Imperia
The Last Horizon

Sixth album by Imperia, the band fronted by Helena Iren Michaelsen who have done some exciting albums in the past. This new one gives us a great cover, done by the great Yrlund who also happens to be part of the band – talented guy obviously. I usually like this band so obviously I hope for more stuff in that kind of style when I take on this latest effort called The Last Horizon.

It doesn’t really differ from what Imperia has done before, symphonic and grand metal with female vocals. Strong melodies and choruses are the building blocks of this album, an album that offers a strong and impressive production. It might be the strongest sound they have produced, but in terms of fresh and novel ideas it is far less exciting than the stuff they did earlier in the career. It is a very ambitious album too, with over an hour playing time it just is too long despite pretty good variety and dynamics through the album. So, it may be longer and more ambitious, and grand compared with their previous works, but it isn’t really that different.

The Last Horizon is a better craftsmanship than anything the band has done before, but it isn’t as sexy or exciting as some of the previous albums that I have heard. I think that it is a good album, but it isn’t the most exciting album that I have heard. There are better albums within the genre, but a solid effort like this one will probably not go very wrong and fans of the genre will most certainly find this album very agreeable. I miss those really outstanding songs, Starlight and To Valhalla I Ride are good songs but not really that exciting. I think it is solid but unspectacular, is it perhaps a little bit too cautious?

If you like what the band have done before there is a good chance that you will like this one as well, it should be most appealing for genre fans. It is an album that few will dislike, but that might be loved by few as well. A strong production, a good and solid yet pretty unspectacular album – they may have done better stuff in the past but that doesn’t take away the strength of this album.

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