IMPERANON had a contract with Nuclear Blast in 2004. During this time, they released the following album:
• Stained (info)
New blood among the ranks of Melodic Death Metal! IMPERANON are five young lads from Finland whose debut album "Stained" will undoubtedly draw a lot of attention.
Despite averaging around 20 years of age, IMPERANON (Aleksi Sihvonen – vocals, guitar; Lauri Koskenniemi – guitar; Eki Nurmikari – bass; Aleksi Virta – keyboards; Jaakko Nylund – drums) already show extraordinary talent and skill. Frontman Alexi and guitar player Lauri have even been attending the renowned Sibelius Academy of Music in Helsinki (also know for being the birthplace of the popular strings-metallers APOCALYPTICA).
IMPERANON debut effort "Stained" features ten brilliant Melodic Death songs of the highest technical quality in the same vein as CHILDREN OF BODOM, but with a considerably fresher attitude. A quick listen to such songs as 'Blade', 'Memories To Dust' or 'Stained' will silence any doubters. The album was engineered by Nino Laurenne and produced by Titus Hjelm, both members of the Finnish Power Metal band THUNDERSTONE, who added melody, strength and energy to IMPERANON's dynamic sound. Drummer Jaakko and former guitarist Asko J. Sartanen formed IMPERANON in autumn 1999.
After several line up changes, the band recorded their first demo "Until The End" in 2002. Strongly influenced by acts like SINERGY and CHILDREN OF BODOM, IMPERANON already then proved to have a good grasp for sparkling melodies mixed with powerful riffs and rough, haunting vocals. The next demo, "Imperanon", was completed in 2003 and left quite a mark amongst metal journalists and fans. Raving reviews and comparisons to popular bands such as CHILDREN OF BODOM, SINERGY and even NIGHTWISH followed and first gigs in several Finnish clubs substantiated the young band's amazing skills.
And not surprisingly, "Imperanon" went out of stock very soon. Eventually, IMPERANON's new songs led to a recording contract from the leading independent metal label Nuclear Blast.During December 2003 and January 2004, IMPERANON entered the Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki together with Nino and Titus from THUNDERSTONE to start working on full-length "Stained" – an excellent, self-contained Melodic Death album and a great debut! In spite of their youth, IMPERANON demonstrate that it's not a question of age to create mature and diverse songs. The future of Melodic Death belongs to IMPERANON!
Aleksi Sihvonen (vocals & guitar)
Lauri Koskenniemi (guitar)
Aleksi Virta (keyboards)
Eki Nurmikari (bass)
Jaakko Nylund (drums)
