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 twelve studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, and a Live DVD. Rhapsody / Rhapsody Of Fire is known for its conceptual lyrics that constitute 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 their 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 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 had left 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, the original band's 2002–2011 lineup).

The band was formed in 1993 under the name Thundercross.
In 1997 the band changed its name to Rhapsody.
In 2006 the band changed its name again to Rhapsody Of Fire.

The music of the band could be considered in their own terminology as: Symphonic Epic Hollywood Metal This was mentioned on the hype sticker of Power Of The Dragonflame.