Australian costume-lovers Empire of the Sun released their lone album, Walking on a Dream, way back in 2008, and now they're finally ready to return with the follow-up. Ice on the Dune is due out in June through EMI/Capitol.
The band have previewed the disc with a teaser video, which you can watch below. This clip, which involves a mysterious discovery on an excavation mission, is decidedly more cinematic than the average album teaser. Of course, that may be due to the fact that JJ Abrams directed the trailer, which includes a brief clip of music at the end.
While many of the details surrounding Ice on the Dune have yet to be confirmed, the band have shared an enigmatic legend that functions are some sort of a conceptual background for the album. Read that below, and scroll past that to see Empire of the Sun's currently confirmed live schedule. Apparently more shows will be announced in due course.
Once, the world was pure. It was the Emperor and the Prophet who kept it thus. Each day, they charted the sun's course across the sky, guided rivers down from mountain peaks, brought rains to quench raging fires.
With the aid of their four priests, who possessed spirits of wild animals, they travelled the world tirelessly, maintaining nature's delicate balance, allowing all things to grow and flourish — always with the aid of the sacred jewel held atop the Emperor's crown…
But one night, as the Emperor slumbered, recovering from his labors, true darkness appeared. The King of Shadows, ever the bitter foe of the Empire, and all it had achieved, crept into their temple. Craving the Emperor's power, he stole the jewel from his crown– and in an instant the world was changed.
Robbed of the bulk of his power, the Emperor and the Prophet watched helplessly as their temple was torn asunder, and their priests cast far out into the world.
But even in that moment, when all appeared lost, there was one thing that the King of Shadows' black heart simply could not have imagined… The Emperor and the Prophet had never abandoned hope.
Tour dates:
5/24 Joliet, IL - Electric Daisy Carnival Chicago
5/25 George, WA - Sasquatch! Music Festival
6/27-30 Rothbury, MI - Electric Forest
6/28-29 Kansas City, KS - Kanrocksas
8/8 Oxfordshire, UK - Wilderness Festival
The band have previewed the disc with a teaser video, which you can watch below. This clip, which involves a mysterious discovery on an excavation mission, is decidedly more cinematic than the average album teaser. Of course, that may be due to the fact that JJ Abrams directed the trailer, which includes a brief clip of music at the end.
While many of the details surrounding Ice on the Dune have yet to be confirmed, the band have shared an enigmatic legend that functions are some sort of a conceptual background for the album. Read that below, and scroll past that to see Empire of the Sun's currently confirmed live schedule. Apparently more shows will be announced in due course.
Once, the world was pure. It was the Emperor and the Prophet who kept it thus. Each day, they charted the sun's course across the sky, guided rivers down from mountain peaks, brought rains to quench raging fires.
With the aid of their four priests, who possessed spirits of wild animals, they travelled the world tirelessly, maintaining nature's delicate balance, allowing all things to grow and flourish — always with the aid of the sacred jewel held atop the Emperor's crown…
But one night, as the Emperor slumbered, recovering from his labors, true darkness appeared. The King of Shadows, ever the bitter foe of the Empire, and all it had achieved, crept into their temple. Craving the Emperor's power, he stole the jewel from his crown– and in an instant the world was changed.
Robbed of the bulk of his power, the Emperor and the Prophet watched helplessly as their temple was torn asunder, and their priests cast far out into the world.
But even in that moment, when all appeared lost, there was one thing that the King of Shadows' black heart simply could not have imagined… The Emperor and the Prophet had never abandoned hope.
Tour dates:
5/24 Joliet, IL - Electric Daisy Carnival Chicago
5/25 George, WA - Sasquatch! Music Festival
6/27-30 Rothbury, MI - Electric Forest
6/28-29 Kansas City, KS - Kanrocksas
8/8 Oxfordshire, UK - Wilderness Festival
