Fabio Lione – Vocals for Rhapsody

1. Do you find it has been difficult breaking into the American market given your style of Heavy Metal?

FABIO: Well we were very surprised because if you compare sales to what its like in Europe its very different. We played in front of at least 1,000 people a night in the States and around 2,000 in Canada which was great, cant complain really but of course it could always be better. That's why we decided to release this live cd as a sort of tribute to Canada because we didn't expect some many people to respect the music of Rhapsody.

2. Were you surprised or disappointed by the crowds in the States since you were so used to larger ones over seas?

FABIO: In the beginning we thought we would be playing to like three to four hundred people. I think the market in the U.S. is not geared for Heavy Metal music. We do about ten to fifteen thousand copies of our cd's in all of America . Comparing that to say Italy we can do that much in one country. But when we look at it as far as the entire metal market in the States we do pretty well as compared to others.

3. When you recorded the live cd was that also for a DVD?

FABIO: Yes they were but we have not released a live DVD show yet because we need more material. We will also use footage from some of the festivals over the summer like Earthshaker and Masters of Rock in Cech Republic , and maybe some other shows we do with Manowar . We were supposed to go out again with Manowar but their guitarist Karl is injured yes, so that is on hold now until he is better. We should also be coming back to the States with Manowar also later in the year or next year. We still have to get to the west coast also. In the special edition of the “Live in Canada ” there is a ten minute preview of what is to come.

4. Have you ever been offered to play the ProgPower festival in Atlanta ?

FABIO: Yes I know it very well and I think I was invited two or three times. I know my ex band Vision Divine is playing this year and I wish them all the best with that. It is a festival we would like to do in the future when we can. This year with the schedule with Manowar it was not possible, but I know they have asked us over the past few years. Vision Divine is a good band, good singing.

5. Do you ever see Rhapsody doing an album that is not orchestrated?

FABIO: Well I think that the orchestrations are an important part of the band, that's where we got the description of “Film score Metal”. Sometimes we try to compose songs that are not so elaborate like “When Demons Wake” or one of the Italian language songs that are maybe a bit close to pop, yes. I think the orchestrations are a trademark of the band and reminds the people that it is Rhapsody. We do have a project called Rhapsody in Black that's really more aggressive, almost like a Death/Black Metal but its not something we want to release right now. Its different from the vision of Rhapsody, we are a positive band with positive lyrics, its not the right time for it but maybe in the future.

6. Do you have a favorite album and why?

FABIO: I would say the new one “Symphony of Enchanted Lands Part 2” and that not because it's the new one Hahaha . I know every musician usually says that about there latest release. No but I really like this release because we got to work with the legend Christopher Lee who also enjoyed our music and looked forward to contributing to out music. We also got to work with a real orchestra which was important to really bring that “film score” sound to the band, like a soundtrack. We had much more time in the studio, worked more on vocal lines. The budget was better being on the new label SPV and we had more time to put it all together.

7. Any bands out of Italy that you really like?

FABIO: Labyrinth is really good. I know the last two albums were a bit different and not on the level of the first two, but they are really good musicians. My friend is the singer of Domine . Then there's Vision Divine, “Stream of Consciousness” is my favorite and better than the new one in my opinion. Lacuna Coil of course, I know they are doing really well in the States and have done a lot of touring there. Christina is very nice and a good singer, very good energy on stage. I think we need some better studios and sound engineers in Italy . I know when a band goes to another country to record the quality of the product is better. Italy is really a pop country with really good studios but geared towards a pop sound.

8. Are you working on any other projects aside from Rhapsody?

FABIO: Luca, Alex and me are all working on solo albums for this year. Luca is releasing his third solo album, Alex our keyboard player was going for a band thing and he is searching for a really good singer. I have been working on my solo album for about two years. Its not going to be a copy of Rhapsody I see no sense in that when I already have Rhapsody. Its going to be different, some songs will be sung in Italian, there will be a few similar to Rhapsody, some Heavy Metal songs similar to the 80's like Whitesnake , Winger, Dio . Maybe it will be released next year.

9. Has the band started working on songs for the next Rhapsody album?

FABIO: Yes we have already started composing. We were supposed to after the Manowar tour but when the tour was postponed we started working on some songs. We will do that until this tour happens again. Having Joey Demaio from the U.S. as our management will help in us getting back over there sooner than later.

10. Any closing comments?

FABIO: We really appreciate our American fans and look forward to returning for some more shows. It was nice to hang out with the fans as we are not the biggest drinkers and partiers. It was nice speaking to the people.

Official website: www.mightyrhapsody.com