Review of the Album "Stained" by Finnish Melodic Death Metal Band Imperanon

Imperanon was a melodic death metal band from Finland that was active between 1999 and 2007. Their debut and only full-length album called Stained is definitely in the style of early Children of Bodom. Now if fans say that Imperanon were like Children of Bodom, they would be correct in this assertion.

The song called Memories to Dust tells of the life story of a person that has had to deal with lies, deception, and broken trust. The more mid-tempo song called Stained lyrically is similar to the previous song. I see that in this song, Aleksi sounds like Petri Lindroos of Ensiferum. The song Stained is a song about someone that is staring at betrayal in the face. He has been betrayed and now his heart and mind is filled with rage. Revenge is on his mind. But we know what the consequences of a life of revenge will be.

However the next song called Prisoner in Me is a song that musically is similar to the band called Celestial Sorrow. The main riff is so melodic and the lead interlude makes it stronger than the 3^rd song. Already two of the first four songs are very solid with Blade being the strongest of the first four songs. With this good start, the album hits a point where there is a weak spot detected by me.

Rhythm of Pain is a song that is better and it is about someone that has sweat running through their body. Their pain is so intense that they wish they were dead. Even if Imperanon was one of the “weakest” melodic death metal bands, they were still good enough to be decent for Finnish standards and possibly better than bands of the same genre from other nations. Another strength for this album is the song called Shadowsouls which sounds like a power metal song with death metal growls and female vocals. As day turns to night, we see the end is near yet it is our faith that helps us to keep on going.

As the album ends with the song The End, it might as well have foretold the end of their career. The song has a terrific catchy riff after the solo which is memorable to me. Imperanon would call it quits in 2007 after their contract with Nuclear Blast Records was not renewed. Stained is a decent melodic death metal release but it cannot compare to anything written by bands such as Insomnium, Noumena, and several other Finnish bands of the genre.