Band : Imperia
Album title : Secret Passion
Label : Massacre Records – 7Hard
Distributor : Suburban - Bertus
Release Date : 25/03/2011
Release : CD

If you like your music with a lot of bombast, orchestral, yet also heavy, with an almost angelic voice, then you should certainly give this album a try.

Being a cross border band, consisting of members from Norway, Finland, Belgium and Germany, Imperia is fronted by Norwegian born  Helena Iren Michaelsen, who is not only gifted with a fantastic voice, but has also a more than nice physical appearance.  But it’s her voice that’s her trademark, being a classical trained singer, she has just the voice needed for this music, with heavy elements, as well as more opera-like parts.

As a matter of fact you might describe Imperia’s music as a sort of cross-over between Gothic Metal and heavy metal, but where Gothic Metal often starts to get boring after a few songs, Impera’s register is wider, causing more variations in their songs.
This is a superb album.  Not too Gothic, not too metal, but a sound mix of both, with even some pop influences once in a while.  But there’s also one track that should not have been on the album if you ask me, because it’s a disco-track.  Not that it’s bad, but after listening to 2 excellent rock songs, this is too much of a change.

94/100

Erik Morren.