Customer Reviews

Fright Night

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you don't know, Twilight time or Stratovarius II was the group's second cd. It's only average, despite the good songs
(Break the ice or Out of the shadows for example).
Fright Night is the band's rarest studio album, but the best with
Timo Tolkki on vocals if we make the good track percentage. (Debut too)
With the exception of the filler Goodbye ( acoustic instrumental)
this work has NO DOWNS. Almost no keyboards, but inventive riffs
and AWESOME guitar solos by Tolkki as always. Tuomo Lassila ( ex-drummer) doesn't let the repetition ghost, that haunts Jorg Michael, get near.It's heavier overall but didn't lose the melodic metal attributes.

Future shock: Looks like Timo put clothes nailer on his nose to sing, but don't be afraid: it doesn't mean untuning.

False Messiah: It contains something that Jari Kainulainen doesn't do in Strato songs : bass solo (short,but well placed).
The beat varies much (thanks, Lassila!). Good chorus. One of my favourites.

Black Knight: Go, go, go ,go, go ,go! Black Knight! Tolkki's energy in this track called my attention. That guitar stroke in 2:20 ...... fabulous! He does some David Murray-esque(Iron Maiden guitarist) linking solos (turbo)in the beggining. Listen, man!

Witch hunt: Tuomo does an interesting drum solo at start, check it out.

Fire Dance: Well worked instrumental. 47 seconds mark: a rhythm that remembers the army, I like it. As in standard Strato instrumental songs, Tolkki abuses of his playing abilities.How great!

Fright Night : It's like the 2nd track ,many tempo variations.
It came closer to the progressive style.
It has my favourite riffs in the album. One word sums it all:
perfect

The 7th and 8th tracks are worthwhile too.
If you can't buy it in your country try downloading it from internet.

This is absolutely Stratovarius best album! There are no weak lenks. Tolkki sings better can you imagine. Instrumental tracks are just great ( Fire Dance and Goodbye ). My favourites songs are False Messiah and Fright Night, which are melodic heavy classics. Why I can't find these songs of Chosen Ones best of collection. This album is must buy for every Stratovarius fan and those people. Keyboards player is a real professional and he plays like a heavy metal god. Tolkki can play guitar like a master!

Being that this was the first album put out by Stratovarius, I have to say that I am impressed to hear that they were good even back then. I absolutely love this album! Obviously, its not really like their newer stuff (except for the solos, which you can obviously tell is by Timo Tolkki) but it is still one of my favorite albums of all. Every song on this one is great. The songs are unlike anything I've ever really heard. Believe me, I'm not saying this album is great only because its Stratovarius and I have to say its good no matter what, I truly mean it. Maybe not everyone would agree this album is incredibly good, but for those of you who are open minded, like Stratovarius' other albums, and appreciate early metal, you should give it a try. Besides, if you really don't like it that much, just remember, their are many other people out there who would love to have this rare album.

The author Martin Popoff in his guide to 80's metal gave this album 8/10. Which I guess equates to a four star rating here. Can't say I'm that generous but there is some quality here especially for those wanting to explore the history of this band.

Originally released circa 1989 this digitally remastered album shows a three piece band of Timo Tolkki (G + vox), Jyrki Lentonen (B) and Tuoma Lassila on drums. And it's really Tolkkis' neo classical runs that sparkle longest in the memory. The bands influences here are obviously stuff like Yngwie and also Rainbow/Dio - I mean just check out the first track. Of course one problem with this is that Tolkki as a vocalist ain't no Dio, nor even a Dougie White. And it's his limited vocals that distract me the most from enjoying this albums admittedly fairly middling proto power metal offerings more. Vox apart, the other main difference that fans of later Stratovarius permutations will note the most is the slower song structures here as opposed to the quickfire riffing of their later discs. And it makes me wish they'd done more of this in their late 90's period, you know, proper riffs with which to propel songs along at a lumbering pace. But alas they didn't.

Anyway back to this disc - my gut response is that this is a good buy for the numerous Stratofans out there. It has some good riffs you can really sink your teeth into and along with Dreamspace is the closest this band has ever come to traditional metal right down to the cover art in respect to this release. But would I recommend this three piece debut from 1989 from a very young band to the average hard rock/metal punter? Not really. This isn't the place to start your Stratovarius journey but it's an album you should come to after starting at, say, Visions and working backwards from there.

When I first listened to this cd I went "whoa" "this is great! ". This cd is one of my favorite Stratovarius albums. And I keep listening to it EVERY time."Future shock" being the first song gives you a warm welcome to this production. Also "Fright night" is good too. Every song of this cd rocks! . So, if you like melodic metal and also like Stratovarius, this one SHOULD be in your collection. It is a must!

Well... I would call this CD an average CD but this isn't really for me entirely. It came out in 1989, but it sounds a lot older than that. It sounds like something a band would come out in the very early 80s. Although I am a big fan of a few old school metal bands (like old Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Slayer) this really doesn't do it for me. It's not really that heavy for a power metal album. Certainly not for people who care for heavyness in their music. I'm not saying that softness is a bad thing in music I just think that this album would have sounded better if the production increased the sound volume a lil more. So what I am saying then, if you like something that sounds in the line of Black Sabbath and Black Label Society you well probably love this album. As for me, it just didn't do it for me. I got three albums from them so far. They are Visions (amazing album), Elements Pt. 1 (only liked a few songs here but the ones that I like are my favorites), and Episode (another awesome album). I know that they were different in the past so I was prepared to expect the difference (I love both old and new Arch Enemy, same goes for In Flames). Do not get me wrong of this but I STILL LIKE IT but just not wowed is all. If your gonna start off with this band start off with Visions. It's definitly the best way you can go.

Song ratings: 1 = lowest 10 = highest (in my opinion)

Future Shock: 6/10 Not a bad intro to the album. It kicks things up with a bang.

False Messiah: 7/10 This song has a beat that makes the album feel like it's still starting up while it's getting stronger at the same time.

Black Night: 5/10 My least favorite on here. It's not that bad but the vocalist annoys me when he says "no no no no no no".

Witch Hunt: 10/10 This song is stuck in my head so I really have no choice but to give it a 10. It's an awesome song and the rhythm will get stuck in your head for days.

Fire Dance: 9/10 The half way point of the album. It's an awesome instrumental and it launches you into the second half of the album. The drummer is a shining sun on this instrumental.

Fright Night: 10/10 Best song off the album without a doubt. It's the longest and heaviest song off the album. Very great. Sometimes I just skip to Fire Dance, listen to this song next, then just turn off the album because I just feel like listening to this gem.

Night Screamer: 10/10 Very good song. Deserves another 10.

Darkness: 7/10 Not bad. Very enchanting feeling.

Goodbye: 8/10 It's an outtro. I love albums that have these instrumentals in it cause it keeps the pace of the album will either ending of beggining it. It's a nice way to end this album. After this song ends I feel pretty majestic yet disapointed at the same time.

So this maybe wasn't my cup of tea. I probably had too much death metal is all but anyways. These are just my faults for the album. Others I'm sure will enjoy it since a lot of people enjoy the old school feeling this album brings. I woundn't recommend it to someone who likes really heavy bands such as Necrophagist, Obituary, Carcass, Death, and you get the point. I highly recommend it though to people who love old school metal. Just be warned it's not for everyone at all. Dangerously overhyped.

Finnish progressive/power metal trailblazers Stratovarius may have one of the most recognized and most imitated sounds in the European metal scene, but when they made their debut back in 1989 it was a much different story. The Stratovarius of Fright Night is a very different creature than the band we see today, and not just because the entire lineup is different now. The whole progressive power metal genre really didn't exist at that point either. On one side of the Atlantic, Queensryche, Fates Warning and a mostly unknown band called Dream Theater were writing the progressive metal rulebook, while in Europe Helloween was redefining the power metal genre.

Stratovarius would go on to play a huge role in establishing the prog/power sound, but with Fright Night they were rawer (well, as raw as a band with Timo Tolkki on guitars can get), more aggressive and had a more traditional heavy metal aesthetic. Fright Night was half Maiden and half Malmsteen. It's a very melodic album with plenty of traditional metal elements, but there's a strong technical component to Fright Night. Tolkki shreds and noodles all over the place, and turns in a pretty solid vocal performance to boot. It still has that cold Finnish polish and precision, but between the cover artwork and the songs' lyrical themes, it's just a more "metal" album overall than the band's later releases.

It's not the essential album that most of the `90s era Stratovarius albums are, but Fright Night is an uncommonly good debut from a very important band. It's a must have for Stratovarius fans, and one that just about any fan of `80s era technical heavy metal should really enjoy.

Edition Notes: Fright Night has been reissued a time or two, but so far no one has done a proper remastered reissue. In my opinion, that's long overdue.

A MASTERPIECE. NOT THEIR BEST ALBUM BUT STILL ONE OFF THE BEST EVER MADE

I love every song, this is the best work by Stratovarius

This was the last edition to my Stratovarius collection. At first, skepticism took hold of me...not for long. The melodies may not be as dramatic as on some of their newer, more symphonic albums yet the unique Strato sound is not lost. I guarantee that if you enjoy the newer music put out by this band, then this CD belongs with you!