专辑简介

WARRIOR RACE is the new EP by IMPERIAL AGE - the Moscow-based symphonic metal band. The EP was recorded In Italy and Russia with special guests: - Fabio Lione (RHAPSODY OF FIRE) - Daray Brzozowski (DIMMU BORGIR, VESANIA) - Sergei Lazar (ARKONA) - Vladimir Reshetnikov (ARKONA) The release contains 3 brand new songs, a cover (To Mega Therion by and with permission from THERION - the Swedish sympho metal founders), 4 re-recoded tracks form the previous album "Turn the Sun Off!" and 3 orchestral versions of the songs. Despite a playtime of over 60 minutes, WARRIOR RACE is still an EP due to a small number of new songs and is a transitional piece of work between the first and second IMPERIAL AGE albums. The main feature of this release is the increased number of vocal types used: female vocals were introduced (performed for the first time by Corn, the keyboard player) along with low growling (performed by Sergei Lazar) and a high lyrical tenor (Fabio Lione). The overall IMPERIAL AGE sound has remained the intact - very powerful orchestral arrangements, a live academic choir (Silver Voice choir conducted by Alexandra Sidorova) and majestic, lofty melodies and harmonics. Folk elements are also strongly present in IMPERIAL AGE's music, which can be clearly illustrated by the new track Aryavarta - the song has no orchestra or choir, which is however fully compensated by the melodic part. The song contains splendid and multiple solos performed on bagpipes (Vladimir Reshetnikov), woodwind instruments, acoustic and electric guitars. Lyricwise the EP is a concept release. Al off the three new songs are devoted to the Vanir Empire (Scandinavian title - Vanaheim) - which according to the occult tradition was a global highly-developed civilization which preceded our civilization. Having come from beyond the Earth, being created as a race of warriors (hence the release title), the Vanir (later known as Aryans, original name meant "Wings", which is due to the fact that the Vanir were actually landed onto the the Earth in order to destroy Atlantis), founded their empire after destroying legendary Atlantis (the previous global empire) approximately 25000 years ago. However, being perfect warriors by nature, the Vanir could not maintain peace. The empire became divided into two conflicting states, and eventually a war followed, using the most sophisticated weapons of mass destruction, as the result of which most of the Earth's civilization was thrown back into the stone age. The latter northern remains of this empire that managed to retain some of the knowledge and technology of their predecessors are known today as Hyperborea. This name is sometimes also used to refer to the initial Vanir Empire as well. The other name of late Hyperborea is Aryavarta.