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133-413: Rhapsody of Fire (formerly known as Rhapsody ) is an Italian symphonic power metal band formed by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli , widely seen as a pioneer of the symphonic power metal subgenre. Since forming in 1993 as Thundercross , the band has released thirteen studio albums , two live albums , three EPs , and a Live DVD . Rhapsody of Fire is known for its conceptual lyrics that constitute

266-420: A fantasy story throughout all of their albums from 1997 to 2011 . After using the moniker of Rhapsody for nearly ten years, the band changed its name to Rhapsody of Fire in 2006 due to trademark issues. In 2011, following the release of their album From Chaos to Eternity which concluded The Dark Secret Saga, and after 18 years as co-leader of the band, Turilli left Rhapsody of Fire (on good terms) to form

399-479: A progressive death metal band, had released some demos and EPs in their early years in a simple death metal style, but in 1997 went a step forward. They changed their style to a mix of classical music with real classical and medieval instruments such as violin , viola , cello , flute , oboe , clarinet , crumhorn , keyboards and death metal , releasing their first symphonic metal studio album. Many new symphonic bands appeared or came to wide attention in

532-499: A sequencer . This is particularly characteristic of bands that feature deeper and more complex arrangements which could be more difficult for one or two keyboardists to reproduce faithfully in a live performance. It is more difficult to generalize about the role of the classic metal instruments (guitars, bass and drums), as they vary depending on the metal subgenre to which the symphonic band mostly associates. With varying frequency, symphonic bands may employ these instruments (as well as

665-416: A "pseudo-orchestral" sound, where parts are played idiomatically according to keyboard technique. This is particularly characteristic of lesser-known bands on tighter budgets. Some symphonic metal bands abstain from using keyboards entirely, preferring to use orchestral backing tracks pre-recorded by a live symphony orchestra and/or choir during an album session, or recorded using virtual software instruments in

798-517: A 32-page booklet, and on vinyl. A 35-minute EP entitled The Cold Embrace of Fear – A Dark Romantic Symphony was released in Europe on 15 October 2010 and in the United States on 25 January 2011. The story is directly connected to The Frozen Tears of Angels . Rhapsody of Fire's ninth studio album, From Chaos to Eternity , was released on 12 July 2011. From Chaos to Eternity is the final album in

931-510: A Rhapsody "20th Anniversary Farewell Tour", in parallel to the current band. The tour celebrated the 20th anniversary of Rhapsody's first album Legendary Tales and featured, among other songs, the album Symphony of Enchanted Lands played in its entirety. The 20th Anniversary Farewell Tour started on 26 April 2017 in Annecy , France, and ended on 20 March 2018 in Madrid , Spain. On 11 November 2016,

1064-728: A Thousand Flames served as a bridge between the last part of the Emerald Sword Saga and Power of the Dragonflame . Power of the Dragonflame was released in February 2002 and saw incredible success worldwide. Marking the end of the Emerald Sword Saga, it contained soft ballads, upbeat metal melodies, and the epic 19-minute-long concluding song, "Gargoyles, Angels of Darkness". The band was joined by another two members, Patrice Guers (bass) and Dominique Leurquin (guitars). Alex Holzwarth, who had been playing drums for Rhapsody onstage since 2000

1197-670: A broad range of topics. As with two of its often overlapping elements, power metal and opera (including symphonic progressive rock ), fantasy and mythological themes are common. Concept albums styled after operas or epic poems are not uncommon. Bands in this genre may often feature a female lead vocalist, usually a soprano . Male vocalists ( baritone or bass-baritone ), are also common in gothic metal. Growling, death-metal-style vocals are not unknown but tend to be used less frequently than in other metal subgenres (a notable exception being Mark Jansen in Epica ). Backing vocals, often consisting of

1330-441: A charm is for it to describe an action and its intended significance, so that the person will then go perform that action and achieve the described result. For instance, one love charm begins: "I will rise, Lord's humble servant (name stated), I will come from the house into the doorway, from the doorway into the gate, ..." It is common as well for a charm to invoke God or saints. A charm against toothaches reads: "Three paths,

1463-443: A choral ensemble or full choir , may be employed. It is common for bands, particularly female-fronted bands, to feature operatic lead vocals. Such bands may be referred to as operatic symphonic metal and include the likes of Epica , Nightwish ( Tarja Turunen , then Floor Jansen ), Haggard , Therion , Operatika, Dremora, Dol Ammad , Visions of Atlantis , Aesma Daeva , and Almora , among countless others. The operatic style

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1596-523: A classically trained soprano , Simone Simons , over a lush foundation of symphonic power metal ". The music of Epica has been described as combination of "a dark, haunting gothic atmosphere with bombastic and symphonic music". Like Within Temptation and After Forever, Epica has made use of an orchestra. Their 2007 album The Divine Conspiracy was a chart success in their home country. This blend of symphonic and gothic metal has also been arrived at from

1729-541: A donor, villain, or may be altogether ambiguous. Andrea Johns identifies Baba Yaga as "one of the most memorable and distinctive figures in eastern European folklore," and observes that she is "enigmatic" and often exhibits "striking ambiguity."[1] Johns summarizes Baba Yaga as "a many-faceted figure, in capable of inspiring researchers to see her as a Cloud, Moon, Death, Winter, Snake, Bird, Pelican or Earth Goddess, totemic matriarchal ancestress, female initiator, phallic mother, or archetypal image".[2] The domovoy or domovoi

1862-408: A family moved houses, they would specifically invite their domovoy to come with them to ensure it would remain with the household. A leshy (also, leshii , "wood demon " ) is a forest spirit who has mastery over the woods. His appearance varies across stories, but he is consistently male. Generally the leshy is pictured as human-like, but can also appear in the form of an animal or, in one case,

1995-419: A fully qualified opera singer". Founding member, guitarist and vocalist Mark Jansen departed After Forever a few months after the release of their second album, Decipher . Jansen would go on to form Epica , another Dutch band that performs a blend of gothic and symphonic metal. Their debut album, The Phantom Agony , emerged in 2003 with music that combines Jansen's death grunts with the "angelic tones of

2128-430: A guitar playing perspective. In 1994, Thundercross released their first demo , Land of Immortals , with vocalist Cristiano Adacher. During this period of time, they went through a few bassist changes in their lineup. After accepting a proposal from Limb Music Products & Publishing , the band started recording their second demo, Eternal Glory . At this time they also changed their name to Rhapsody . Shortly after

2261-506: A journey of self-discovery, a process that led them to value themselves not as individuals, but rather as a necessary part of a common whole. The attitudes of such legendary characters paralleled the mindset that the Soviet government wished to instill in its citizens. He also pointed out the existence of many tales that showed members of the working class outsmarting their cruel masters, again working to prove folklore's value to Soviet ideology and

2394-495: A large focus on elements prevalent in film scores in addition to the more basic classical components utilized more widely in the genre. Many people who participate in this genre of metal music have a degree in musical thought or have been taught how to sing in a classical style. The metal subgenres most typically featuring a subset of symphonic bands are gothic metal , power metal , black metal , death metal and classic heavy metal . As with many other metal bands, those adopting

2527-457: A later, possibly related deity was called Mokosh , whose name means "moist" and may have Finnish origins. Mokosh was the goddess of women, children, and animals, and was worshiped for her connection with fertility. Russian soil is generally too thin for robust agriculture, rainfall is infrequent and inopportunely timed in much of the area, and the growing season is relatively short. Fertility and moisture are therefore particularly essential to

2660-507: A live 70-piece orchestra and choir as Turilli and Staropoli continued to self-produce the band's work, assisted by Sascha Paeth. Newer songs include "Silent Dream", "Son of Pain" and the epic 16-minute-long "The Mystic Prophecy of the Demonknight", an example of a cinema soundtrack adapted to a metal song. The album included Fabio Lione's first songwriting contribution for the band, "Il canto del Vento". In June 2008, Luca Turilli reported on

2793-424: A mushroom. Sometimes he is depicted with wings and a tail, like the devil. Sometimes he is described as looking like someone familiar to the viewer. His size is also variable, a power which has been attributed to his role as reflecting his environment. Depending on the height of the plant life in the forest he inhabits, he would fit in with his surroundings. Some stories about the leshy describe him as having

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2926-463: A music video. On May 12, 2023, Rhapsody of Fire had released the single, "Kreel's Magic Staff". The band later announced the second single, "Challenge the Wind", the title track for the studio album which was released on 29 February 2024. The fourteenth studio album, Challenge the Wind , the third chapter to The Nephilim's Empire Saga was released on 31 May 2024. Three other singles were released to promote

3059-450: A new Rhapsody band, Luca Turilli's Rhapsody , along with two other members who left with him, Dominique Leurquin, Patrice Guers . They describe their discography as a parallel continuation of Rhapsody of Fire's discography, with their first album being their own "Rhapsody's 11th album" and consider that they didn't leave the band, rather that it amicably split in two. In 2016, other long-term members Fabio Lione and Alex Holzwarth left

3192-429: A new Rhapsody band, Luca Turilli's Rhapsody . With the departure of Turilli, Tom Hess became the lead guitarist of the band. Oliver Holzwarth , brother of drummer Alex Holzwarth, was announced to be Guers' replacement on 1 September 2011. Soon after, on 27 September 2011, the band announced that Roberto De Micheli had joined them as a second guitar player. The band embarked on their "From Chaos to Eternity World Tour" in

3325-411: A pagan pantheon. Despite the superficial eradication of pagan belief, animism and ancestor worship survived in rituals, stories, charms, and practices in peasant life. Certain pagan deities and objects of worship became inducted into the ranks of Christian saints. Other times, pagan holidays remained in practice but were called by new names, such as Trinity Day, during which peasant girls would honor

3458-537: A positive mindset, especially as their lives changed with Communism's further development. Iurii Sokolov, the head of the folklore section of the Union of Soviet Writers also promoted the study of folklore by arguing that folklore had originally been the oral tradition of the working people, and consequently could be used to motivate and inspire collective projects amongst the present-day proletariat. Characters throughout traditional Russian folktales often found themselves on

3591-411: A solo album. In late 2009 Limb Music re-released their back-catalogue from 1997 to 2001, along with the compilation album Tales from the Emerald Sword Saga on digital music stores. On 18 November 2009, it was announced that the band had signed with Nuclear Blast Records and that their new album, The Frozen Tears of Angels , would be released on 5 March 2010. However, Nuclear Blast stated that

3724-695: A subgenre definition could be attributable to any bands simply defining themselves as symphonic metal. Symphonic heavy metal and symphonic gothic metal bands are the main objects of such neglect of classification, originating the misperception of "symphonic metal" as a coherent and separated metal subgenre excluding symphonic black, death, and power metal bands. Symphonic elements are often implemented in songs by bands of other subgenres. Symphonic black metal has similar components as melodic black metal , but uses keyboarding or instruments normally found in symphonic or classical music. It can also include black metal bands that make heavy usage of atmospheric keyboarding in

3857-507: A subsequent shift to a more patriarchal society as Christianity got a foothold in the area. Ancestor worship was another central aspect of tribal life, and served as a link between past and future generations. Animism was also a common belief, and nature and house spirits played a central role in daily tribal life. Vladimir I (or "Vladimir the Great", "Saint Vladimir") converted to Christianity in 987 CE, and subsequently mandated it as

3990-633: A symphonic style may feature influences from several metal subgenres. Music workstation keyboards and orchestras are often a key feature of the style, distinguishing symphonic from non-symphonic bands within the same metal subgenre. Other instruments, including guitars, bass and drums, may at times play relatively simple parts in contrast to the complex and nuanced keyboard and/or orchestral parts. Bands that do not use live orchestral instrumentation on their recordings or when playing live typically utilize factory presets on workstation keyboards (i. e., strings, choirs, pianos, pipe organs, etc.) to conjure up

4123-952: A three-movement epic performed by the band at the Royal Albert Hall in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , the Moody Blues , with Days of Future Passed , and the Nice , with Five Bridges . Black Sabbath followed suit with "Spiral Architect" and "Supertzar". Other bands began to experiment with heavier songs with arrangements, such as " Ma Ma Ma Belle " by Electric Light Orchestra . Symphonic metal can be traced to some early death metal and gothic metal bands who made use of symphonic elements in their music, notably Swiss extreme metal pioneers Celtic Frost , using French horn on their 1985 release To Mega Therion (which inspired

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4256-437: A tree stands by the road, under the tree a corpse lies, past the corpse goes St. Anthony and says: "Why do you, corpse, lie here? Do your teeth ache? Do your ribs hurt? Do worms eat you away? Does the blood flow out of you" "Nothing hurts." Grow numb you too, teeth of God's humble servant (name stated), like in a corpse; make him strong, Lord, stronger than a stone." One of the oldest recorded references to Russian charms lies in

4389-404: A water fairy or undine , the rusalka is a female spirit, often associated with the water. She is usually thought to look like a young, beautiful woman. Accounts have placed rusalki in forests, in fields, and by rivers. She is typically thought to live underwater, like the vodyanoy, and to walk about on land playing tricks on unsuspecting passersby. In some places rusalki are thought to be

4522-409: A wife and children, mimicking a typical peasant household. Some accounts attribute multiple leshie to a given forest, and describe them as having a hierarchical society, again similar to local society. Some say the leshy cannot speak, but only makes sounds like clapping or wilderness noises (birds, rustling leaves, growls, etc.). Others say he can mimic voices of people you know. In general, he

4655-536: A witch, Baba Yaga is a supernatural being (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who appears as a deformed or ferocious-looking old woman. In Russian fairy tales, Baba Yaga flies around in a mortar, wields a pestle, and dwells deep in the forest in a hut usually described as standing on chicken legs. Baba Yaga may help or hinder those that encounter or seek her out and may play a maternal role and has associations with forest wildlife. According to Vladimir Propp's folktale morphology, Baba Yaga commonly appears as either

4788-415: Is a spirit of the house, and is somewhat different in character from the nature spirits. While mischievous, the domovoy was seen as the benign protector of the household. He was not averse to Christian symbols (such as the sign of the cross), and did not make a place dangerous like other spirits. He was likely a holdover of ancestor worship practices, as one nick-name to refer to him was "grandfather", and he

4921-462: Is associated with the devil, and is generally considered hostile. The latter is protective against evil magic or seeks to produce good for the user. Some magic practices, such as divination, which were traditionally considered productive magic, were largely reassigned as unclean magic by the Christian church once it was in power. Most productive magic was "homeopathic", meaning that a symbolic action

5054-411: Is not tied exclusively to symphonic metal, but may appear in avant-garde metal , progressive metal and gothic metal. Many bands featuring operatic female vocalists also have a male vocalist who uses harsh vocals for contrast, in a vocal style often referred to as "beauty and the beast". Among the first rock bands to use orchestral elements were Deep Purple , with Concerto for Group and Orchestra ,

5187-535: Is roughly around modern-day Eastern European countries. East Slavs emerged around the Volga-Dnieper basin. The Oka river was a homeland to Slavic tribes from which Russian culture grew. South Slavic culture grew in Balkan region West Slavic people grew most likely in eastern Poland . Nature played an essential role in early Slavic culture. One early Russian object of worship was the "Moist Mother Earth", and

5320-422: Is thought to be mischievous or evil, and has been said to make people get lost in the woods, cause people to fall ill, steal women, and even eat people. His traditional weaknesses include fire and the sign of the cross, indicative of later association between leshy and the Christian devil. The creatures are also known as "vodianoi" , "water devil" , "water-sprite" . A vodyanoy is a male water spirit. He

5453-409: Is thought to inhabit a given body of water, sometimes having a dwelling place at the bottom of it. Like the leshy, the vodyanoy's appearance varies from story to story. He is generally pictured as an old, bearded man, sometimes blue, white, or green sometimes covered in slime, sometimes bloated with water. Often he is described as having fish-like elements, such as scales or a fish's tail. Like

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5586-509: The Church . In these instances, rites were reinterpreted as essentially Christian. For instance, the wintertime ritual of spreading hay on the floor became associated with celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmastime . When the Church condemned a practice, it typically did not dismiss it as made-up, but instead acknowledged its power and attributed it to the devil. Folklorists today consider

5719-548: The Prague Symphony Orchestra . Nightwish , Rhapsody of Fire and Within Temptation all released their first album in 1997. Within Temptation's sound was usually defined as gothic metal, being overall simpler than Nightwish's power metal, but both bands shared two frequent symphonic metal elements: powerful female lead vocals from Tarja Turunen and Sharon den Adel respectively, and the heavy use of classically influenced keyboard playing. Haggard , which started as

5852-492: The Russian Chronicle , dating to the 10th century. Spirits were most frequently seen as the masters of their domains, whether that was forest, water, field, or home. Often they are portrayed as old men, reflecting the age-based familial hierarchy in tribal communities. Originally, nature spirits were thought to protect humans, but over time they came to be seen as neutral or malevolent forces, sometimes associated with

5985-612: The Union of Soviet Writers in 1932. In order to continue researching and analyzing folklore, intellectuals needed to justify its worth to the Communist regime. Otherwise, collections of folklore, along with all other literature deemed useless for the purposes of Stalin's Five Year Plan, would be an unacceptable realm of study. In 1934, Maxim Gorky gave a speech to the Union of Soviet Writers arguing that folklore could, in fact, be consciously used to promote Communist values. Apart from expounding on

6118-404: The devil . They are also frequently associated with an "unclean" force, connected to unnatural death and improper burial. Most accounts that we have today of nature spirits were collected after the end of the 19th century and are told as second-hand tales. Run-ins with nature spirits have been reported to have been more frequent in the distant past, and less frequent nowadays. Similar to

6251-495: The domovoy was easily pleased. Having the assistance of one's domovoy was considered essential to the proper functioning of a household. The transfer of a domovoy was an important business as well. For instance, when a woman got married, it was customary for her to leave her family and join that of her husband. When she left her home, it was necessary for her to perform rituals to separate her from her family's house spirits and acquaint her with those of her husband's family. When

6384-415: The souls of still-born or unbaptized children, or of those who died by drowning. Sometimes her mischief is as harmless as leading people astray, like the leshy or polevoi; other times she is thought to tickle people to death or drown them. Rusalka's connection with the unclean dead makes her a bearer of the unclean force associated with other nature spirits. Sometimes she is associated directly with

6517-436: The storyline . Symphony of Enchanted Lands II was a follow-up to the Emerald Sword Saga called The Dark Secret Saga. In July 2006 the band formerly known as Rhapsody changed their name to Rhapsody of Fire due to trademark issues. The band's website goes into further detail: The band members consider this a great new start, reflecting the emboldened and increasingly grandiose direction that their music has taken. "The power of

6650-488: The 1920s to be the Soviet Union 's golden age of folklore. The struggling new government, which had to focus its efforts on establishing a new administrative system and building up the nation's backwards economy, could not be bothered with attempting to control literature, so studies of folklore thrived. There were two primary trends of folklore study during the decade: the formalist and Finnish schools. Formalism focused on

6783-552: The Centuries , has been described as death metal–styled symphonic metal. Make Them Suffer is a band that mixes deathcore with symphonic/classical elements in their earlier material. Other bands that have mixed deathcore with symphonic metal include Winds of Plague , Shadow of Intent , Lorna Shore (in their recent material, most notably Pain Remains ) and Betraying the Martyrs ,

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6916-420: The Church. Telling folktales was strictly forbidden at least as early as the 12th century, and in some cases transgression led to death. It was only by the 16th century that Russian folktales began getting recorded, and only by the 19th century with Bogdan Bronitsyn 's "Russian Folk Tales" (1838) that a compilation of genuine Russian folktales was published. Study of folklore gained particular popularity in

7049-415: The Demonknight" and "Erian's Mystical Rhymes". Finnish band Nightwish , who debuted the same year, also performed symphonic power metal, their style being well exemplified by songs like "Wishmaster" from the album Wishmaster and the rest of their discography until the year 2000. Since the album Century Child , they gradually decreased their power metal influences, with songs like "Ghost Love Score" from

7182-454: The Dragonflame will burn brighter than ever before," says guitarist/songwriter Luca Turilli . Keyboardist/songwriter Alex Staropoli adds, "The name Rhapsody of Fire better represents the energy that has always been present in this band and its music." The band released Triumph or Agony , the second album in the Dark Secret saga, on 25 September 2006 in Europe. Triumph or Agony featured

7315-587: The Dutch Within Temptation in 1996, expanded on this approach. A debut album, Enter , was unveiled in the following year, followed shortly by an EP, The Dance . Both releases made use of the beauty-and-beast approach delivered by vocalists Sharon den Adel and Robert Westerholt . Their second full-length, Mother Earth , was released in 2000 and dispensed entirely with the death metal vocals, instead "relying solely on den Adel's majestic vocal ability", apart from one B-side track that did not make

7448-590: The Legend , were revealed in November 2015. The album was released in January 2016. After a short tour to promote the new album, Fabio Lione announced his departure on 28 September 2016. Drummer Alex Holzwarth also announced his departure on the band's Facebook page a couple of days later on 9 October 2016. On 21 November 2016, former members Luca Turilli, Fabio Lione, Alex Holzwarth, Patrice Guers and Dominique Leurquin announced

7581-572: The Netherlands. A typical example of their most symphonic sound can be heard in the songs "Jillian (I'd give my Heart)" and "Our Solemn Hour". Another Dutch band in the symphonic gothic metal strain is After Forever . Their debut album, Prison of Desire in 2000, was "a courageous, albeit flawed first study into an admittedly daunting undertaking: to wed heavy metal with progressive rock arrangements and classical music orchestration - then top it all off with equal parts gruesome cookie-monster vocals and

7714-629: The Opera when they established their symphonic power metal style, mainly with the song "And Then There Was Silence". They gradually composed more and more symphonic songs such as "Sacred Worlds" and "Wheel of Time", both featured on the album At the Edge of Time , and "The Ninth Wave", "At the Edge of Time", "The Throne" and "Grand Parade" from their latest album, Beyond the Red Mirror . They also made orchestral versions of previously released songs like "The Lord of

7847-598: The Rings" and "Theatre of Pain", both included on the compilation album The Forgotten Tales . Blind Guardian went deeper into symphonic music with the album Legacy of the Dark Lands , a fully orchestral album composed by singer Hansi Kürsch and guitarist André Olbrich that kept the band's spirit but was credited to the Blind Guardian Twilight Orchestra, as Hansi was the only member of the band to perform on

7980-454: The Soviet government began to criticize and censor folklore studies. Stalin and the Soviet regime repressed Folklore, believing that it supported the old tsarist system and a capitalist economy. They saw it as a remnant of the backward Russian society that the Bolsheviks were working to surpass. To keep folklore studies in check and prevent inappropriate ideas from spreading amongst the masses,

8113-583: The Spring of 2012. This tour was their largest yet, spanning three continents. Later that year, on 11 December 2012, the band signed with AFM Records . On 3 May 2013, a second live album was released, titled Live – From Chaos to Eternity , recorded during the European dates of their From Chaos to Eternity World Tour 2012 . In July 2013, Tom Hess respectfully parted ways with the band due to "philosophical differences" with Alex Staropoli. Hess would not be replaced, with

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8246-616: The Titans", played beside more bombastic melodies as "Dawn of Victory", "Triumph for My Magic Steel", "Dargor, Shadowlord of the Black Mountain" and "Holy Thunderforce". It was more successful than any of their previous outings, and "Dawn of Victory" ranked at #32 in the German charts, while in Japan it peaked in 4th place. In early summer 2001, Rhapsody toured through South America and Europe. Rain of

8379-509: The Tzar (1890) by Edith Hodgetts . Many Russian fairy tales and bylinas have been adapted for animation films, or for feature movies by prominent directors such as Aleksandr Ptushko ( Ilya Muromets , Sadko ) and Aleksandr Rou ( Morozko , Vasilisa the Beautiful ). Some Russian poets, including Pyotr Yershov and Leonid Filatov , made a number of well-known poetical interpretations of

8512-553: The Whites and their leader Idolisce, "the most monstrous idol," who was the equivalent of the tsar. Descriptions of the Whites in noviny mirrored those of the Tartars in byliny. In these new tales, the Whites were incompetent, backwards capitalists, while the Soviet citizens became invincible heroes. Once Stalin died in March 1953, folklorists of the period quickly abandoned the new folktales of

8645-565: The ability to speak both with other animals as well as human characters. They have the same emotions as human characters as well. They are given human qualities such as wit , humor, slyness and even stupidity. The characteristics of these animals have persisted through time. Foxes (лиса; lisa ) - Portrayed as witty females, foxes in Russian fairy tales would often trick their counterparts. This can be adult humans, wolves, roosters and bears . Roosters (петух, petukh )- In Russian fairy tales

8778-527: The album Once , "The Poet and the Pendulum" from the album Dark Passion Play and "The Greatest Show on Earth" from the album Endless Forms Most Beautiful as the best examples of their new course making a more extensive use of orchestral elements. German band Blind Guardian also introduced some symphonic elements in the album Nightfall in Middle-Earth , although it wasn't until 2002 with A Night at

8911-574: The album would not be released until 30 April. On 5 March 2010, the official Rhapsody of Fire website announced that it would indeed be released on 30 April. A new song was made available to download soon after. The album was produced by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli and mixed and mastered by Sascha Paeth at the Gate Studio in Wolfsburg . As well as the standard edition, it was released as a "special limited deluxe digipak" which included two bonus tracks and

9044-498: The album. Symphonic gothic metal was first pioneered by American band Saviour Machine . One of the first gothic metal bands to release a full album featuring "beauty and the beast" vocals, where death metal vocals are contrasted with clean female vocals, was the Norwegian Theatre of Tragedy in 1995. From then on after the departure of lead singer Liv Kristine in 2003, she and her future husband, Alexander Krull , formed

9177-558: The album. Bassist Oliver Holzwarth left the band in August 2014. Alessandro Sala was announced as his replacement in June 2015, although he had joined the band a few months prior. Sala had previously been a bandmate of Roberto De Micheli in the band Sinestesia. Songwriting for a followup to Dark Wings of Steel began in the Fall of 2014. Album artwork and the track listings for the new album, titled Into

9310-507: The album: "A Brave New Hope", "Diamond Claws", and "Mastered by the Dark". Current members Former members Session musicians Former session musicians Timeline Studio albums Symphonic power metal Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features

9443-502: The artistic form of ancient byliny and faerie tales, specifically their use of distinctive structures and poetic devices. The Finnish school was concerned with the connections amongst related legends of various Eastern European regions. Finnish scholars collected comparable tales from multiple locales and analyzed their similarities and differences, hoping to trace these epic stories' migration paths. Once Joseph Stalin came to power and put his first five-year plan into motion in 1928,

9576-512: The artistic value of folklore, he stressed that traditional legends and faerie tales showed ideal, community-oriented characters, which exemplified the model Soviet citizen. Folklore, with many of its conflicts based on the struggles of a labor oriented lifestyle, was relevant to Communism as it could not have existed without the direct contribution of the working classes. Also, Gorky explained that folklore characters expressed high levels of optimism, and therefore could encourage readers to maintain

9709-405: The band announced their new lead vocalist, Giacomo Voli. Manu Lotter was announced as the new drummer on 22 December 2016. On 20 January 2017, the band announced that their new album will be 14 classic Rhapsody songs re-recorded. The new album titled Legendary Years was announced on 17 March 2017 from the band's Facebook page. The album was released on 26 May 2017. The new lineup performed for

9842-455: The band continuing with just one guitarist. Recording for the band's next studio album, Dark Wings of Steel , also began in July 2013. Dark Wings of Steel was released at the end of the year and was the band's first album not to be based on the band's fantasy saga, The Algalord Chronicles , which spanned from Legendary Tales to From Chaos to Eternity . A European tour followed the release of

9975-559: The band released Symphony of Enchanted Lands , which further developed their characteristic style of music. The album features "Emerald Sword", which draws on Russian folklore and Celtic style elements, and further develops on the Emerald Sword Saga. In 1999, Turilli and Lione both released solo albums. In the spring Rhapsody started their first tour, starting in Sweden . They performed with Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica in Spring 2000 supported by their new drummer Alex Holzwarth. After

10108-594: The band underwent many line-up changes. On 15 April 2011, it was announced that Tom Hess had become Rhapsody of Fire's second guitarist. Hess had actually joined the band in December 2010, recording all the rhythm guitar parts and contributing several solos for From Chaos to Eternity . Hess began touring with the band starting in 2011. On 16 August 2011, Rhapsody of Fire announced the friendly departure of long-time guitarist, songwriter, and founding member Luca Turilli , along with bassist Patrice Guers . They went on to found

10241-461: The band's fantasy storyline, The Algalord Chronicles, which began with the release of Legendary Tales . It also marks the conclusion of The Dark Secret Saga, which began on Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret . The final song on the album, the five-part "Heroes of the Waterfalls' Kingdom", is the band's longest, at almost twenty minutes long. After the release of From Chaos to Eternity ,

10374-416: The band's official website about a "hard legal fight with Magic Circle Music and his main representative Mr. Joey DeMaio ". Due to this, the band went on hiatus for a year and a half. During this period, Luca Turilli concentrated on his solo albums, Fabio Lione collaborated with Vision Divine and Kamelot , Alex Holzwarth collaborated with his brother Oliver, and Staropoli also announced his plans to record

10507-406: The band, and reunited with Turilli, Leurquin, and Guers, to play again under the name Rhapsody for their 20th Anniversary Farewell Tour; in December 2018, several months after announcing that Luca Turilli's Rhapsody was now inactive, Turilli announced the creation of a new Rhapsody band named Turilli / Lione Rhapsody , with the lineup of the 20th Anniversary Farewell Tour (recreating, minus Staropoli,

10640-497: The band. The band announced Paolo Marchesich as their new drummer on 14 July 2020. Rhapsody of Fire had announced that the recording of the album had been completed on 24 September 2020, and were confirmed to be mixing the album with Sebastian "Seeb" Levermann in April 2021. Rhapsody of Fire released their EP, I'll Be Your Hero , on 4 June 2021 which contained a song recorded for the band's thirteenth studio album, Glory for Salvation ,

10773-493: The basic, non-symphonic style of their subgenre. However, it is worth noting that the term is sometimes used to describe stylistic elements increasingly present in a growing number of metal music subgenres. The term "symphonic metal" denotes any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements; "symphonic metal" then is not so much a subgenre but rather a cross-generic designation. A few bands simply refer to themselves as "symphonic metal", particularly Aesma Daeva , and

10906-401: The classical Russian fairy tales, and in some cases, like that of Alexander Pushkin , also created fully original fairy tale poems of great popularity. The organization of early Slavic society seems largely to have been based in small towns run by a group of people rather than a single leader, and had a strong emphasis on one's family unit. The area proposed as the homeland of Slavic peoples

11039-425: The contrasts between a miserable life in old tsarist Russia and an improved one under Stalin's leadership. Their characters represented identities for which Soviet citizens should strive, exemplifying the traits of the " New Soviet Man ." The heroes of Soviet tales were meant to portray a transformed and improved version of the average citizen, giving the reader a clear goal of the ideal collective-oriented self that

11172-520: The devil. Like other nature spirits, she is thought to be weakened by the sign of the cross and certain magic words. There is a springtime festival called Rusalia , Rusal'naia Week , or Trinity Week where rusalki are thought to wander farther from their watery homes. The name for the festival might come from the Roman festival of roses, Rusalii , or rosalia, dies rosarum . During this week, villagers commemorated past ancestors and invoked

11305-506: The early to mid 2000s, including Rain Fell Within, After Forever , Epica , Delain , Leaves' Eyes , Xandria , and Edenbridge , all featuring female vocals and the characteristic keyboards. Power metal, with its relatively upbeat fantasy themes and stylized keyboard sounds, tended to be an important influence on these groups. The term "symphonic metal" has sometimes been applied to individual songs or albums by bands that belong primarily to

11438-408: The fields at noon, when he was most likely to be about. The polevoi was thought to have a family and children. A poludnitsa is a female field spirit, and is largely spoken of as fictitious. Her appearance varies primarily with regard to age; she has been described as a girl or an elderly woman. She is thought to protect the grain, and also to harm anyone working in the fields at noon. Akin to

11571-609: The final album release. The album was a commercial success, with their lead single, " Ice Queen ", topping the charts in Belgium and their native Netherlands. Their third album, The Silent Force , arrived in 2004 as an "ambitious project featuring a full orchestra and 80-voice choir accompanying the band". The result was another commercial success across Europe and introduced "the world of heavy guitars and female vocals" to "a mainstream audience". Within Temptation's brand of gothic metal combines "the guitar-driven force of hard rock with

11704-406: The first chapter of a new saga titled The Nephilim's Empire Saga on 16 November 2018. The album was released on 22 February 2019. On 6 April 2020, Vocalist Giacomo Voli in an exclusive interview revealed that the band is currently working on their next album. Giacomo said, "This year we will record the new album and probably start already in the summer. At the end of the tour, I will start working on

11837-552: The first time at the Trieste Summer Rock Festival at the castle of San Giusto on 29 July 2017 in Trieste, Italy . Following after the new line-up's debut performance was a tour with Orden Ogan in the fall of 2017. On 14 March 2018, the band had posted a narrative extract on their Facebook page, hinting that another album was being made. The band later revealed the title of their twelfth album The Eighth Mountain , as

11970-469: The future he or she was meant to become. These new folktales replaced magic with technology and supernatural forces with Stalin. Instead of receiving essential advice from a mythical being, the protagonist would be given advice from omniscient Stalin. If the character followed Stalin's divine advice, he could be assured success in all his endeavors and a complete transformation into the "New Soviet Man." The villains of these contemporary faerie tales were

12103-461: The genre through their use of a live orchestra and classical compositional techniques; gradually these elements became a more important part of Therion's music than their death metal roots. Another key early influence was Finnish progressive metal band Waltari 's album Yeah! Yeah! Die! Die! Death Metal Symphony in Deep C . In mid-1996 Rage released Lingua Mortis , the band's first collaboration with

12236-559: The government created the RAPP – the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers . The RAPP specifically focused on censoring fairy tales and children's literature, believing that fantasies and "bourgeois nonsense" harmed the development of upstanding Soviet citizens. Faerie tales were removed from bookshelves and children were encouraged to read books focusing on nature and science. RAPP eventually increased its levels of censorship and became

12369-668: The heavy drums and guitars of metal with different elements of orchestral classical music , such as symphonic instruments, choirs and sometimes a full orchestra, or just keyboard orchestration. Symphonic metal bands can feature classically trained vocalists, in which case they can be attributed nicknames such as opera metal or operatic metal . Perhaps the most pioneering and prominent examples of symphonic metal bands are Swedish band Therion , Finnish band Nightwish , German band Xandria , Italian band Rhapsody of Fire , American bands Lorna Shore and Trans-Siberian Orchestra , and Dutch bands Epica and Within Temptation . Those bands place

12502-889: The late 20th century (around the 1960s). There have been several attempts to classify European folklore, and one notable system was begun by Finnish folklorist Antti Arne , and later developed by Leningrad professor N. P. Andreyev . This system identified 915 main types of folktales (categorized by themes, plots, characters, and other story elements). Of these, about one third (317 types) were found in both Eastern and Western European tales, one third (302) types were found exclusively in Western European tales, and one third (296 types) were found exclusively in Eastern European tales. There were two primary types of magic in ancient and peasant Russian culture: (1) "unclean", or evil magic, and (2) productive, or good magic. The former

12635-451: The latter being known to "temper the punishing brutality of deathcore with melodic flourishes pulled from symphonic and progressive metal, giving it a theatricality that feels distinctly European." Russian folklore In the late 19th-century Russian fairy tales began being translated into English, with Russian Folk Tales (1873) by William Ralston , and Tales and Legends from the Land of

12768-442: The lead vocals) to play more simple, catchy melodies than non-symphonic bands, which arguably make the symphonic metal style one of the most accessible in metal. Songs are often highly atmospheric, though more upbeat than those of many non-symphonic metal bands; songs with morbid themes routinely feature prominent major-key fanfares. Particularly central to creating mood and atmosphere is the choice of keyboard timbre . Lyrics cover

12901-452: The leshy, the polevoi has variable size based on his surroundings, and might be tall as the uncut grass in the summer and tiny as the field stubble after the harvest. The polevoi seems generally less sinister than other spirits, the worst of his shenanigans being to make people get lost in the field. He is generally seen as a bad omen, though, and might accidentally run someone down on his horse, so people tried to avoid him by staying out of

13034-399: The leshy, the vodyanoy is seen as unequivocally evil. In many cases, he is thought of as equivalent to the devil. A polevoi is a male field spirit. Like the other nature spirits, the polevoi's appearance generally reflects his environment. Sometimes he is described as having dark skin, like the soil; sometimes with grass for hair; sometimes dressed in white and surrounded by wind. Like

13167-409: The leshy, the vodyanoy was sometimes pictured with a wife. The vodyanoy's main function is drowning people. Other stories about the vodyanoy include him mimicking voices or corrupting someone to change their appearance. Some stories about amicable relations between humans and a vodyanoy describe millers and fishermen who made offerings to a vodyanoy to secure good fortune from his waters. Unlike

13300-495: The lyrics with Roby De Micheli because some songs are already in the pre-production phase so they can be released in the spring of next year. As for the development of the saga, we will continue to narrate the events of this strange protagonist who was able to get out of hell thanks to the Nephilim. There are many possible ways and we will see what will happen." On 22 June 2020, it was announced that drummer Manu Lotter had departed from

13433-430: The music when compared to regular power metal, contributing not only an extra layer to the music, but a greater variety of sound. Bands in this genre often feature clean vocals, with some bands adding relatively small quantities of screams or growls. The first prototypical symphonic power metal song was " Art of Life ", a twenty-nine-minute song performed by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan in 1993. A defining role for

13566-548: The music, akin to symphonic metal or gothic metal . The symphonic aspects of this genre are normally integral parts of a band, and as such are commonly used throughout the whole duration of a song. The prototypical symphonic black metal bands are Dimmu Borgir , Cradle of Filth , Emperor and Carach Angren . Symphonic power metal refers to power metal bands that make extensive usage of keyboards, or instruments normally found in classical music, similar to symphonic metal. These additional elements are often used as key elements of

13699-425: The name of rusalki during springtime rituals like decorating homes with fresh-cut birch branches or leaving fried eggs by designated birch trees. The role of the rusalka in this holiday is somewhat unclear. Some believe she is associated with ancestor worship, but others believe she is only associated with unclean dead (i.e., those who died not of natural causes and did not receive a proper burial). Additionally,

13832-550: The naming of symphonic metal pioneers Therion) and more prominent symphonic orchestra on their 1987 album Into the Pandemonium . NWOBHM band Golgotha's Orchestral Stab (1988) – later remixed as Unmaker of Worlds (1990) – also combined metal and heavily orchestrated sections. An early prototypical symphonic metal song was "Dies Irae" by American Christian thrash metal group Believer . Appearing on their 1990 album Sanity Obscure , it foreshadowed

13965-446: The nation's society at large. Convinced by Gor'kij and Sokolov's arguments, the Soviet government and the Union of Soviet Writers began collecting and evaluating folklore from across the country. The Union handpicked and recorded particular stories that, in their eyes, sufficiently promoted the collectivist spirit and showed the Soviet regime's benefits and progress. It then proceeded to redistribute copies of approved stories throughout

14098-499: The nature spirit rusalka , commemorate past ancestors, and practice divination rituals. Another such holiday is St. John's day, which was devoted to "seeing off the spring" and performing rituals to encourage springtime to come again soon. The coexistence of pagan and Christian beliefs in Russian culture is called "duality of religion" or "duality of belief", and was salient in much of Russian peasant culture. Certain pagan rituals and beliefs were tolerated and even supported by

14231-402: The new stories and songs. As the performers of the day were often poorly educated, they needed to obtain a thorough understanding of Marxist ideology before they could be expected to impart folktales to the public in a manner that suited the Soviet government. Besides undergoing extensive education, many folk performers traveled throughout the nation in order to gain insight into the lives of

14364-446: The newlyweds were originally intended to secure fertility and prosperity for the couple in the years to come. (Also, "incantations", "precautions", or "whisperings" ) Charms are magic words used to accomplish a variety of tasks. Some charms might be used to banish a leshy, like saying "Sheep's mug, sheep's wool". Others might be used to imbue an action with magic, so that a ritual will be effective. One common structure for

14497-507: The operatic approach used by the bands Therion and Nightwish . According to Jeff Wagner in his book Mean Deviation , the song was a creative watershed in metal, and except for Mekong Delta , no other extreme metal band at the time had merged the genre with classical music so seamlessly. The gothic metal band Saviour Machine , which formed in 1989 and released its first studio album in 1993, has also been referred to as symphonic metal. The band Therion were influential in forming

14630-748: The opposite direction. The band Nightwish from Finland began as a symphonic power metal act and introduced gothic elements on their 2004 album Once , particularly on the single " Nemo ". They continued to mix their style of "bombastic, symphonic and cinematic" metal with a gothic atmosphere on their next album, Dark Passion Play , in 2007. The Swedish group Therion also introduced gothic elements to their brand of symphonic metal on their 2007 album Gothic Kabbalah . Bands described as symphonic death metal include Ex Deo , Septicflesh , Children of Bodom , MaYaN , and Fleshgod Apocalypse . Eternal Tears of Sorrow adds gothic/symphonic elements to melodic death metal . Haggard 's 2000 album, Awaking

14763-406: The original band's 2002–2011 lineup). The power metal band Thundercross was formed in 1993 by Luca Turilli , Alex Staropoli , and Daniele Carbonera. Turilli has said in interviews that both Thundercross and the early Rhapsody material were heavily influenced by Helloween , Crimson Glory and Manowar 's style of heavy metal, and that Yngwie Malmsteen and Jason Becker were a big influence from

14896-442: The period. Written by individual authors and performers, noviny did not come from the oral traditions of the working class. Consequently, today they are considered pseudo-folklore, rather than genuine Soviet (or Russian) folklore. Without any true connection to the masses, there was no reason noviny should be considered anything other than contemporary literature. Specialists decided that attempts to represent contemporary life through

15029-467: The population. Meanwhile, local folklore centers arose in all major cities. Responsible for advocating a sense of Soviet nationalism, these organizations ensured that the media published appropriate versions of Russian folktales in a systematic fashion. Apart from circulating government-approved faerie tales and byliny that already existed, during Stalin's rule authors parroting appropriate Soviet ideologies wrote Communist folktales and introduced them to

15162-517: The population. These contemporary folktales combined the structures and motifs of the old byliny with contemporary life in the Soviet Union. Called noviny, these new tales were considered the renaissance of the Russian epic. Folklorists were called upon to teach modern folksingers the conventional style and structure of the traditional byliny. They also explained to the performers the appropriate types of Communist ideology that should be represented in

15295-455: The release of Eternal Glory , Adacher and bassist Furlan left the band. Former vocalist of Labyrinth and Athena Fabio Lione joined Rhapsody afterwards. With these four members, the band started recording their debut album, Legendary Tales , which was released in 1997. Rhapsody incorporated classical music , baroque and heavy metal styles in a subgenre they call "film score metal" due to its resemblance to movie soundtracks. The album

15428-491: The rooster is associated with the sun, as well as good fortune and fertility. Hens often laid golden eggs and made their owners rich. "Russia a cultural resource guide" Roosters can be found all over many household items and often when there are two roosters with their heads together it was as a wedding gift to wish the bride and groom a good marriage. Bears (медведь, med'ved )- According to Russia: A Cultural Resource Guide , its Russian name, med'ved , means "one who knows where

15561-452: The second chapter to The Nephilim's Empire Saga which was released on 26 November 2021. A second single named after the title of the album was released on 9 July 2021. The third single off of the album, "Magic Signs", was released on 2 September 2021. The fourth single, "Terial the Hawk", was released on 15 October 2021. The fifth single, "Chains of Destiny" was released on 7 November 2021, along with

15694-480: The state religion of the Kievan Rus '. Just beforehand, he had pushed for worship of a pagan pantheon not native to the Russian people, but that proved largely unsuccessful. Because Christianity had already existed in the area, it caught on more easily than the foreign pagan tradition. Idols were destroyed at Kiev and Novgorod, two cities where Vladimir I had previously put particular attention into establishing

15827-590: The structure and artistry of the ancient epics could not be considered genuine folklore. Stalin's name has been omitted from the few surviving pseudo-folktales of the period. Instead of considering folklore under Stalin a renaissance of the traditional Russian epic, today it is generally regarded as a period of restraint and falsehoods. Evidence of Russian folktales exists as early as the 12th century, and indicates it had been around for some time earlier. Not much content from early folktales exists today, however, largely due to suppression of non-Christian narratives by

15960-658: The style's development was played by Italian band Rhapsody of Fire since their groundbreaking 1997 debut, Legendary Tales , first with a baroque approach influenced by Vivaldi and Paganini , and subsequently with a growing film-score-oriented turn employing full orchestras and choirs. The influence of symphonic and operatic music are equally audible in cognate bands Luca Turilli's Rhapsody and Turilli / Lione Rhapsody . Rhapsody's contributions to symphonic metal are best exemplified by short songs like "Emerald Sword", "Dawn of Victory" and "Lamento Eroico", and long suites such as "Gargoyles, Angels of Darkness", "The Mystic Prophecy of

16093-458: The success of Russian agriculture. Because from early times the Rus' had an agricultural rather than hunting or herding basis for their food production, and were not on good terms with neighboring peoples, the success of Russian society was largely dependent on the success of its agriculture. Additionally, there is thought to have been a notable focus on the feminine element in early Slavic culture, with

16226-417: The sweep and grandeur of symphonic music". The critic Chad Bowar of About.com describes their style as "the optimum balance" between "the melody and hooks of mainstream rock, the depth and complexity of classical music and the dark edge of gothic metal". The commercial success of Within Temptation has since resulted in the emergence of a large number of other female-fronted gothic metal bands, particularly in

16359-424: The symphonic metal band Leaves' Eyes . The band is one of the pioneers of the "beauty and the beast" vocal style. The contrasting styles of vocals are also sometimes performed by only one vocalist, an example of this being Ambre Vourvahis of Xandria , combining and layering her clean (and occasionally operatic) vocals with her deep gutturals on the band's 2023 album The Wonders Still Awaiting . Other bands, such as

16492-408: The term is applied by some to generically ambiguous metal bands like Epica and post-2002 Nightwish . Following heavy metal's tradition of classifying its subgenres based on the differences among the musical structures in the electric, "metal" part of bands' sound, the label "symphonic" is usually prefixed to the subgenre to which a band mostly belongs. No "symphonic metal" band being simply symphonic,

16625-451: The tour, they began recording their new album, Dawn of Victory . The first single " Holy Thunderforce " was released in 2000 with some success. The new album showed Rhapsody in a whole new light, with a more aggressive style and sped-up tempo. It continued the third part of the Emerald Sword Saga, and the orchestra still played an important part of the album, with songs such as "Lux Triumphans", "The Village of Dwarves" and "The Bloody Rage of

16758-491: The unclean force is generally associated with corrupting a place to make it dangerous and blighted, but while the rusalka is "unclean" she is also thought to promote plant growth. Animals occur alongside human characters, as well as alongside other animals. Some of the most common animals found throughout many folktales and Russian fairy tales ( Skazki ), are foxes , sheep , goats , roosters , bears and wolves . These animals are sometimes given human qualities, including

16891-417: The working class, and thus communicate their stories more effectively. Due to their crucial role in spreading Communist ideals throughout the Soviet Union, eventually some of these performers became highly valued members of Soviet society. A number of them, despite their illiteracy, were even elected as members of the Union of Soviet Writers. These new Soviet faerie tales and folk songs primarily focused on

17024-500: Was initially an opportunity for households to show generosity at the start of the new year, thus ensuring they would have a prosperous year. Similarly, copious feasting and carousing at Shrovetide was thought to encourage a plentiful harvest. On the first night after a wedding, sometimes the couple's bed would be set near the livestock, so that they might influence the fertility of their animals. Other wedding traditions, like eating eggs, singing bawdy songs, and throwing grain over

17157-419: Was largely to look after a household and the livestock. One way he did this would be by offering omens of future events, such as good or bad fortune, weddings, or a death in the family. One responsibility of a household was to please its house spirit, whether that was by managing the house well, following social customs, or even selecting livestock in the preferred colour of a domovoy . This was easy to do because

17290-497: Was listed in the official band line-up on these releases, although Holzwarth has played drums in the studio since The Dark Secret EP . The Dark Secret EP was released on 28 June 2004. It gave listeners a taste of what could be expected from the new album, labeled Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret which was released several months later in September. Christopher Lee was involved in this project, narrating part of

17423-407: Was often said to appear in the form of a current or past head of the household. However, most of the time he is seen as a hunched over, hairy old man. Typically the domovoy was perceived not by sight, but by sound. He might cause walls to creak or bang pots or sing. A domovoy was usually thought to live alone, but some accounts mention him having a wife and children. The function of the domovoy

17556-533: Was performed with the hope of evoking a related response from reality. For example, a springtime ritual of carrying around branches with artificial birds (or cookies representing birds ) on them was thought to help bring about the bird flight associated with the coming of spring. Folk magic traditions have been recorded as persisting as late as 1648 in Moscow. Practices associated with many holidays have their origin as magic rituals. Yuletide and New Year's caroling

17689-544: Was recorded in Germany by the well-known producer Sascha Paeth (Heaven's Gate), who also helped Rhapsody with their bass parts. The album was also the beginning story of the Emerald Sword Saga. The lyrics on the album (written by Turilli) often refer to mystical medieval folklore and the heroic valor of those times and are centered around high fantasy , highlighting, in particular, the everlasting fight between good and evil. In 1998, after recruiting bassist Alessandro Lotta ,

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