Rhapsody of Fire – Alex Staropoli

After nearly a decade, the Emerald Sword saga is now all wrapped up and concluded. Thanks to the efforts of world renowned actor and musician Christopher Lee, the Emerald Sword saga has become one of the most cherished and inspirational stories from Italy’s much beloved symphonic power metal outfit, Rhapsody of Fire.

Metal Obsession took the time to speak with keyboardist, Alex Staropoli. We discussed Rhapsody of Fire’s final chapter in the Emerald Sword saga with the release of ‘From Chaos to Eternity’.

Metal Obsession: Was it difficult for both you and Luca to finish this final chapter in the Emerald Sword saga?

Alex Staropoli: No, not really. It was very exciting actually. We knew it would be the last chapter. I guess you could say it was a usual process for us when it came to recording and producing, but we had in mind that this would be the very last chapter in the saga. It was both very exciting and emotional for everyone.

MO: Did you always have in mind how you wanted the story to end. Was there much creative conflict when it came to writing the album?

AS: We knew from the start we would have a certain amount of albums for a saga. For us, it was no surprise because we decided on how it would all end many years ago when we first wrote the story. To write a set amount of albums was quite easy for us, but I guess for the fans it was quite a surprise, because they weren’t in the studio with us when we wrote each album

MO: Will fans discover something new about the Warrior of Ice or any other characters in the series, in this final chapter?

AS: Due to this album being the final chapter, we decided not to tell to many people what would happen. We like the idea of Rhapsody of Fire fans to listen to the album and discover it for themselves. Musically, it was very emotional. Especially the last song ‘”Heroes of the Waterfalls’ Kingdom’. We built Christopher Lee’s narration on top of the music which is the climax of the entire story.

This will be the last time we hear Christopher Lee’s voice. It’s been great working with him, but very emotional as well.

MO: This is Rhapsody of Fire’s second album with Nuclear Blast Records. Did you find the transition going from Magic Circle Music to Nuclear Blast Records an easy one?

AS: Yes, yes! We originally had some issues with Magic Circle Music, but the move to Nuclear Blast Records was very good. It was fantastic news for us to join Nuclear Blast because of their history. They’re a fantastic team or support a great bunch of bands and work very hard, and we can see this!

I guess you could say its a dream come true for us to be apart of Nuclear Blast Records.

MO: I remember talking to Luca last year about the ongoing court case with Joey DiMaio (Manowar). Has the court case been settled yet?

AS: Yes, of course! We sorted everything out about a year ago. Everything has been sorted out and everyone seems happy.

MO: The Emerald Sword saga has always been seen as a metaphor for good vs. evil. Would you say that some of the recent world conflicts are a reflection of the saga?

AS: Yes, of course! Luca has always liked to use a bit of variety when it comes to writing an album. Its good to use inspiration from reality to write something about complete fantasy. At the same time, Luca has been accused of writing some simple things, you know? But, in the end its usually the most simplest thing which gets across to so many people.

We always try to bring something positive with both lyrics and the music. To deliver a message to make people think, or perhaps make people happy or just distract people from problems they have in their lives.

MO: Have you and the other discussed where the next album will take us?

AS: We haven’t discussed it yet. We are just working on promoting ‘From Chaos To Eternity’ at the moment. Soon we will be playing again, so I guess we will see what the future brings in the next year or two.

MO: You mentioned before that Christopher Lee will be performing his final role as narrator for the series on ‘From Chaos to Eternity’. It must be difficult to say goodbye after working with him for so long.

AS: Well, as you know our collaboration with Christopher Lee first started out purely because we wanted a great narrator for our story. He’s done a fantastic job, but it was actually us who asked him to sing in the first place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZDc0js-m2Q

For that reason, I have to say it was quite a moving collaboration. It was very magical. We wont be working with him anymore because the story is over. I don’t know if we will work with him in future, but at the moment wont don’t have any plan too.

MO: Do you have any other actors you would like to include in future collaboration?

AS: Hmmm! I don’t know. We haven’t thought about that yet. I have to say it would be fantastic to present a show with a full orchestra and Christopher Lee narrating it all. For the future we are not quite sure. I don’t know if we will continue to do the same thing by including a narrator to tell the story, or start a new saga. I guess we will see.

MO:…I guess you could make a movie since every Rhapsody album is like a movie, but minus the special effects and visuals.

AS: Yes of course. This would be a fantastic idea. I think economically it would never be possible. To have the same visuals and special effects we would want something similar to that of the Lord of the Rings movies, but again, it would be impossible. You need a lot of money! [laughs]

MO: How has it been working with new guitarist, Tom Hess.

AS: Ah! He’s great. We have known him for awhile. I think it was the right choice because we all seem to get along so well. He knows the band very well and loves our music, so he’s fitted in quite well. Its a dream come true for him.

MO: He use to play for HolyHell, correct?

AS: Yes! We played with him quite a lot in the past. We have became great friends since then.He’s getting ready to tour with us soon.

MO: Will the upcoming tour mainly be in Europe or are you hoping for a world tour?

AS: At the moment we are just doing summer festivals in Europe. Starting from the Fall we will most likely start another tour, but we don’t know where yet. [laugh] Perhaps in the Fall we canstart in America, Japan, South America, Asia or Australia. I’m just guessing at the moment. We will be organizing this tour very soon. Once we have confirmed it all we will let everyone know.

MO: Are you playing material off ‘From Chaos to Eternity’ on the upcoming summer festival tour?

AS: No. We decided not to play anything off the new album at the festivals. We felt the songs wouldn’t fit well with a summer festival crowd. I think most of them will want to hear or classic songs and just enjoy themselves. I don’t think its the right time to present new songs, unless of course you are the headliner. We play for about an hour so we just want to have fun. We will be playing songs from ‘Frozen Tears of Angels’, but I think next time we will play songs from ‘From Chaos to Eternity’.

MO: Any last words?

AS: Yes, of course. As I said before I’m very excited about the release of our new album and we hope everyone in Australia enjoys it too. We hope to come to Australia for the first time this year. We have been talking about it for sometime and we believe now is the perfect time to tour Australia.

Interview by: Anwar Rizk (anwar@metalobsession.net)

Rhapsody of Fire’s latest epic ‘From Chaos to Eternity’ is now available via Nuclear Blast Records and Riot! Entertainment.

Check out Rhapsody of Fire on Facebook and their official website.