Imperial Age - 2012 - Turn the Sun Off!

(61:25; Imperial Music Russia)

Track list:
1. Turn the Sun Off! 14:15
2. Wings of Your Heart 4:26
3. Anthem of Valour 4:57
4. Hallow the Morning Sun 3:11
5. Death Guard 4:30
6. In the Center of the Earth 4:22
7. Time of Virginity 3:47
8. Battle Heart 5:36
9. Northern Lights 3:35
10. The Castaways 3:47
11. Keepers of Death 4:19
12. Funeral March 0:54
13. Vosssiyay je, Ogon Pogrebalny! 3:46

Line-up:
Aor - vocals, keyboards, arrangements, programming
with:
Maxim Kazakov - drums
Igor Korolyov - guitars
Oleg Mishin - guitars, flute
Alexandra Sidorova - vocals
Anna Erilina - violin
Andrey Ischenko - drums
Dmitry Belf - bass
Alexander Minashkin - bass
Vladimir Reshetnikov - bagpipes
Leonid Khatskevich - guitars
Anastasia Vokina - backing vocals
Ekaterina Maslakova - backing vocals
Ekaterina Volkova - backing vocals
Nikita Semenyuk - backing vocals
Vladimir Fomin - backing vocals
Artem Melnikov - backing vocals
Vladimir Krasnov - backing vocals
Denis Osmanov - backing vocals


Russian band Imperial Age, which recently relocated to the UK, started out back in 2012 in their native Russia. Initially as a solo project by composer and musician Alexander Osipov, but later on this project would develop into a full-fledged band venture. "Turn the Sun Off!" was the first album to be released under the Imperial Age moniker, and dates back to 2012, the very same year that the project was formed. The album was released on a label called Imperial Music Russia, an entity that appears to mainly have focused on arranging concerts and tours and now appears to be defunct.

It is quite the bombastic album we have on our hands here, and the phrase Wagnerian is one that often comes to mind when listening to this production. The core foundation on most of the tracks is a couple of different varieties of power metal, with a few side steps into traditional heavy metal along the way, but it is the additional elements here that makes something of a grand impact. Big orchestral textures and backdrops is something of a mainstay element, either as a fixed presence or used in more of an ebb and flow manner. With a few exceptions where the symphonic escapades are replaced by a more atmospheric laden organ presence. The lead vocals tend to be of the big and powerful variety too, and alongside the orchestral textures we also get big, layered backing vocals that add additional fuel to the Wagnerian scope of it all. This is an album that revolves around and are defined by big, dramatic and theatrical massive surges in the arrangements. Symphonic power metal that doesn't pull all that many punches.

We do get occasional lapses into more careful and atmospheric laden moments, a few songs exploring gentler landscapes and songs that ebb and flow between delicate sections and the massive energetic surges, but we are never too far away from a majestic and grandiose surge with Wagnerian properties here.

While music of this kind can become rather overpowering, this is an album that manages to avoid entering that specific shortcoming. This is due to some excellent work in the mix and production department, ensuring that all the sounds are well balanced with no single element becoming dominant to such an extent that the effect becomes a disruptive one. The sound of this album comes across as one with a just about comparable quality to one you would find on a major label release, one of those details that manages to elevate the end result up to a slightly higher level overall. If one word should be used to summarize all aspects of this album, then that word for me would be professional. From the cover art to the material and performances to the mix, mastering and production this is a professional production documenting solid craftsmanship through and through.

While this isn't an album that for me reach the very upper echelons of the symphonic metal or the symphonic power metal ranks this is a most solid creation on all levels. Just how well known this album is I really do not know, but everything I do hear indicates that this is an album that has the inherent quality required to deserve more attention coming its way. An album that should be quite the satisfying experience for those who love some symphonic metal, and in particular those who treasure this variety of metal explored in a more majestic, dramatic and grandiose manner.

Olav M. Björnsen, September 2023

Links:
https://imperial-age.com/