Customer Reviews

Visions of Europe: Live

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Considering the price, this is a good cd to find out if you like Stratovarious.

I only urge you to listen to the whole cd (it gets better each time I play it)and not just snippets/sound clips because you can't judge this band that way.

This live cd is extremely well recorded.

Unlike some Power metal bands where you can use a drum machine for the drummer, the drums do shift their tempo and time

To me this is a fusion of power metal and progressive metal with terrific vocals

If I the rating was 10 stars, I would give it 8/10

Pay no attention to that other reviewer... What backing-vocal tapes? That reviewer was smoking crack. OK, this CD features some of Stratovarius's best material, recorded on their Visions of Europe tour (in Italy and Greece). It has a surprisingly clear sound for a live recording, the drums in particular sound amazing! They are such a high energy live act, they prove on this recording they can keep up with Slayer, Destruction, or any of the more aggressive acts, without losing their trademark melodic sound. Normally I'm not a big fan of ballads, but when they play "Forever", the WHOLE crowd sings along, which is incredible. And don't listen to anybody who says they are "dull" in concert, on this CD you get a little of everything: fast songs, slow songs, solos, Timo Kotipelto working the crowd with his: "oh, oh-oh oh oh" bit (yeah, it's a little reminiscent of Queen, but so what!) - Stratovarius is an arena-level act, that's part of the gig.

WHAT IS PLAYED: Of the 15 songs performed, 2/3rds are from the "Visions" (5 songs) and "Episode" (5 songs) cds with another 3 songs coming from the "Fourth Dimension" cd.

SOUND and PERFORMANCE: The production is superb and the performance is tight where band is playing together as a unit without getting in each others way, yet not rigid that the live songs are not just copies of the studio versions.

There is plenty of guitar and keyboard soloing not found in the studio versions of certain songs that add a dimension to them and avoid being a vehicle to showcase the 'chops' of the musicians.

RECOMMENDATION If you have both "Visions" and "Episode" cds, this cd will showcase many of such studio recordings being played live with the added dimension mentioned above

If you are unfamilar with Stratovarius's sound this is a good cd to investigate them.

If you like what you hear, I recommend you get the studio versions of "Visions" and "Destiny" where the other songs not played on this cd are just as well done.

This cd is a good representation of Stratovarius's overall sound, which does not change all that much throughout their recordings, BUT, why should they when they do something so well.

In other words, Stratovarius is Blues equivilant of Power/Progressive metal

To quote Frank Zappa: "While (Bluesman) Elmore James basically played the same slide guitar style in all his recordings, they were still great because when he did it you know he ment it"

For the value it offers plus the production and performance makes this cd a 9/10

This live album kicks ass. My favorites were Father Time, Forever Free and the best one in here was Holy Solos: The duel between the guitarist, Timo Tolki and the keyboardist, Jens Johansson was incredible!! What I like about Stratovarius is the vocals from Timo Kotipelto. The entire concert was great.

Ok,I must admit it.When I first listened to this CD,what I thought was that the guys were a real top quality live act.They sounded clear,and neat,no mistakes,and Kotipelto sounded good.But after attending a Strato live show,I wonder how the guys did it on this CD.I was upset when I had the chance of seeing them live.This CD was what made me run to buy the tickets for the show!!!I thought that they would sound as good as they did in this!!!But no.Kotipelto is a horrid live singer(I guess that some rabid Strato fans just don't notice that),and the set was plain and without grace.To me,now it's better to listen to this CD than remembering the absolutely forgettable and non repeatable experience of going to a live gig of this guys.

Recorded in Greece 97, this is one kickass live show. Prior to this album, I have not heard of Stratovarius. A friend lent this CD to me and I was totally blown away. The entire vibe and atmosphere of the gig was simply unbelievable. Each song flows very well and the Greek fans really know how to have a good time !

The album kicks off with the speedy track Forever Free, taken from their Visions album. This is followed by the killer mid-tempo piece Kiss of Judas. Season of Change was really excellent. This moody and dramatic piece was a perfect song prior to the introduction of Speed of Light, which really got the crowd going during the crazy guitar solo at the mid-section. My favourite bit is the outro guitar solo during Twilight Symphony. It's simply breathtaking and very emotional. Other highlights of the album includes the ballad Forever, which was accompanied only by Timo's classical guitar. Very very sweet. This had the entire Greek contingent singing away. Black Diamond was pretty solid as well, opening with a familiar sounding harpsichord lick.The set ends with Legions, which IMHO, is a truly great Stratovarius song. Minus the few hiccups at the beginning, this was an excellent song to finish off.

Overall, this is probably the best live concert that I have listen to. Timo Kotipelto's tenor-like vocals are amazing and Jorg Michael's bullet-train double-bass drumming is incredible. I felt that Tolkki's guitar should have been louder and heavier. It was really missing in the overall mix, as opposed to Jens's keys which were too audible.

Apart from that, this album is VERY HIGHLY recommended.

(how bout a live video next time, guys ?) :)

I have been a fan of Stratovarius for a while now. This cd is incredible! As the previous reviewer state, the recording quality isn't 100%, but it doens't sound poor at all. Maybe like 90%, you know? But come on, live albums never have the clear crisp studio sound. On the other hand, live albums also show the true character of a band. Here, they sound so energetic and powerful. The live recording takes place in Athens, Greece. This cd contains a medoly of their best songs. One of my favorite songs on this album is "Twilight Symphony". This cd is also a great value, it's 2 cd's for the price of one. I cannot reccomend anything more! Buy it whether your a long time fan of Stratovarius, or if you've just heard them mentioned before. You won't be let down.

Great combination of songs. "Forever Free" + "Judas Kiss" turn up the heat and prepare the audience for a full disclosure of powerful true heavy metal rock given by "Distant Skies" and "Speed of Light". I've hold one star for the band's interaction with the crowd in-between songs. I'd rather say they don't want to break out from being a pretty good studio band. When they do they will play America and Japan.

They named this one a little bit wrong. It should be named "The Best Of Stratovarius and the best of heavy metal"

Stratovarius plays a wonderful set ! The songs are wonderful, but the recording quality is not 100%.