Imperium - 'Heaven Or Hell'

(AOR Heaven)


Imperium is the solo project of Finnish drummer Mika Brushane and once again on ‘Heaven or Hell’ his third album he writes all the music and lyrics as well as performing the vast majority of the instruments. He is joined by a few well-known guest vocalists to bring his words to life, my favourite probably been the ever-reliable Robbie LaBlanc.


I’m a total AOR geek and from the opening bars to the closing I was blown away – I was literally in AOR heaven! If you enjoy pure AOR this album is definitely going to be on heavy rotation on the music listening device of your personal preference.

From opener ‘Love Won’t Let You’ to closer ‘Lost In Yesterday’ this album is a relentless onslaught of flourishing keyboards and stunning melodic guitar hooks. An unashamedly old school Pure AOR album that knows what it’s fans like and doubles down on it and leaves you immensely satisfied.


I could bang on about the stunning keyboards on this album till the end of time, they are loud and proud! Providing the album with a very uplifting and positive feeling. It can be extremely beautiful and the lush landscapes the Keyboards help accentuate really propel this album from enjoyable to one of the best. It is certainly the pinnacle of Imperium’s output thus far.


The album is Keyboard heavy but not overpowered by it, the guitars are as equally important in the overall atmospherics crafted by Brushane’s song writing. Soaring guitar licks and melodic hooks get under your skin with subtle rhythm work which powers the songs into your head.


The choruses as you’d expect on album of this style are massive, smooth and most importantly more infectious than a Coronavirus. The various vocalists manage to keep the songs cohesive and all of the guest performances bring out the best in the vocal melodies Brushane has written, multiple lead vocalists can lead to disjointed or musically disorientating albums, but ‘Heaven Or Hell’ manages to keep its sound all on point!


I was blindsided by ‘Heaven Or Hell’ I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it is and was left with my jaw on the floor by this pure AOR gem. Its huge smooth choruses echo the genre’s heavy hitters hey-day! There’s been some great melodic rock records this year but ‘Heaven or Hell’ is firmly at the top as one of the best of those in a pure AOR style.


9/10


Essential Track - 'Vision In A Dream'


Review by Woody

Tracklist -

  1. Love Won't Let You

  2. Heaven Or Hell

  3. Road To Paradise

  4. Vision In A Dream

  5. Dreaming On

  6. Save Me

  7. Higher Than The Sky

  8. Invincible

  9. Time Is Up

  10. Lost In Yesterday