With previous 4 releases, DOMINE has been hailed as one of the best example of HEAVY METAL music with EPIC and POWER elements. With each new release, the group has evolved its music, adding new elements to its classic HEAVY METAL style and, little by little, they have moved from the raw and dark sound of their debut album “Champion Eternal” to the powerful, free and more mature approach of “Ancient Spirit Rising”. “Ancient Spirit Rising” is Domine’s fifth release and, as the title itself suggests, it’s a musical and spiritual come-back. Of course, “Ancient Spirit Rising” IS an HEAVY METAL album, no doubt, no shame and no regrets about it, but the boys filled it with many other things they love and they wanted to explore. They wanted the album to be METAL, with hints of HARD ROCK, PROGRESSIVE ROCK, CELTIC and ACOUSTIC MUSIC, CLASSIC MUSIC, a general 70’s feel and even some adult ROCK. They never forget about their fans and their HEAVY METAL roots but they search for the feeling of excitement they get when they listen to their favourite albums by Queen, Led Zeppelinand Rush. For the fans of straight ahead METAL, there are the super fast and soon to be live faves “Tempest Calling”, “I Stand Alone (After The Fall) and “Sky Rider”, while the EPIC METAL mongers will be rewarded by the powerful opener “The Messenger” and “On The Wings Of The Firebird” (with excerpts from Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite”). The themes of the lyrics of “Ancient Spirit Rising” move away from the Sword’n’Sorcery books references you find in Domine’s previous albums or - God forbid ! - the usual clichés of most Power Metal bands. “Ancient Spirit Rising” lyrics deal with universal themes, life, death, joy and sorrow, freedom and misery, all of which are expressed in a poetic, romantic and epic style. Swords, Conan and Dragons will probably come back some day, but this album is heavily influenced by Victorian art and spiritual questions. “The Lady Of Shalott” is inspired by the evocative painting by W. Waterhouse and by the Alfred Tennyson poem by the same name.
1. The Messenger
2. Tempest Calling
3. The Lady of Shalott
4. I Stand Alone (After The Fall)
5. Ancient Spirit Rising
6. On the Wings of the Firebird
7. Another Time, Another Place, Another Space
8. Sky Rider
9. How The Mighty Have Fallen