Helena Michaelsen

AM : Helena, what is the driving force behind you, were do you find the motivation and inspiration for all your musical projects (Imperia, Angel) ?

Helena : I'm driven by doing what I want to do and I love doing it. I'm also motivated by working together with such great bandmembers. Another important thing is all the great feedback I receive from media and our fans, which also is an honor to me.

AM : How did you recruit the bandmembers of Imperia, as it is a very eclectic and european line-up…

Helena : Well, it was a different recruitment process for each member, some being friends, some via other channels. We have a great time together, all members working hard to make the band a success.

AM : Who did compose the music of the new album, you alone, some bandmembers or is it a pure team work ?

Helena : The music is composed by Jan and Audun with me doing the vocal lines and lyrics. It's working fine exchanging ideas via the Internet.

AM :I think the new album is magnificent, all sonfs are great, with superb melodies, some catchy refrains, various atmospheres, and perfect arrangements, symphonic without being too much bombastic. It's a very big evolution since de first Imperia album, do you also think so ? Why ?

Helena : Yes, I think that as well. Jan has written many songs on the album. He was not on the last album, and his skills has certainly added to the quality of the songs. Also, Audun has had more room to present his ideas on this album. As for the vocals, they are far more diverse than on Quetesh, with less opera. We are very happy with the result

AM : What are the messages, feelings you want to express in your lyrics, and what are the subjects you're talking about in "Queen of Light" ?

Helena : First of all, the lyrics are about things that happened to me the last two years. I've given a track-by-track description below.

01. Mirror (Yrlund/Michaelsen) The song is about the beauty of the world, which is so rapidly fading nowadays. It's also about my last relationship where I kind of lost myself when the other person tried to change me into somebody else.

02. Fly Like The Wind (Yrlund/Michaelsen) It's about me longing for my freedom, the freedom to be who I really am and do what I really want.

03. Raped By The Devil (Yrlund/Michaelsen) This song got two meanings. One of them is about a dream I once had, and is of course full of irony.

04. Broken Wings (Yrlund/Michalesen) I did not loose hope, I can still fly - even with broken wings. It's about the violence in my relationship almost breaking me down.

05. Braveheart (Yrlund/Michaelsen) It's about the Braveheart movie, simple as that J

06. Facing Reality (Yrlund/Michaelsen) For a while, I lost myself. I became the person he wanted me to, because I did love him.

07. Norway (Yrlund/Michaelsen) It's a tribute to my home country. I recently moved back to Norway, and I love it here. It is hard for me to listen to this song as my ex. is doing guest vocals in it.

08. Abyssum (Grønnestad/Yrlund/Michaelsen) Waking up from the hell I was going through. Although scared, the believe in fate made me take my first steps towards freedom, hoping to be saved by someone.

09. The Birth Of… (Grønnestad) This one speaks for itself, the crying of 2,5 weeks old Angel gave it the atmosphere we were looking for.

10. Queen Of Light (Grønnestad/Michaelsen) The Light in the title (as well as on the CD cover) symbolise new life, meaning that every woman giving birth to a new child is a Queen of Light. The song, including the intro, represents the lifespan from life to death, with new life arising.

11. Fata Morgana (Grønnestad/Yrlund/Michaelsen) We wanted a song with an Eastern feeling. Audun came up with the synths, which Jan then used to build the guitar riffs. Often we do it the other way around, but for this one turning things upside down made the trick.

12. The Calling (Yrlund/Grønnestad/Michaelsen) This is about me being called by names and things in an attempt to psyche me down. Lot of aggression inside of me told me that I had to get away from this abuse.

13. Missing You (Grønnestad/Michaelsen) The song is about missing someone, namely my 12-year-old son who was living in Norway while I was living in Holland. It's also about me missing my mother. Audun also put his innermost feelings into this song, and his daughter is doing the atmospheric voice in the middle part.

AM : I think that even after 10 years of singing, you go on further, getting better each time. Do you still take singing lessons ? I particularly love the fact that you become here more sober, intimate, mature, yet still being very expressive, nearly hysterical some times :)

Helena : I haven't had singing lessons for many many years, but I give singing lessons myself and like it a lot. I'm glad you like the vocals on the CD. Each song has its own atmosphere which calls for vocal variations.

AM : How about the recording of the album in studio, who did the production ?

Helena : We recorded it at Spacelab studios in Germany. Producers were Oliver Phillips and Christian "Moschus" Moos. Mastering was done by Andy Horn at the Red Room, also in Germany.

AM : You're in the female fronted gothic metal scene for more than 10 years now, how do you see the past and future evolution of this genre ?

Helena : We have seen more and more band entering this scene for the last couple of years. I think this is good, because it attracts more people to the genre and would hopefully do good for the record sales. However, many bands enter the scene, wanting to sound like someone else, this is "the easy way" and I don't really like it too much. Imperia has gone for a sound of our own all the way.

AM : What are your plans for 2007 ?

Helena : Concerts and tours of course. We have also started writing for the new Angel album.

AM : Thanks for this interview, may the "Queen of light" conquer the world !