Trieste, 1993. Guitarist Luca Turilli and keyboardist Alex Staropoli start a band called Thundercross with a conviction nobody asked for: power metal deserved a full orchestra. Four years and one name change later, Rhapsody released the record that turned that conviction into a genre.
What defines it
The foundation is power metal, undiluted. Double-bass drumming at a gallop, clean vocals pitched high, guitar and keyboard leads trading melodies, lyrics full of swords, dragons and destiny. On top of that comes the symphonic layer, and the key word is composed. Strings, choirs and classical instruments written into the songs from the start, not a synth pad dropped over the chorus. Legendary Tales already carried a five-piece string section, a baroque recorder and its own choir in 1997, back when most bands considered a keyboard intro ambitious.
The borders matter, because the three terms get swapped around constantly. Power metal needs no orchestra: the Keeper albums that defined it carried none. Symphonic metal needs no speed: Within Temptation and Epica build on mid-tempo drama and operatic vocals, the side our symphonic metal deep dive covers. Symphonic power metal demands both at once. Strip the orchestra from Rhapsody and a power metal band remains. Strip the double bass and you are listening to a film score.
Where it came from
Three release dates tell the story. Helloween’s Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I (Noise Records, 1987) defined European power metal, taking the speed NWOBHM had unlocked and trading its street grit for melody. Therion’s Theli (Nuclear Blast, 9 August 1996) proved a metal band could carry two full choirs as its core sound. Rhapsody fused the two on Legendary Tales (Limb Music, 27 October 1997), produced by Sascha Paeth and Miro, and the genre had its blueprint. A year on, Finland attacked from the other flank: Nightwish’s Oceanborn (Spinefarm, December 1998) poured double-bass speed under operatic vocals, with the power metal of Stratovarius as its obvious reference point. The trademark lawyers arrived later. Rhapsody have been Rhapsody of Fire since July 2006.
Why it matters
Because no other subgenre commits this hard. Christopher Lee narrated Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret (2004) as the Wizard King, then recorded a duet version of The Magic of the Wizard’s Dream with singer Fabio Lione. Saruman, in his eighties, guesting on a metal single. That is how seriously this style takes its storytelling, and how little it worries about looking cool.
It also keeps renewing itself. Sweden’s Twilight Force play the style dead straight, capes included. Gloryhammer’s Tales from the Kingdom of Fife (Napalm Records, 2013) plays it with a grin and fills rooms doing it. Both work, because the audience never left.
Start with Legendary Tales, follow with Oceanborn, then decide for yourself whether you want the grin.