Customer Reviews

Twilight Time

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

 

 

Stratovarius took me by surprise. For some reason known only to me, I was expecting a progressive metal album a' la Dream Theater. Wrong. Perhaps the name Stratovarius fooled me into thinking that they were going to show off their instrumental prowess in plenty of soloing. Instead, this is almost (I'll come back to this almost) a straight power metal album. Something that would make Gamma Ray, Helloween or Nocturnal Rites proud. Band leader and main songwriter Timo Tolkki has written a solid album of power/pop metal tunes. This came out in 1993, when I was not paying any attention to metal at all (I have since seen the light, heh heh), so it could be that this type of sound was innovative at the time. There is a significant amount of symphonic embellishment in the music, I can see where bands like Rhapsody may have gotten their inspiration from. That is the main function of the keyboards, providing lush backgrounds for the music, and this is where Stratovarius differs from bands like Gamma Ray. A notch against the album are Tolkki's vocals. They are adequate, but just so-so. Perhaps he knew so too, because he soon after hired a killer singer in Timo Kotipelto.

Yes the early days when Timo Tolkki was on vocals. Perhaps in a more forgiving time I'd love stuff like the ripping lead cut which psychologically is pretty mature stuff for a young rock band. And lets face it - these guys were just starting out at this point.

And that's just it - there isn't much here to tell you that these guys would later write stuff like Black Diamond or Hunting High & Low. And without the signature vox of one Timo Kotipelto it doesn't feel like Stratovarius to a later convert like me. And a poor mix doesn't really help but they probably had to hide the vocals a bit.... sorry Mr Tolkki.

I was a little dissapointed to buy this album again and find out that it's only a reissue, this is definately not remastered. If you have the older version it's just as good as this. I'm sure all the other Stratovarius album reissues aren't remastered either.

Huge improvement over their debut Fright Night. Songwriting is almost as good as on Dreamspace even though more straightforward. Production also head above better but still lacks a bit. Twilight Time isn't as melodic or powerful as for example Fourth Dimension. It combines carefully crafted melodies and hooks (typical for Stratovarius' later albums) with more traditional and straightforward heavy metal creating very unique sound that was early Stratovarius. The strong aspect of this album is the fact that there ain't really any weak songs even though few of them might be not-so-likeable at first.

"Break the Ice" is a great hard rocker with surprisingly strong vocals from Tolkki (and his English pronounciation is actually better than Kotipelto's).
"The Hands of Time" is the most groundbreaking song (and also one of their all time best) with mindblowing beginning that clearly inspired many musicians like Edguy's Tobias Sammett (listen to the song "Vain Glory Opera", very similar beginning isn't it).
"Madness Strikes at Midnight" is the first of two more traditional metal tracks with eerie melody in the beginning, somehow catchy with nice solo.
"Twilight Time" also one of all time best, quite varied with changing tempo, nice slow chorus and heavy riffing and again nice solo.
"The Hills Have Eyes" a bit similar with "Madness..", eerie beginning but afterwards turns out as a nice rocker with catchy groove.
"Out of the Shadows" sounds very happy and light after few heavier songs, slightly similar with "The Hands of Time" with very catchy chorus.
"Lead Us in to the Light" fantastic and almost hypnotic slow-tempo epic-ballad-thing, one of the most succesful compositions from Tolkki.

Very underrated album and one of Stratovarius' finest moments. This album clearly shows that Tolkki had vision that he succesfully continued to fulfil on Dreamspace. It's creative in certain limits, not like Dreamspace which is creative as a whole. This is the last Strato album where you can still hear traditional 80's heavy metal influences elsewhere than just in solos. I'll give this one 4.5 stars!

When I heard Fouth Dimension from Stratovarius I thought it was the major example of B-O-R-I-N-G power metal, but THIS...this album shows how to put you in sleep. I'm amazed! Stratovarius has managed to capture some good moments, thou', but they certainly are NOT on this album. Yuch!

Twilight Time is the second album of Stratovarius, released 1992. The album was awarded in Japan as "best foreign album" - and it surely went to right address.

The band (Timo Tolkki-guitar/vocals, Jari Behm-bass, Antti Ikonen-keys and Tuomo Lassila-drums) didn't got a record deal in Finland, and they released on their own "Stratovarius II" as a successor to the debut "Fright Night". A finnish band Antidote heard the album and took it to Germany while touring in there. They gave album to Shark Records and the album was released again with name "Twilight Time". Jari Behm left the band for musical reasons and Timo Tolkki played the bass sections in the album. Soon after releasing the album Jari Kainulainen came to band and still plays in Stratovarius.

For me the main reason of buying this album was the second track "The Hands Of Time", which is in my opinion one of the greatest songs ever. And the seven other tracks ("Break The Ice", "Madness Strikes At Midnight", "Metal Frenzy", "Twilight Time", "Hills Have Eyes", "Out Of The Shadows" and "Lead Us Into The Light") are also great songs. Tolkki isn't as good vocalist as the recent Timo Kotipelto (althought, there arent many better ones), but TT's voice fits to the songs.

When Stratovarius released their compilation "The Chosen Ones", the fans had a change to vote the songs of the album. This album included three of 16 "most wanted"-songs: Twilight Time (2nd, only Black Diamond had more votes), The Hands Of Time (4th) and Out Of The Shadows (7th). In my opinion this album is the most underrestimated album of Stratovarius - one of the most underrestimated metal bands.

Finnish progressive/power metal trailblazers Stratovarius issued their second album in 1992. Initially titled II (how inspired), it is better known by the title it was reissued under - Twilight Time. When you consider the fact that no one who performed on this album is still in the band, and that the European progressive/power metal sound really didn't exist in 1992, it's no surprise that Twilight Time is a very different album than the Stratovarius releases that followed it.

It may not be the Stratovarius most fans are familiar with, but Twilight Time is still a very strong heavy metal album, and one that I tend to take off the shelf a lot more than I do the band's later works. Something about the more primitive sound - from the lyrics to the production to Timo Tolkki's vocals - just seem more metal somehow, and have a less sterile sound. I particularly dig the metal anthems "Break the Ice" and "Madness Strikes at Midnight." The band obviously had improved since Fright Night. The Malmsteen-style shredding was still there, but the songwriting was stronger and you can definitely hear the signature Stratovarius sound beginning to emerge, especially on songs like "Twilight Time" and "Out of the Shadows."

It's not the essential album that most of the `90s era Stratovarius albums are, but Twilight Time is still a very enjoyable metal album, and a good preview of what the band would eventually become. Fans of the classic `80s metal sound in particular should get a lot out of this album.

Edition Notes: Twilight Time 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.

Twilight Time is the second Stratovarius album and is one of the three to feature Timo Tolkki (guitarist) on vocals. I own all three "Tolkki era" albums and most "TK" era (the newer singer) and feel I can give an honest Stratovarius fan review. If you're new to Stratovarius I highly recommend checking out either Episode, Visions, Infinity or Elements Pt. 1 first.

Onto the album, right away, compared to first album "Fright Night" the band seems tighter and the production is much cleaner. The addition of keyboard really show in this album compared to sometimes instrumentally challenged Fright Night (only guitar, bass and drums). Tolkki's vocals are also much better here, but be warned, you'll swear this is a 1980's metal album if you didn't know any better.

Let's take a look at the songs:

1. Break the Ice: a decent rocker with lyrics about shy people(?) coming out of thier shell. Ah hits close to home ;). Cool but not great. 7/10

2. The Hands of Time: An instant classic. Timo's voice is amazing here and the lyrics are great (similar to the later Seasons of Change). 10/10

3. Madness Strikes at Midnight: A creepy slow intro builds up then drops down, insert awesome riff and the songs begins! For a song about a madman on a killing spree, it's actually really cool! I felt the mid section start to loose interest a bit, still a great song. 8/10

4. Metal Frenzy: I expected a in-your-face shred fest, but that's not the case here. The best part: the unexpected ending! 7/10

5. Twilight Time: Another cool instant hit song that deserves the album to be named after it. 8/10

6. The Hills Have Eyes: Awesome creepy intro and another cool song. 8/10

7. Out of the Shadows: Unlike the Iron Maiden song of the same name, this rocker is upbeat and happy~ish! 7/10

8. Lead Us into the Light: I found this one the weak link of the album, especially for a closer, too slow and rather boring. 6/10

Overall:
Twilight Time is a fun album, better than Fright Night but not as good as the third album Dreamspace. If you're getting into Stratovarius this isn't a place to start, the latter material sounds nothing like this, but hearing the sound evolve is very interesting!

Similar Bands I recommend:
Sonata Arctica, Nightwish, Angra, Edguy, Heavenly, Dragonforce

You know, it is funny when 1 album, a sophmore effort at that, could make or break someone's ultimate opinion of a band. I suppose that it is no wonder that most of the music community seems so fickle when it comes to music and the tween generation is so easily swayed to what someone deems a 'good' music. (I'll get off the soapbox for a moment...)
Twilight Time is a good disc from a great power metal band. When listening to this album though, one must realize that this was back in the early 90's and a sophmore effort by this band. The music is quite good, but also quite empty in some sections. For me, the standout songs are Out of the Shadows, the Hands of Time, and Twilight Time. These songs are quite commercial but do sound good. This album does chronicle the journey that Stratovarius has been on. It does not sound like the newer albums, but you can hear hints of it starting here. There is a very airy quality to it with more ethereal keyboards rather than the soloing that Jens does on the newer music. Timo Tolkki also sings on this album and his voice is good, but it just does not come across as a 'dedicated lead singer' type voice (like Timo Kotipelto's does). The music has a lot of reverb on it. I personally like it, because I like 80's music. If you listen to this one and then Dreamscape, this one will be more commercial than Dreamscape. Dreamscape is much darker thatn Twilight Time. If you compare this one to any from Episode to now, it will be much different. If you are a collector of Strato music, then get this one. If you like 80's metal not unlike Yngwie Malmsteen, then you will like parts of this album. If you are expecting music like what Strato sounds like today, you will be not be terribly happy. Overall though, it is a good listen and has neat parts in it.

1. Break The Ice
2. The Hands Of Time
3. Madness Strikes At Midnight
4. Metal Frenzy
5. Twilight Time
6. The Hills Have Eyes
7. Out Of The Shadows
8. Lead Us Into The Light