Helena Iren Michaelsen
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Helena Iren Michaelsen (born 2 June 1977) is a Norwegian singer. She is the frontwoman of the
symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-genre style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitars ...
band Imperia and her solo project Angel. She was the lead singer of the
gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal music, heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different ...
band
Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...
from 1997 to 2000, and was briefly the singer of Dutch symphonic metal band Sahara Dust (later renamed to Epica).


Career


Trail of Tears (1997–2000)

Michaelsen was born in Evje, and started off as the female vocalist in 1997 for Norwegian gothic metal band Trail of Tears, succeeding after Ales Vik who departed from the band that same year. Up until that year, the band had been called Natt. A year later, Michaelsen and the band recorded their debut album ''
Disclosure in Red ''Disclosure in Red'' is the first studio album by the Norwegian gothic metal band, Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additiona ...
'' in which she sang contralto vocals and contributed to writing lyrics. In 2000, she again took role of contralto vocals in their second album ''
Profoundemonium ''Profoundemonium'' is the second studio album by the band Trail of Tears. The cover art was designed by Travis Smith. It is the last album to feature female soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest ...
'', which was their last album to feature Helena. Soon after, she was replaced by Cathrine Paulsen in May of that year.


Sahara Dust (2002–2003)

Two years after leaving Trail of Tears, she was selected by
Mark Jansen Markus Hubertus Johannes Jansen (born 15 December 1978) is a Dutch guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. A prominent figure in the symphonic metal subgenre, he is known for his work with the bands After Forever (1995–2002), Epica (2002–pr ...
(who had just left
After Forever After Forever was a Dutch symphonic metal band with strong progressive metal influences. The band relied on the use of both soprano vocals and death growls. In February 2009, it was announced that After Forever had disbanded. Singer Floor Jan ...
) as vocalist for his new band Sahara Dust; but she left not long after, replaced by then-unknown
Simone Simons Simone Johanna Maria Simons (born 17 January 1985) is a Dutch singer. She is best known for being the lead singer of Dutch symphonic metal band Epica, which she joined at the age of seventeen, releasing nine studio albums and touring the world ...
. The band was renamed Epica, inspired by the album of the same name by Tampa, Florida-based
Kamelot Kamelot is an American power metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed by Thomas Youngblood in 1987. The Norwegian vocalist Roy Khan joined for the album '' Siége Perilous'', and shared songwriting credit with Youngblood until his departure in A ...
that was released the same year. Michaelsen was not present during the Sahara Dust reunion in 2022. She has also stated that she doesn't think much about her time with the band as it was brief.


Imperia and Angel (2004–present)

After leaving Sahara Dust, Michaelsen teamed up with Steve Wolz (who was to be the drummer for Sahara Dust) and the pair relocated to Norway. Upon their return to The Netherlands they formed the band Imperia. As Imperia, Michaelsen and Wolz recorded a cover of "The Lotus Eaters" by
Dead Can Dance Dead Can Dance are a British-Australian band founded in Melbourne in 1981 by Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard, before relocating to London the following year. The Australian music historian Ian McFarlane described Dead Can Dance's style as "const ...
for a double tribute album with the same title released through the Greek label Black Lotus Records. The track subsequently was included in Imperia's 2004 album The Ancient Dance of Qetesh as a bonus track. As of 2022, Michaelsen has released six studio albums with Imperia and three with Angel.


Personal life

Michaelsen's birth name was Margrethe Jacobsen, but she had changed it at the age of 18. She's married to her Angel bandmate Oliver Phillips. She has two children, a son named Joackim born in 1995, and a daughter named Angel born in 2006. In a 2021 interview, she claimed that Angel had been "kidnapped" in 2014 and was "a victim of child prostitution, she’s been neglected and abused, she’s in a terrible shape. Since I’m out of the country, this past August 2020, I’ve hired a private investigator to spy on her and this person told me that she’s quite skinny and apparently on drugs." She claimed that she had not been in contact with Angel since 2018, and that some of her songs, including "Happy Birthday Angel", were about her daughter.


Discography


Imperia

Studio albums: *''The Ancient Dance of Qetesh'' (2004) *''The Queen of Light'' (2007) *''Secret Passion'' (2011) *''Tears of Silence'' (2015) *''Flames of Eternity'' (2019) *''The Last Horizon'' (2021) *''Dark Paradise'' (2024)


Angel

Studio albums: *''A Woman's Diary – Chapter I'' (2005) *''A Woman's Diary – Chapter II'' (2020) *''A Woman's Diary – The Hidden Chapter'' (2020)


Trail of Tears

Studio albums: *''
Disclosure in Red ''Disclosure in Red'' is the first studio album by the Norwegian gothic metal band, Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additiona ...
'' (1998) *''
Profoundemonium ''Profoundemonium'' is the second studio album by the band Trail of Tears. The cover art was designed by Travis Smith. It is the last album to feature female soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest ...
'' (2000)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michaelsen, Helena Iren Norwegian women heavy metal singers Living people Norwegian heavy metal singers Norwegian women singer-songwriters Norwegian singer-songwriters 1977 births People from Evje og Hornnes 21st-century Norwegian singers 21st-century Norwegian women singers