It’s certainly been a long time coming. After three years, five cancellations and a mountain of visa and paperwork issues, Russian Symphonic Metal meisters, Imperial Age, finally made it aided and abetted by a fiercely loyal fanbase who never wavered in their belief that their metallic heroes would one day make it back to these shores.
Fronted by the triple lead vocal assault of tenor Alexander Osipov; mezzo-soprano, Jane Odintsova and soprano, Anna Moiseeva joined on this tour by Dutch bassist Tim Schilling due to Dmitry Moiseeva’s last minute visa hitch along with Scottish guitarist, Ryan Thomson and new drummer Manuele Di Ascenzo.
The last time Imperial Age stood on a stage in Newcastle they opened for Therion almost five years ago. The band have come a long, long way since then, growing in scope and ambition with their latest release, New World, reaching dazzling heights in one knockout album.
For two hours, Imperial Age delivered an epic set of majestic Symphonic Metal which offered something a little different to their peers. The three vocalists traded lines between bringing a refreshing take on the well-worn symphonic theme as Alexander’s strong tenor vocals were complimented perfectly by those of Jane and Anna and together they combined to produce some exquisite harmonies on the likes of “Windborn”, “To The Edge Of The Unknown” and “Turn The Sun Off”.
Prior to “Distant Shores” Alexander announced hot off the press, that he and Jane have been endorsed as “Exceptional Talents” for the Global Talent Visa application to the UK giving them residency rights in the UK and ultimately British citizenship. The proclamation that Imperial Age would, from this moment on, be a British band, was met with a huge roar with people running to the stage to shake their hands. Alexander was moved to tears as was their Tour Manager, who heard the news for the first time with everyone else. Quite a moving moment.
If one song sums up Imperial Age perfectly, it must be set closer, “Call Of The Towers” – an absolute monster of epic proportions going through many musical twists and turns along the way driven by the impressive drumming from Di Ascenzo. It’s fair to say that everything that makes Imperial Age such a compelling band is distilled into this one song. Stunning stuff.
There’s something deeply heart-warming about this tour and the hurdles that Imperial Age had to vault to get here but the end result was a triumph over adversity and was well worth the wait.
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