Desert
Prophecy of a Madman
A&M Releases

With tones of Paradise Lost, Manowar, Grave Digger, Rage, Blind Guardian, Moonspell and Aria, Desert boasts a breed of dark epic metal that’s catchy, understandable and technically proficient. Vocalist Alexei Raymar brings down the desert legends in an impressive range of vocal styles from growls to operatic while all the musicians are, as the Russians tend to be, masters of their instruments. Bass (Vadim Shulman) and drums (Max Balagula) provide the sonic tapestry upon which the intricate guitar (Max Shafranski) and keyboard (Oleg Aryutkin) work stands out notably.

Alexei Raymar’s vocals have a dramatic “Phantom of the Opera” sick ringleader kind of thing going – “The Prophecy of a Madman” is a great illustration of Desert’s flair of storytelling in music.

“The Desert (In Your Soul)” is dramatic, catchy and dark at the same time. You could hear this and a few other tracks on this album both in the goth clubs and on the metal circuit.

“The Lion and the Hawk” tells about the eternal war between Christianity (the lion) and Islam (the hawk). Says Alexei, “I always wanted to write a song about the Knights Templars and also wanted to connect them with the problem of religious wars. The main question of this song is when people will stop to kill each other over their gods?”

Sacred Throne is a Manowarish call to arms of unity and brotherhood, to fight for the Promised Land! Alexei says it’s totally inspired by Lord of the Rings, Gondor for Aragorn,the lost kingdom of the lost king. But I could for sure see IDF guys blasting this from their tanks when taking on the enemy. It’s a great anthem. And a great album. Check it out and pick it up at http://am.desertband.com/