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With singer Helena Iren Michaelsen (ex-Trail Of Tears) the multi-national band Imperia will always be placed next to bands like Nightwish and Within Temptation and the gothic metal genre. But they play symphonic metal with partly opera-like vocals.
The opener Mirror is showing well that melodic, symphonic heavy metal is their home. Musically a bit like Edenbridge, but Helena has a deeper and more powerful voice. The combination of heavy riffs and string arrangements are done very well and the powerful voice can stand up to guitars and keyboards, but in the middle part of the song Helena adds some opera-like vocals and this is in my opinion the weak spot of the song. Very fast they start into Fly Like The Wind - a melodic speed metal song, but then a break leads into a mid-tempo part and the chorus, then back to the opening theme. The backing vocals add some oriental sounds which seems to be out of place. Live this is a treat for headbangers - a neckbreaker! The melody lines of Raped By The Devil are catchy and the modern touch, the whispered vocals and the guitars doubling the vocal line at some parts make this one special. With Broken Wings they slow down a bit and in the beginning Helena sounds fragile and hurt. A symphonic balladesque track which shows a different side of the Norwegian singer. She hits some high notes here, but sounds more emotional which gives the song some depths. On Braveheart the soprano opera vocals are what would make me skip to the next song.... When the first notes of Norway come out of the speaker the folk elements let me think of some Irish folk, but it seems I was wrong.... Later some growls been added and so this is some kind of folk symphonic metal with some black metal elements. A weird combination. Well, not that weird and it can work, but here it sounds weird. Perhaps just the arrangement.... Why they recorded The Birth Of... I don't know and to be honest, it's a waste of time. With Queen Of Light they recorded a song which seems to be aimed at fans of Nightwish, but I think the opera-like vocals aren't enough to win them...
I know that Helena Michaelsen is a trained singer and some might love her opera-style vocals, but in my opinion it's the weak spot of Imperia. She is much better when she sings deep and has much more power in her voice. Using some effects on her voice like on Raped By The Devil is more interesting and might get them out of the gothic metal categorization. They try to combine different styles, but it seems that they testing the waters and can't decide where to go. There are songs or parts which I really like, but that isn't enough, coz I think others will have the same problem I do have. Before you record another album, please decide which way to go!
If you want to check them out, listen to: Mirror, Broken Wings, Queen Of Light and Raped By The Devil.
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