This is one album not to be ignored.

The subgenres of Heavy Metal have grown to such epic proportions that it has simply become exhausting. Although labeled as "Atmospheric Power Metal," Imperia seem fit very comfortably in the subgenre I know as Gothic Power Metal. Semantics aside, this is one album not to be ignored.
Helena Iren Michaelsen's vocal delivery is simply elegant and compliments the instrumental backdrop with cinematic excitement. Imperia gets down to business with little fanfare and after a brief twenty second keyboard introduction, the band races into action.

Conceptual or not, Imperia clearly understands album flow as 'Tears Of Silence' plays with great balance. It charges out of the gates with a series of intense compositions but contrasts that urgency with calming moments including 'Away,' 'Friheten Vil Seire' and 'My Screaming Heart'. The urgency returns for the last third of the album which finishes plenty stout. Their collective talents enable them to harness the intensity of Heavy Metal ornamented with an orchestral flare and blended with the vocal persuasions of Michaelsen to create an impressive offering.

'Motherlove' is an immediate highlight which clearly illustrates the fact that Imperia is not only able to create a cohesive body of work, but can deliver a song which would please the mainstream and find its way into radio rotation as well as many a digital play-list. Rather than the sum of its parts however, '...Silence' is best served as a whole. There is nary a fault to find from composition, musicianship or production perspectives and all fans of this style (The Unforgiven, The Murder Of My Sweet, Kerion, etc.) will be remiss if they pass on '...Silence.'

For those who harbor reservations when it comes to entertaining a Female-Fronted, Heavy Metal band in any particular genre, 'Tears Of Silence' will convince even the most incredulous of souls that it is a vibrant and flourishing movement.

Brent Rusche