Imperia - Dark Paradise

Angry Metal Guy 40

You all know this is corsetcore. You saw the computer-generated snake and apple, read the album title. The only thing that could make it more obvious would be the heavily airbrushed and photoshopped vocalist in Victorian dress. Alas, you’ll have to make do with a woman who’s been turned into a tree instead. Imperia is not a household name like Nightwish, but don’t count them out just yet. Helena Iren Michaelsen helped found both Epica and Trail of Tears, and has been hammering at the road with this particular outfit for 2 decades, with Dark Paradise the 7th attempt to claim the spotlight. Dear Doom in his probationary period did not approve of their prior output,¹ so does the new one fair better?

Well… Somewhat. In my experience with corsetcore, the genre itself is not usually the problem. A nu-metal band would have to actively skirt the archetypes of the genre to be any good. Corsetcore, on the other hand, could easily take a similar position as power metal, a lighthearted, grand, and fun experience with a lot of room for variety and identity. Its purveyors just seem to stumble on a wide variety of obvious obstacles, over and over and over again. Grating electronics awkwardly crammed into the composition? “Better Place” starts the album with them and “Reflection” kills its verses with them. Mawkish balladry? The album finishes with not one but two, of which “Lost Souls” is the grandstanding variety and “The Demons’ Fireplace” the small and melancholic. The lead vocals suddenly adopting the voice of Snow White’s evil stepmother in her old crone disguise while still singing opera? I must admit, that one was new, but “Void of Emptiness” takes a hard right into unintentional comedy with it.

But amongst everything embarrassing, there’s a lot of decent material. When Michaelsen eschews the opera, her voice is strong, warm and clear, and the songwriting has plenty of solid hooks, both vocal and instrumental. “Better Place” has a rousing chorus that makes it easier to forget the misplaced synth beep-boops, and “Soldiers of Hell” uses MENA scales and actual growls to paint an effective picture of an army marching through the desert. “Reach My Tears” is probably the strongest track here though, with an infectious tin whistle melody that recalls the better works of Eluveitie. Whereas Doom complained about Imperia’s lack of restraint with its orchestrations, Dark Paradise is a more balanced affair, where the guitars get to do more than dull background chuggery and the canned symphonics don’t blow everything else out of the water.

And yet, the overall impression I walk away with is ‘messy.’ Variety is the spice of life, but Imperia doesn’t seem to know when to use which spice. When Michaelsen does employ her operatic vocals, it feels arbitrary more often than not. From awkward mismatches between phrasing and meter to perfunctory instrumentation that distracts and detracts from the flow, Imperia leaves few opportunities to throw a wrench in its own works. Even the better tracks aren’t free from this over-embellishment; enjoying “Reach My Tears” to its fullest requires ignoring a hard tonal clash in the pre-chorus when the vocals go from melodious build-up to a poorly contrasted yell before slipping back into harmonization.

It’s frustrating because all the elements are here for Imperia to make a really solid symphonic power metal album. Michaelsen has an excellent voice, the stronger compositions have some solid, banging choruses, and there’s plenty of variation and imaginative songwriting. Even the production is a step up from the average of its contemporaries, who frequently crush the orchestra to glue. When this band’s on fire, it has the potential to join the top of the genre. But with 100 toys at their disposal, Imperia feels the need to use at least 99 of them, whether well-advised or not. Dark Paradise is a lurching journey with many bumps along the road, and by the end, my stomach feels more shaken than my heart does stirred. But if you have a soft spot for this stuff, do give it a whirl, because you’re sure to pick up a few tracks for your NightWithinEpiDelAranthe playlist.



Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Massacre Records
Websites: imperiaband.com | facebook.com/imperiaband
Releases Worldwide: July 26th, 2024

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