Q&A: Imperial Age on Bloodstock 2026, their devoted fanbase and Eminem
Featured image: Steve Dempsey
Playing the Ronnie James Dio stage at Bloodstock 2026 on Saturday, we caught up with Jane Odintsova from Russian-born Symphonic Metal Band, Imperial Age, to find out what it means to perform at the 25th anniversary of one of the UK’s biggest metal festivals.
Is this your first Bloodstock? Have you or the band been before?
Last year, I was here as a guest, just to enjoy the festival. But yeah, this year is my first time as an artist so it’s very exciting, we’re all very excited about it.
You’re the only band on the main stage who is unsigned. How does that feel for you guys?
Well, first, I would like to say that all the credit goes to our fans because as an independent band, we understand that everything we have – every bit of our success, every show, everything – is thanks to our fans. If it weren’t for them, there would be no band at all. So, to be here for the 25th anniversary, I can’t even begin to describe how it feels.
At the moment, you’re producing your newest album through crowdfunding and fan support. What does it mean to have fans who will support you and back you no matter what?
It’s very humbling on one hand, but it also gives you a lot of strength, and you start to believe in people, especially in the metal community, because people are really supportive. To be able to have this connection with the fans is something you can only earn after many long years. So, it is something that you should cherish and keep.
Where did the band originally begin? What’s the origin story here?
Well, speaking about style, we originally started as a symphonic band, because Alex, our main composer, is a fan of grand, cinematic orchestral music. But now, thanks to one of our friends, we fell in love with heavier stuff, so it kind of shifted in the direction of extreme vocals and down tuned guitars. We didn’t want to drop one thing and go and play another thing, so we decided to combine it. We want to take symphonic, operatic, power and combine it with heavy riffs, down tuned guitars with something from metal, or deathcore, and people nowadays, bands especially, have started to combine different genres.
What would you say is your biggest musical influence?
Well, the music I mostly listen to is either gothic or very heavy, so it’s completely different from what we play. Yeah, so I can’t really come up with any particular names. I just listen to a lot of music, and then a lot of ideas come to my ear.
I can definitely hear the gothic influence in the dramatic lyrics. Who writes lyrics or is it a mixture of you all?
For most of our albums and most of our songs, the music and lyrics are composed by Alex. But the new album is going to be something new in every possible sense, and also music wise. For the first time, we worked on the lyrics for the new song together with Alex. For me, it was the first time going deep into the lyrics. We really spent a lot of time, you know, checking every single word making sure that everything is perfect.
Would you say maybe you guys are all a bit of perfectionists?
Unfortunately, yes. We are all super crazy perfectionists, and it creates so much tension for us.
What was the first album that you ever bought that you remember? What got you into music?
Into metal music? Uh, oh! That would be the band called HIM. Yeah, they got me into metal, which is quite absurd because before that, I was an insane fan of Eminem. So, that was the turn!
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