Cristiano Filippini’s Flames of Heaven was born from an idea by Epic Symphonic Composer and guitarist Cristiano Filippini in 2018. Born in Pesaro in 1981, after graduating in Law, he focused all his energy on his musical career, studying composition, film scoring, guitar, and electronic music at various conservatories and private schools in Italy. After publishing his symphonic works “The First Crusade” (2010), “Flames of Passion” (2011), and “The Best of Swords and Flames” (2015), and performing several concerts with a symphony orchestra in Italian theaters and churches, he decided to form a band to fulfill his dream, which he had nurtured since adolescence: to build a career in the world of heavy metal and hard rock. As soon as the symphonic works were released, he was contacted by singer Marco Pastorino (Temperance) and guitarist Franco Michelotti (Shining Fury), who told him they would be thrilled to be part of this new musical project, and so they began working on the first ideas. After a few years, Franco Michelotti moved to England, leaving the band. In the meantime, Cristiano composed and arranged the entire album and began looking for suitable and capable musicians to give form and substance to his musical visions, thus completing the band for the preparation of their debut album. The first to be chosen was Michele Vioni (Vivaldi Metal Project, Michele Luppi), one of the most talented and famous guitarists in the world. After joining the band, he suggested two other names for the roles of drummer and bassist. The two were Paolo Caridi (Geoff Tate’s Sweet Oblivion, David Ellefson, Reb Beach, Michel Luppi, Hollow Haze) and Giorgio Terenziani (Arthemis), who accepted the invitation and the proposal with great enthusiasm. The pianist and keyboardist roles were still open, so Cristiano contacted Alberto Sonzogni and Luca Zanon to help him in those roles, and they also began taking part in the album’s production project. The recording sessions took place in different locations: the drums were recorded at Pri Studio (Bologna) by Roberto Priori (Danger Zone); the vocals were recorded by Michele Guaitoli (Visions of Atlantis, Temperance) at The Groove Factory Studios (Udine). The orchestra (“Orchestra Sinfonica G. Rossini”) was recorded at Lunik Recording Studio (Pesaro) by Davide Battistelli. The guitars, bass, piano, and keyboards were recorded by Michele Vioni, Giorgio Terenziani, Luca Zanon, and Cristiano Filippini in their respective studios around Italy. After the recording sessions concluded, Cristiano asked Matias Kupiainen—Stratovarius guitarist and a rising star mixing engineer—to mix the album, and they met at 5b5 Studio in Helsinki to finalize the project. It was therefore natural to choose Mika Jussila (Nightwish, Stratovarius), one of the world’s most highly regarded mastering engineers, as their mastering engineer. “The Force Within” was then mastered at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, a legendary venue for heavy metal and hard rock music. Once the album was ready, Cristiano received several offers from major record labels, among which he chose Limb Music, a label that has made history in epic power metal, to release the album at the end of 2020.