Imperia is now a symphonic power metal band from The Netherlands and this is their second disc. Their first disc, The Ancient Dance of Qetesh, is pleasant albeit quite uninspired atmospheric symphonic metal with power metal touches. Queen of Light is a dramatic improvement in every aspect, especially the song-writing – though there are a few fillers, most of the songs are upbeat, fast and heavy with engaging hooks and poppy choruses, reminding me of a blend of the symphonic power metal of Nightwish and the lush pop metal of Within Temptation.

Their female vocalist, Helena Iren Michaelsen, is one of the most expressive I have heard in metal. Her vocal masterpiece is the 1998 disc Trail of Tears – Disclosure in Red, which is lightly progressive gothic metal. Her range of vocal styles on it is simply amazing, from soaring operatic to almost discomforting moaning, along with her distinctive "wicked witch" soprano, and every note she sings is full of passion and emotion. Although she has not repeated that performance in Imperia she still sounds fantastic and is often mesmerizing to listen to, especially in the strength, passion and diversity of her delivery. She sings more alto than soprano these days but she is still capable of heights of beauty when she chooses.

In spite of the few fillers, this is a solid, enjoyable disc in a style of metal that is fairly crowded with bands, and it came as quite a nice surprise given the mediocrity of The Ancient Dance of Qetesh and her other band, Angel. It’s nice to have Helena’s vocal talents matched again with song-writing that can do them some justice.

For more information visit the band’s MySpace site http://www.myspace.com/imperiaband or http://www.helena-michaelsen.com

7.0 / 10