Albion

Albion is a Music Project started in 1972 by Alexxis Zelazny who wanted to do what Pink Floyd was doing after hearing their albums. Afterwards, he became increasingly interested in Progressive Rock and has led to the release of Five Progressive Rock Albums, but the Project shifted throughout the 80's and the 90's. Eventually, Albion became well known for their versitility as musicians to play different Genres.

Foundations (1972-1973)
After Zelazny's former group the Hands of Destruction was disbanded, he had finished trying to create another group, but hit a roadblock where he wanted to do Progressive Rock rather than Heavy Metal like his preceeding bands. Shortly after a while, he finished listening to A Saucer Full of Secrets by Pink Floyd, he was inspired to create a group with the same mindset, only he wanted it to be temporary.

He gathered all the original members of the Hands of Destruction, but drummer Kevin Tennyson recently died in a Car Accident while driving under the Influence. Shortly after the Funeral, Zelazny learns Kevin wanted him to have his collection of Novels and Artwork. Among the books, he found a book by William Blake and was then interested by the word "Albion".

He found a new drummer and in turn, named the band Albion without a second thought. Zelazny said,

"It doesn't surprise me that the name sounds interesting. I've always been a big

fan of the special and unique names. So Albion holds not only as a special name,

But as the reminder of my late friend Kevin Tennyson, so It fits."

They signed a deal with EMI Records for up to Five Albums and began recording in 1973.

The First Knights (1973-1978)
The first album the Project recorded was The Mysteries of Albion, which garnered little success mainstream, but was a cult classic in the Progressive Rock World. they decided to change a few things to make the next album interesting by changing the recording location, changing equipment and learning new techniques. In 1975, the Project recorded Reawakening which became a major hit in the Progressive Rock World and garnered attention on Mainstream Charts.

The next album, Embers of Dying Gods, was contraversial, touching on topics of Authoritianism and Anarchism and became the first concept album done by Albion. It received Mixed, but mostly good reviews from reviewers and made it gold. The next album, Orion's Sins, was released in 1978 and shortly afterwards, the Project broke up and Zelazny didn't bother with it for two more years.

The Second Knights (1980-1984)
In 1980, Zelazny wanted to revive the project, but because of the decline in Progressive Rock, he wanted to do what was new: Synthpop. He gathered together a new team instead of an old one and began titling the group members, Knights of Albion. He said, "Albion needs support, so he needs his Knightly men who will save him from pitiful fall."

He began recording two Albums in 1981 and released on EMI, I Sing the Body Synthetic, which became a major hit on many different Mainstream Charts and earned Albion a Grammy for the Album. In 1983, they released the next album titled, Space Raiders, being the second most selling album by Albion ever. In 1984, the group broke off again and Zelazny focused more on his Solo Career than on the group. Shortly after breaking off, Guitarist Patrick Wight died of Lung Cancer after a long battle for five months.

The Third Knights (1989-1997)
After Zelazny finished his recent Solo Album, he gathered a group of Four Musicians to help him create another "Session of Albion", to which he meant to restart the project again. Zelazny then finally began recording in a studio out in Geneva to receive an Idea of what they were doing. He decided to create a mash up with several different Genres and try to create an album "Out of Place and Genre".

They Recorded the album Pleiban Concerns, which experimented with Electronic, Ambience, Dark Wave, Hard Rock, Pop and Alternative Rock. It garnered success on many different charts and won the Grammy for Best Album of the Year in 1991. In 1993, the group recorded another album based upon the theme of William Blake's "the Four Zoas" narrative Poem and created Blake's Prophecies and was experimenting with Progressive Metal and became the driving force for the 90's for them.

In 1995, they recorded their album, October Winds, their only Halloween-Themed Album. In 1997, they recorded their final album together in the 90's called Hammer to Fall, which featured the last vocal song done by Alexxis Zelazny before his Surgery on his Vocal Cords to improve it and prevent total vocal loss.

The Fourth Knights (2001 - Present)
Zelazny began exploring Video Game Music and decided to look for an employer who wanted Video game music. After finding Phil Durham to give him employment, Zelazny began gathering another group of Musicians. He then decided to take on the genre of Medieval Folk Music and Folk Rock.

His work on Fallwind and other games have garnered him several rewards from the IGN, while allowing him to explore his own Musical creativity. He also began recording an Opera he wrote in 1986 and released it as Le Fantom, which became a number one hit on the Classical Charts.

He is currently still employed to record music for Fallwind and is recording a new album entitled, Twisted Horizons. He then planned to do a big project that lasted for five years. The finished product was a new album called Bark at a Raindrop, which shortly became the number one album on the charts.

They are currently on Tour around the world and are promoting Fallwind and are selling more than 500,000 albums daily, a record for any recording artists.

First Knights (1973 - 1978)

 * Alexxis Zelazny (Vocalist, Guitarist)
 * Tom Sawyer Brown (Guitarist)
 * Slevin Brombinsky (Bassist, Vocalist)
 * Choo Lun Yao (Drummer)

Second Knights (1980 - 1984)

 * Alexxis Zelazny (Vocalist, Guitarist, Keyboardist)
 * Patrick Wight (Guitarist, Vocalist)
 * George Hatratty (Bassist)
 * Hyman Wroclaw (Drummer)
 * Quentin Rorino (Keyboardist)

Third Knights (1989 - 1997)

 * Alexxis Zelazny (Vocalist, Guitarist, Keyboardist)
 * Vladimir Boranomov (Bassist, Keyboardist)
 * Ashton Irov (Drummer)
 * Roland Hardee (Keyboardist)

Fourth Knights (2001 - Present)

 * Alexxis Zelazny (Vocalist, Keyboardist)
 * Derek Armstrong (Guitarist, Vocalist)
 * Frederich LeDuc (Percussions)
 * Peter Gaffrey (Bassist)

Studio Albums

 * The Mystery of Albion
 * Reawakening
 * Embers of The Dying Gods
 * Orion's Sins
 * I Sing The Body Synthetic
 * Space Raiders
 * Pleiban Concerns
 * Blake's Prophecies
 * October Winds
 * Hammer To Fall
 * Twisted Horizons
 * Bark at a Raindrop

Soundtracks

 * Fallwind: Legend of the Snowfrost
 * Mask of Iron
 * The Battlefield of Rorin
 * Fallwind: Ildruni Hymns
 * Sacred Songs
 * Hymns From Fallwind
 * Fallwind Collections
 * Protectorate: OST