Raintime was an Italian progressive / power metal band, founded in 1999. The band was initially significantly inspired by Dream Theater, and as such composed songs which leaned towards the progressive metal genre. They then recorded an instrumental demo entitled Jump in the Past.

After the demo was released, the band's original drummer quit and Enrico Fabris replaced him. Also, Claudio Coassin, who played keyboards, switched to vocals, leaving keyboards to Andrea Corona. Their sound evolved into a new hybrid and borrows elements both from extreme metal, such as death growls and lower tuning of their instruments, and from more melodic genres, especially in regard to keyboards and vocals. With this new direction, the band recorded their debut album Tales from Sadness in 2005 with Arise Records. The second "official" chapter of the band, Flies & Lies (Lifeforce), released in 2007 and produced by Tommy Handsen, gave Raintime the possibility to perform live at ProgPower USA with bands like After Forever, Virgin Steele and Sonata Arctica.