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After the first spin, I seriously thought that this album sucked balls. What the hell happened to Stratovarius? After some more spins it became decent ( :? ) but sadly enough this is another dissapointment this year after Hammerfall and Freedom Call. I don't think that bigger Strato fans will enjoy this album...I hate the word "sellout" but Stratovarius almost sold out here IMO and some of the songs are simple and commercial, as you said. Good review though.

I like the album but it has problems.

The chorus to Gotterdammerung is just awful. Could use a bit of double bass here and there. Timo doesn't go high once.

Still decent though.

I hated this album after the first spin. I hated this album after the second, third, and so on. The only good song on the entire album is "Fight." To me, this is the only Strato sounding track. The rest is commercial garbage. 49/100, just b/c of "fight" and the production.

Good song by song review Jeff.You could have left that "Tolki was under a lot of pressure and started to crack under it" paragraph out, though.
This album is definitely one of their weakest.Maniac Dance, Fight, Gypsy In Me and United are the only songs that i could care about in this album.I hope their next effort is a better one than this.Overall this is a fair album, deserving a score of 65.

Edit: Yeah I'm a Metal LORD.

CHANGE

To some, the word change is taboo. To others, its a new opportunity and they accept it with open arms and minds.
In the metal scene, change can be either dangerous or a spark of genius. In some cases, change worked and made bands better. Sentenced is a perfect example of a bands change for the better.
Other times, change reuins bands success. Paradise Lost comes to mind. They may be still popular with a new crowd, but overall have lost and angered a larger population of fans.

Now we have Stratovarius. From 4th Dimension to Infinite, Strato had the same winning formula. With Elements, we noticed a few changes, but still typical Strato power metal. Most fans didnt mind and enjoyed the change. Others didnt as if change was something to fear. "Why change" "Why sellout" is what we hear.
Now with the self-titled album, Stratovarius have progressed even further, with a more noticable change. A few months ago when this album leaked out over the net, people were in uproar over the amount of change.
Its shit, their sellouts, there's no keyboards anymore, etc, etc. When you really listen to it, Stratovarius' structure is still pretty much the same. Lyrically, Tolki's words have always had deeper meanings, this time round, they go even further....well what do you expect, they have been through hell for the 2 years.

I am just grateful that Stratovarius were able to stay together and release a solid album, whereas other weaker bands would have called it a day and would have never heard from them again.
Some say this is a weaker album for Stratovarius.....possibly....if you compare it to their best ever albums, of course it would be weaker. I dont wanna compare albums that were made 7, 8, 9 years ago. Judge it on whats happening now.

Think about their termoil they have been through, thank the metal gods that they are still together, carefully read the lyrics, and give it another listen without thinking of Destiny, or Episode or Visions.

The review gave it a 75, i bet most of you who were disappointed in this release never expected to see that score. Infact it really deserves more of an 80-85. Masterpiece....no, but a solid and consistent album, with perfect production which we expect from Stratovarius.

What i would like to see, is both Chris' and Marty's opinions on this latest album, as they have done the most Strato reviews. Maybe a few paragraphs and a score if it isnt too much trouble please.

Overall i am happy with their latest release. Yeah, it wont work for you after just one spin, especially if you have their previous albums playing in the back of your mind. But its not as bad as what some of you have been saying. Have they really changed that much? It's not a ST.ANGER album you know. A little less keyboards, not as much double bass, a more commercial "feel" with one of the songs. BIG DEAL!

It still sounds like Stratovarius to me

Till today I have only heard The Land Of Ice And Snow on the radio, and it sounded fine, like most of Stratoballads.

I have all of their albums and it seems to me that all of them have something common but yet all of them have something special.

And by the way I liked what you have said about the CHANGE.
I like changes! Many bands wouldnt exist without it.

Like Blind Guardian, Helloween, Dream Theater...

Land of Ice & Snow is good, but it's far too short. It just cuts off.

And that bit in the middle of Back To Madness with the opera singer...oh God what the Hell were they thinking?

Still a solid album though.

Thanks But I had to include the fact that Tolki was under alot of pressure and cracked. I feel it was a significant part of what is the end result of this release. I carefully worded the back story to much of this album after reading alot of news articles about all the turmoil.

Stratovarius, In Flames, Metallica, Dark Tranquillity and Blind Guardian - My Favourite bands

5 bands, 4 new albums (latest) and with exception of Character, all have been somewhat all received with mixed reviews and quite different in style.

I do think that, Stratovarius is the stronger album of the 3 (St. Anger, STYE, Stratovarius)

I like it

ciao

this is definately one of the better Strato albums, but considering all problems they gone through, this is quite all right. yes there has been many disapointments, and unfortunately the next Gamma Ray is also one of them. at least after hearing the promo. they are heavier than before, but there aren't really any song that grab right out, after listening through it you just think "that's it?" when after i heard their previous albums for the first time, i just was stunned and thought they were amazing!

the new primal fear album is said to be real killer according to guys that recieved the promo and i am really looking forward to that one. I don't have high expectations on new helloween album, mrs god, might be the worst single they released and belongs to pink bubble goes ape album, all though the additional track to that ep isn't that bad....

this is definately *NOT* one of the better Strato albums i mean...lol

Here's the tracklist of B-sides recorded during the Stratovarius recording sessions. . . :shock:

1) I walk to everyone else's song

2) With the wind

3) Find everyone else's voice

Oh, and does anyone know how to do the maniac dance? I'm just dying to learn it!

They have changed, and yes it's quite a big deal. Stratovarius is a melodic power metal band, and it's quite clear to me that fans will be dissapointed whit less keyboards and double bass. The commercialisation doens't bother me much, I just don't think that they made this change very well. Of course it's no St. Anger, you need more than a drunk psychotic songwriter to write such an abominable piece of garbage.

I'm happy that Tolkki and Stratovarius is back on track but I had hoped for a better comeback than this.

In all honesty I only liked two of their albums...then they released those two albums 10 more times, and then the soap opera insued. Frankly I think it was just a PR scam to try and generate more interest in the band. Its now clear to me that this was true and the band has degenerated into a greater pile of crap than previously anticipated.

I've started a blog with metal reviews: http://metal-assault.blogspot.com I've put the link of metalreviews.com in the blog, I hope you don't mind.

The first album I reviewed was "Stratovarius". So here it is:

Stratovarius, after the "reality show" phase they've been through, decided to work things out between them and record a new album. But history has tought us that when a band wants to rush things and records a new album in the middle of conflicts between band members, the result isn't good. We've seen that with Metallica and "St. Anger". Here, we see that again. "Stratovarius" is the worst album this band could offer. Here is a song-by-song presentation of the album:

Maniac Dance: What an awful starter! Completely indifferent song, wannabe commercial with repetitive boring chorus. The riff could be a third-class leftover when they were recording other albums.

Fight!!!: While the tempo is pacing up and the song contains some good ideas, in the end, there is a feeling that something is missing. Again, for old Stratovarius would be piece of cake to do something great with this song.

Just Carry On: A song that every Power Metal band of Finland could feature in their album, but that's not what we expect from Stratovarius, right? Not bad, but nothing special.

Back To Madness: This song is different. It isn't something awesome, but surely has something to offer. Lots of emotional changes and instruments (including piano and cello). We even listen to an operatic male voice in the middle of the song! At last, a worthwhile song.

Gypsy In Mind: Typical Stratovarius riffing and orchestration, nice perfomance of Kotipelto. Decent song.

Götterdämmerung (Zenith Of Power): One of my favourite Stratovarius songs is "Awaken The Giant" from "Elements, Pt II" album. This one seems a lot like that, but it cannot reach its quality or its epical feeling. I like the guitar solo in the middle of the song. A good song, but one could expect more...

The Land Of Ice And Snow: This one seems like an anthem. Being a typical Power Metal fan, I like this song, the vocal line is very catchy (in my wet Power Metal dreams, this song has a guitar outburst and an up-tempo finish).

Leave The Tribe: By far, the best track in the album. Nice riffs, Kotipelto show his voice range, great chorus, short but emotional solo... Everything is fine in this song. It really stands out!

United: Typical Euro-Power Metal song, with memorable and epic voice lines and arrangements. Obviously, the title and the lyrics have to do with the band to show us that everything is fine (we hope so, of course!). Not bad...

The production of the album is, as we expected, crystal clear (although the guitars are a tad low). The album is not bad, but it doesn't have something that Stratovarius always had: Personality. This one could easily be a Timo Tolkki personal record, but not a Stratovarius one. I always expect something special from Stratovarius. This time, they kinda let me down, but they have lots of excuses, given the situation they've been through.

5/10

Please, visit my blog, as I plan to put a review every 1-2 days. Thanks!

If this is true, then I need to get Pink Bubbles Goes Ape.

I've always been a fan of Stratovarius and this album IMO is ok.. But of koz its not as good as their other albums.. They've changed their tempo.. Less keys.. Certainly not wat fans are hoping for.. But the ballads here are still nice and melodic..
Its an OK album IMO..

I think the use of less keyboards for the new Stratovarius album is a breath of fresh air. The keys in the last few albums had begun to go "over the top", taking over songs. Now with less keys, the songs are more melodic yet with the typical strato touch.
That review which was posted is ok, but felt a bit of bias against the band. The album doesnt deserve a score of 5/10, you would see that most reviews would give a 7 or 7.5, no more than 8.
For the record, i rekon maniac dance kicks ass, and one of strato's best songs...ever