Imperanon - Stained

[dill_the_devil]

Imperanon - Stained
Nuclear Blast - NB 1256-2 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse

There seem to be a hell of a lot of bands crawling out of the woodwork these days which are made up of frighteningly young, hellishly talented kids hell-bent on giving their elders a kick up the arse. Finland's Imperanon fit into that category alongside fresh-faced deathstars Decapitated, as their average age is 20. Both guitarists are students at a prestigious music academy in Helsinki, and before they began to write their own material, Imperanon were a Children Of Bodom covers band.

Ah, hang on a minute... yep, this is an album chock-full of melodic, full-speed-ahead, blackened power metal formed directly out of the mold left by CoB, Norther and the like. The vocals particularly could be carbon-copied from a Norther album, and the songs are practically identical in compositional style to CoB efforts. However, unimaginative and derivative as this may sound, this is actually a greatly impressive feat for such a young group to create a debut album that stands on an equal footing with their influences' most impressive efforts. 'Memories To Dust' features some catchy-as-bubonic-plague lead work, thrashy mid-tempo riffage and a savage atmosphere, while tracks like 'The End' belie more of a Stratovarius and Iron Maiden influence than was previously apparent.

Sadly, however, it's all rather samey. It's difficult to distinguish each tracks from the ones that came before it, except for 'Hollow Man', which features Thunderstone vocalist Pasi taking throat duties, and 'Shadowsouls', which features an impressive female vocalist who is a total unknown to me. The polished, crystal clear production accentuates the musical expertise of the players, but also highlights the lack of imagination and identity inherent in the album. If you're a fan of this kind of fret-melting, keyboard-laden blackened melodic metal, then you're going to adore this. If you're not much of a Bodom-ite though, I'd suggest you give this one a miss.

6.5/10

Imperanon Official Website
Nuclear Blast Website

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Yeah it's not really good.

 

[[X]]

Agree with the reviewer. nice review btw!

 

[dill_the_devil]

*takes a bow* Thanks very much!

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

I agree with everything said except for the 'blackened' part.

 

[MegaDan]

I like the album quite a bit. If you listen to it loud it tears shit up.

I interviewed their keyboardist for themegalith.com if you want to have a closer look.

 

[dill_the_devil]

V.V.V.V.V. - you wouldn't say the vocals have a hint of black metal about them?

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

They do, but that's beside the point. The vocals don't constitute a black metal influence, whatsoever, as the rest of the instruments are power metal-based.