Imperial Age- Russian Metal

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Imperial Age– Symphonic Metal, Power Metal

Interview conducted on May 10, 2020

by Dan Locke

Majestic, powerful, lofty and solemn Symphonic Heavy Metal with male & female vocals, full choirs and orchestra will fill you with pure energy, inspire to do great deeds wherever you are and will always keep your spirits at the highest!

Band MembersAlexander “Aor” Osipov, Jane “Corn” Odintsova, Anna “Kiara” Moiseeva, Belf, Vredes, Max Tallion

Dan Locke: You have been around for some time. How did Imperial Age form?

Aor: Initially I had a band called Revelance. We were the regular amateur band, who couldn’t play and/or sing properly, and were mostly consuming alcoholic beverages as part of the rock’n’roll lifestyle.
Soon it became clear (to me) that nothing was going to ever come out of this, and I also started having problems with band members – they never did anything useful (except consuming mentioned beverages) and I had to do ALL the work, and bear all the costs. When it came to sharing the little profits we had (not only and mostly not monetary) though – they wanted a fair share.
So one day I simply fired everyone, including myself 🙂 Thats where Jane comes into the story – we decided to create something serious and professional, and that’s how Imperial Age was born over the next 2 years.

Why did you pick symphonic metal as your music? Aor: It has never been a question, it came naturally. We never even thought about it actually…

Jane: It’s impossible to pick your music style, same as it’s impossible for a painter to pick his/her style of painting. We write what is coming from our minds and souls, and, in our case, it happened to be symphonic metal 🙂

What was your upbringing?

Aor: I come from a family of scientists. My grandfather was a physics professor and so is my father. He emigrated as soon as the USSR collapsed, together with his family (me and my mother). We settled in the UK, first in England and then in Scotland where he still teaches at Strathclyde University in Glasgow. I spent my childhood and teenage-hood in Britain, and then went back to Russia to university and ultimately graduated from the historical faculty.
Jane: My parents are engineers. From the Soviet times they have been working in different Research Studies Institutes. I think they were shocked when, first, I decided to become a doctor, and, second, when I decided to quit medicine and do music instead.

What type of music did you listen to growing up?

Aor: First whatever my parents were listening to (mostly various types of Soviet singer-songwriters) and then as I grew up I switched to rock and then to metal.
Jane: I’ve passed through Russian pop music (which is absolute, total, 100% pure shit) at the age of 6-10 (children of this age usually don’t give a shit about music styles, so didn’t I). Then it were few years of hip-hop music and, fi nally, I came to metal music.

Why did you decide to going into music for a career?

Aor: Its all because of Jane :)) I wanted to be a politician first but then I realised its much better to conquer people’s hearts & souls as opposed to their bodies, and be loved rather than hated 🙂 Also I wrote my first piece of music at the age of 5 so it kinda came naturally too.
Jane: I think there is no person who hasn’t sung into a hairbrush in their childhood, imagining an arena full of fans. In most cases, sooner or later, these dreams come to an end when one has to earn money for a living. Music is what brings us happiness, it is what we are interested in. It is a job which we love (how many people love their job?), and it is what we are happy to spend our time on.

How did, your band did gets it name?

Aor: As a result of 1.5 years’ thinking by both of us.

Tell me about your first gig?

Aor: My first gig was with Revelance in a usual tiny underground venue, I think we had to buy 20 tickets from the promoter and sell to our friends… Needless to say, it was total crap and everyone got shit-faced even before it started 🙂 Jane: It was the fi rst Imperial Age show. It was my fi rst time on stage at all. I was extremely nervous and maybe this is the reason why I don’t remember anything from that show.

How is live music in Moscow?

Aor: Same as in most European capitals, with the only exception that foreign bands are significantly preferred over domestic ones, the latter being considered inferior. However, we received complaints about the same thing in many countries where we have played so I guess its not specific 🙂

Before Imperial Age was fully supported by its music, what were your day job?

Aor: I never had a day job in my life, but I gave private English lessons to make ends meet.
Jane: I have a medical education, and I worked as a doctor for two years. Then it became clear that music requires most of your time – if you want to do it seriously, not like a hobby.

You have been touring the world for some time as a support band for many bands. What lessons have you learn that you can pass on here about touring?

Aor: First, a lot of things and a lot of people are over-rated. They may seem big and important and wise but in the end you must listen to your own reasoning and do what’s good for you. Many people think that because they have been in the business for 30 years they know everything. Often they are very wrong because the business has changed a couple of times and they have not. In the end, the only thing that counts is how many fans you have, not what some arrogant Big Guy thinks.
Second, communication skills are everything. You have to be able to negotiate with very different people, many of them not entirely adequate, and take a lot of shit when needed. I guess its common for any artistic business though – artists are strange and emotional people 🙂

What are some of the difference of touring in Europe vs. Russia?

Jane: Hard to tell, because we haven’t toured Russia as much as EU. For what we have seen – it’s pretty much the same.

Do you still head over to Tibet?

Jane: It would be great to get there again. I hope it will happen.

Jane- How was it to leave the keyboard and go full time on vocals?

Jane: It was great, though it was a challenge. Vocals have always been my favourite instrument.

How did each of you get your nick names?

Jane: One of my good friends invented a story of how I got my nick name (it has nothing to do with the reality, but is still funny and I like it): when I was a kid, I was so fat that I looked like a corn grain.

How is the hunt for support bands for your upcoming UK tour coming?

We have successfully found two amazing support acts: Control the Storm and Midnight Prohpecy. Hoping to play the shows with them in September (dates have been rescheduled).

If you were doing a world tour. What band would you like to have as your support act?

Jane: It should be people, who want to make music their career, who are serious with what they are doing.

How does Brexit affect your touring in the UK?

Jane: It does not. We had to get visa for entering the UK before Brexit, and we still need that same visa after Brexit. There may be some changes with the customs clearance of the merchandise, but then again, there may not.

For your video The Legacy of Atlantis, it was fully supported by money from your fans. How did you get this kickstart project going?

Jane: We are really proud to be so close with our fans and we are going to maintain this direct connection, because fans are the most important value for any band.

How do you see yourselves in 5 years?