Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Episode + Elements 2 + Destiny; let this one grow on ya ("Once" did), October 5, 2005
First off I would like to say that I own every studio album by Stratovarius including Intermission and Visions from Europe. I also own the Infinite Visions DVD and I have a shirt and a hoodie (Elements 2). Needless to say, I love this band.
A few things that I'd like to mention next for the picky metal fan: 1) There are no songs faster than an up-tempo song (like Hunting High and Low or Eagleheart's speed). 2) Several of the songs aren't anything new for the band; its as if they copied themselves for several songs. 3) This is not on the Nuclear Blast label. Its on Sanctuary Records, I believe.
There's a video for Maniac Dance on this enhanced digipak version. It was done by the same people who did Wish I Had an Angel and Nemo (both by Nightwish) and also a few of the major American mainstream bands. That surprised the daylights out of me; I was expecting an awesome video, something along the lines of Infra Galaxia by Samael, When the Eagle Cries by Iced Earth, or At the Mountains of Madness by Orphanage. Nope - there's not really a "story" acted out by actual characters; its just watching the band play and ...if my memory's correct, a girl getting into an old tub wearing a bikini. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I was happy with the opener (Maniac Dance), but it wasn't as good as most of the Stratovarius singles, such as Hunting High and Low, SOS, I Walk to My Own Song, and Eagleheart. Timo sings surprisingly low often during this song. Certainly a switch from the title track on Elements 1.
Going back to the title of the review, many of the songs are longer (3 in the 7 minute range) and sound like the Babylon-style song from the Episode album. BUT - this isn't "Episode 2"; the band took what they learned from their experiment with the 2 Elements albums and combined it with their old style to obtain yet an even newer style. Its now a unique sound that sounds as if this was a classic rock band releasing their 15th studio album (here in the year 2005). Well, Stratovarius HAS been around since the 80's and certainly must have a lot of influences from the classic rock, progressive rock, and neoclassical bands.
The songs on here are often positive (Back to Madness certainly isn't; its got a doom-metal like dialogue that ends the song) and easy to listen to. If you want more challenging music, look at bands like Time Requiem and Spiral Architect.
If you're one of those people who listens to HIM, Mnemic, Soilwork, In Flames, Messhugah, and Children of Bodom and claim to be a euro metal fan, think again - Stratovarius has once again defined an important component in European metal as a whole.
Some of you are probably scared about what I said about the music sounding unoriginal. Straight up - not all of the songs are. "Fight!!!" is a really happy but unoriginal song. In other words, they seemed to copy bands who once copied Stratovarius. Same story with "Just Carry On." Then we get to the good songs. (I don't quite get it myself, but tracks 2 and 3 just angered me in the unoriginality, especially looking back at previous songs the same songwriter has written.) "Back to Madness" is saved by the dialogue at the end; its lyrics are a bit vague, but that's good sometimes. I like this one a bit more, but I don't LOVE it.
Now we get to the songs you can have fun with. "Gypsy in Me" has an Egyptian feeling to it and is a bit more of an epic metal kind of song. Anyone who enjoys "taking off with" or "diving into" a song will love this one. I'm having a hard time figuring out what to think of "Zenith of Power"; its not a bad or unoriginal song, but I just can't seem to get into it.
"The Land of Ice and Snow" is a phenomenal near-vocal-solo "ballad" that's very original and enjoyable. "Leave the Tribe" sounds like a "part II" to Edguy's "King of Fools."
I'm under the impression that several people think "United" is the best song, yes? I agree! Musically, it's a lot like "Liberty", but lyrically, its more of a "Mother Gaia", "Infinity", or "Anthem of the World" song.
Ah! I almost forgot solos! Maniac Dance has a great solo, but for the most part, like I said - they're slow, Babylon-like / Soul of a Vengabond-like / Awaken the Giant-like songs. Jens doesn't do nearly as much on the keyboards as he did back in the Visions and Destiny era, but he's there when he's needed, like what you hear with the band Brainstorm and Trail of Tears' new album.
Overall, I recommend this to just about anyone. Now that I've heard it, I realize I shouldn't have been DYING to hear this album - I only felt that way cause it was my favorite band releasing a comeback album. This is no Visions or Episode; there's several 8.9 / 10 songs, but no like 99999/10 songs like Black Diamond or Father Time.
Also, anyone interested in whatever happened with that female singer "Miss K" that the band signed right after Timo Kotipelto left before the band broke up? I can say that she does not appear on this album.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, considering all the turmoil that preceded it... , September 17, 2005
For most bands, the release of album number eleven isn't typically any different from the ten that came before it or any particular reason to celebrate ~ unless you're a Stratovarius fan. Considering the troubles the band encountered at the end of 2003 to the beginning of 2004, the fact that this release contains the "classic" line-up that has been together since 1996's Episode is a blessing. That said, this album has somewhat of a head start due to the nostalgia factor.
As for the album itself, "Stratovarius" is the album that Elements Pt.2 should have been. The album starts with "Maniac Dance," which is your typical made-for-radio single. Fortunately, it's length is the only typical thing about it, as Stratovarius breaks their tradition of using the usual happy-go-lucky song as the first single, as "Maniac Dance" is a very, very angry song that finds Kotipelto using his voice in a way like never before. I originally didn't care for it, but after a few listens I couldn't get it out of my head. "Maniac Dance" is followed by "Fight," which is the typical up-beat song with with those corny, trademark lyrics about never giving up (not that there is anything wrong with that). "Just Carry On" pretty much carries on the themes introduced in "Fight" and is another up-beat track as well.
"Back to Madness" is a dark track that carries on the emotions found in "Maniac Dance", only the track is much, much slower (I like how Tolkki is exploring the darker aspects of life, much like on Dreamspace, probably due to his personal problems - it's a welcome change). Is that Tolkki talking at the end of the track? "Gypsy in Me" has got to be my favorite track, being an upbeat, synth-happy track (although it's strange to hear Kotipelto say "gypsy in me" for some reason - don't ask).
Unfortunately, as good as the first part of the CD is, the album comes to a grinding halt with the track Gotterdammerung (no, I'm not putting the accents in because I'm an arrogant American). I thought "Awaken the Giant" from Elements Pt.2 was a snooze fest. Described as a "real Stratovarius epic", this song is a half baked idea at best (which becomes extemely apparent when Kotipelto repeats the lyrics "zenith of power" over and over for half the song's duration). Please, can we use the word "epic" for songs like "Visions," "Destiny" and "Elements" ~ songs actually deserving of such a title.
"Land of Ice and Snow" is a decent power ballad, but nothing I'd write home about (although I though Sonata Arctica was the only band that wrote songs about the frigid Finnish tundra). "Leave the Tribe" is slow-paced rocker that is worthy of attention and "United" is a good, yet typical Stratovarius album closing song with a very likeable hymn-like quality.
The only other gripe I have about this album in general is that Kotipelto's pronunciation is not good as it has been in previous releases. However, this is mainly due to some of Tolkki's wording in the lyrics and how they coincide with the music (not gonna be like other people and complain how Kotipleto says the word universe). In the end, Stratovarius' "Stratovarius" is a worthy addition to any heavy metal music collection.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Episode + Elements 2 + Destiny; let this one grow on ya ("Once" did), October 8, 2005
First off I would like to say that I own every studio album by Stratovarius including Intermission and Visions from Europe. I also own the Infinite Visions DVD and I have a shirt and a hoodie (Elements 2). Needless to say, I love this band.
A few things that I'd like to mention next for the picky metal fan: 1) There are no songs faster than an up-tempo song (like Hunting High and Low or Eagleheart's speed). 2) Several of the songs aren't anything new for the band; its as if they copied themselves for several songs. 3) This is not on the Nuclear Blast label. Its on Sanctuary Records, I believe.
There's a video for Maniac Dance on this enhanced digipak version. It was done by the same people who did Wish I Had an Angel and Nemo (both by Nightwish) and also a few of the major American mainstream bands. That surprised the daylights out of me; I was expecting an awesome video, something along the lines of Infra Galaxia by Samael, When the Eagle Cries by Iced Earth, or At the Mountains of Madness by Orphanage. Nope - there's not really a "story" acted out by actual characters; its just watching the band play and ...if my memory's correct, a girl getting into an old tub wearing a bikini. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I was happy with the opener (Maniac Dance), but it wasn't as good as most of the Stratovarius singles, such as Hunting High and Low, SOS, I Walk to My Own Song, and Eagleheart. Timo sings surprisingly low often during this song. Certainly a switch from the title track on Elements 1.
Going back to the title of the review, many of the songs are longer (3 in the 7 minute range) and sound like the Babylon-style song from the Episode album. BUT - this isn't "Episode 2"; the band took what they learned from their experiment with the 2 Elements albums and combined it with their old style to obtain yet an even newer style. Its now a unique sound that sounds as if this was a classic rock band releasing their 15th studio album (here in the year 2005). Well, Stratovarius HAS been around since the 80's and certainly must have a lot of influences from the classic rock, progressive rock, and neoclassical bands.
The songs on here are often positive (Back to Madness certainly isn't; its got a doom-metal like dialogue that ends the song) and easy to listen to. If you want more challenging music, look at bands like Time Requiem and Spiral Architect.
If you're one of those people who listens to HIM, Mnemic, Soilwork, In Flames, Messhugah, and Children of Bodom and claim to be a euro metal fan, think again - Stratovarius has once again defined an important component in European metal as a whole.
Some of you are probably scared about what I said about the music sounding unoriginal. Straight up - not all of the songs are. "Fight!!!" is a really happy but unoriginal song. In other words, they seemed to copy bands who once copied Stratovarius. Same story with "Just Carry On." Then we get to the good songs. (I don't quite get it myself, but tracks 2 and 3 just angered me in the unoriginality, especially looking back at previous songs the same songwriter has written.) "Back to Madness" is saved by the dialogue at the end; its lyrics are a bit vague, but that's good sometimes. I like this one a bit more, but I don't LOVE it.
Now we get to the songs you can have fun with. "Gypsy in Me" has an Egyptian feeling to it and is a bit more of an epic metal kind of song. Anyone who enjoys "taking off with" or "diving into" a song will love this one. I'm having a hard time figuring out what to think of "Zenith of Power"; its not a bad or unoriginal song, but I just can't seem to get into it.
"The Land of Ice and Snow" is a phenomenal near-vocal-solo "ballad" that's very original and enjoyable. "Leave the Tribe" sounds like a "part II" to Edguy's "King of Fools."
I'm under the impression that several people think "United" is the best song, yes? I agree! Musically, it's a lot like "Liberty", but lyrically, its more of a "Mother Gaia", "Infinity", or "Anthem of the World" song.
Ah! I almost forgot solos! Maniac Dance has a great solo, but for the most part, like I said - they're slow, Babylon-like / Soul of a Vengabond-like / Awaken the Giant-like songs. Jens doesn't do nearly as much on the keyboards as he did back in the Visions and Destiny era, but he's there when he's needed, like what you hear with the band Brainstorm and Trail of Tears' new album.
Overall, I recommend this to just about anyone. Now that I've heard it, I realize I shouldn't have been DYING to hear this album - I only felt that way cause it was my favorite band releasing a comeback album. This is no Visions or Episode; there's several 8.9 / 10 songs, but no like 99999/10 songs like Black Diamond or Father Time.
Also, anyone interested in whatever happened with that female singer "Miss K" that the band signed right after Timo Kotipelto left before the band broke up? I can say that she does not appear on this album.
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by Stratovarius 
