Interview | Alex Staropoli – Keyboard player of Rhapsody Of Fire

Rhapsody Of Fire is of course the Italian symphonic power metal band formed by Luca Turilli, who left the band in 2011, and Alex Staropoli, the pioneer of the symphonic power metal subgenre. Tonight, the band will play in my hometown and before the show I have a talk with keyboard player Alex – speaking wonderful Italian English – about the band, their music, and their legacy.

CHALLENGE THE WIND

This is not the first time that Rhapsody Of Fire will be playing in The Netherlands, right?

,,Well, as I recall a couple of times and I must say yesterday (Uden), was fantastic, it was incredible, really good crowd, a fantastic venue, just like today. The crowd was amazing, the energy from the fans was really good and we find that enthusiasm in France, Italy, and Spain, but to find that here in The Netherlands as well is really cool. The support and the love are really incredible from the beginning till the end of the show.”

The new album is called `Challenge The Wind’, how were the reactions of the fans and were you pleased with the reviews?

,,Until you play the new songs live you cannot really tell, but people really seem to know the new songs already and that never happened before, of course the fans also love the older material, but in this case everybody is singing the new songs; we play three songs from the new album and everybody is singing the chorus, they know the words and that is cool.”

Why only three songs from the new album?

,,We have some many albums, so we have to make a choice, and we need to play older songs as well, so, we like to keep a mix of old and new songs.”

HIGHLIGHTS AND DISAPPOINTMENTS

Who makes up the setlist?

,,Generally me and sometimes together with Giacomo, we have to look which is the best sequence of the songs.”

Are there songs that you MUST play, the Rhapsody Of Fire crowd pleasers?

,,Yeah, always, I think that every band has that sort of songs, so ,,Emerald Sword’’ or ,,Dawn Of Victory’’, that kind of songs need to be played as they are musical symbols from the band. We like to mix songs that are entertaining for the crowd and epic songs that symbolize our sound. I really love the set that we are playing now, so…”

You have been in the music business now for more than 27 years what are the highlights so far?

,,Well, the best moments when we were in Germany for the very first time and our very first album (`Legendary Tales’, MK) and our aim was to compete with other bands that made music that we always loved to buy records from. Of course, working with a full orchestra and working on the saga albums and to make a movie for your ears. Some ups and downs of course but in the end, I must say I am really satisfied with what the band achieved.”

Were there also disappointments?

,,Well, not really, but it was not always easy to work with Fabio (Lione, MK) and there were some arguments between Luca and Fabio and myself, but personally at the end it did not work anymore, so.”

100% ITALIAN

So, the current line-up of Rhapsody Of Fire is the best one?

,,It is a blessing, really, it is now a fantastic situation because the band is 100% Italian and the communication is fantastic, we also have a great crew and that is really important for the band as well. Everybody is on the same page, and it is really fun to play in Rhapsody Of Fire, it is really great to do it every night.”

What are you most proud of after all those years?

,,Well, we lost the original singer, we lost the original drummer and so to restart from that point was almost impossible to achieve, but we did it, Rhapsody Of Fire is reborn and after so many years I am happy that the fans recognize us and that they love us, and that they love the new line up. We are still here, and more people seem to be interested in our music and come to our shows, so that is really great. This tour is also highly successful, so the feeling is great.”

The new album was well received, how did you come up with ideas for the new songs?

,,Normally I have a list of things that I write down about themes and topics and things I want to do and then I combine my ideas with the ideas/riffs from Robbie (Roberto De Micheli, MK) and I work them out, so maybe use an intro or not and so the song builds and becomes a real song.”

And lyric-wise?

,,The story is one that Robbie proposed to me and after discussing it we decided to go with that, so Robbie writes out the story and explains that to Giacomo (Voli, lead singer, MK) who then writes the lyrics and I must say despite that he is not English the work he does is really great, the lyrics are excellent. There is lots of work involved in that and it is necessary for Giacomo to get the lyrics right as he must sing them of course….”

Did you ever think about Italian lyrics?

,,We did that a couple of years ago for a certain album, but it does not work for all albums and for our audience I think English is better…”

A HOBBY OR A JOB?

Which album are you most proud of?

,,That is very difficult as every album is special, well the album I maybe like most is `Triumph Or Agony’ (2006, MK) as that one features a real orchestra.”

Your favourite Rhapsody Of Fire track that you would like to get played at your funeral.

,,Wow, that’s though, some of the ballads that we have, the classics, but I am not dead yet, my friend, so… ha ha”

What is the best thing about being a member of Rhapsody Of Fire?

,,For me personally?”

Yes, please…

,,The fact that the fans are so supportive to the band, and we are really grateful that we can do this job, so to speak… and to be recognized…”

Of course, it is a job, or is it a hobby that turned into a job perhaps?

,,No, it was never a hobby, because when we started the band, we would really wanted to do something, I could never do music for a hobby. We started a band because we wanted to create music that was not really popular on the market; and that was the challenge, you see. Being Italian, starting from the lowest grounds, commercially speaking not many Italian bands make it and to make something new and original, that’s hard, we wanted to compete with bands like Helloween and that sort of bands, so that was our mission.”

AMBITION FOR 2025

What is the worst thing about being a member of Rhapsody of Fire?

,,The worst… ha ha.. no, there is no worst, ha ha, for me personally, I am a caveman, you know, so social life is not really for me, so I love to tour but in the end, I am looking forward to be at home, alone, in silence and to open all the windows and breathe fresh air, it’s like that. I love what we do, I love playing on stage, but the rest of the day is a fucking waste of time…”

I know, waiting, waiting and more waiting, right?

,,Yes, you are so right….”

Ambitions left to fulfill.

,,Of course, yes and we are going to fulfill this ambition in April 2025 when we will play with an orchestra in Milan, one of the best orchestras in the world and we have two concerts, and it will be a real blast. This will be a dream come true for me personally.”

Last question, if I were Alex Staropoli and you would be the journalist, what would be your last question?

,,Well, what are the plans for tonight, and I would say, I would be glad to go back onto the stage and check out the new audience here and we are looking forward to it, to entertain the crowd!”

Thanks for your time, Alex.

,,Thank you.”