of both groups.

In March 2012 the band introduced its singer, Alessandro Conti, formerly of Trick or Treat. Sharing Holzwarth with Rhapsody of Fire proved unworkable, so Alex Landenburg became the permanent drummer in April 2012. The debut Ascending to Infinity came out on Nuclear Blast in June 2012, recorded at Backyard Studio in Kempten, Germany.

Prometheus, Symphonia Ignis Divinus followed in June 2015, recorded with two choirs and guest singers Ralf Scheepers, Dan Lucas and David Readman. In 2017 and 2018 Turilli, Leurquin and Guers, together with Holzwarth and Fabio Lione, played the Rhapsody 20th Anniversary Farewell Tour, and Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody was put on hold while the old Rhapsody songs went back on stage.

In June 2018 Turilli announced that Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody would rest indefinitely. That same month Conti was named the new singer of Twilight Force. In December 2018 Turilli and Lione launched Turilli / Lione Rhapsody with the farewell-tour line-up, and no new Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody music has appeared since. Turilli said then that he had not expected to continue in metal at all.

Final line-up: Alessandro Conti (vocals), Luca Turilli (guitars, keyboards, orchestrations), Dominique Leurquin (guitars), Patrice Guers (bass), Alex Landenburg (drums)