Stratovarius Community

You can hear the new song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtrpZoAnIDY

You know it sounds a lot like Rhapsody.

Wow. Just wow.

It's only half of the song.

NeverendingAbyss wrote:You know it sounds a lot like Rhapsody.

+1
and that fuckin snare is too damn high

adrian9 wrote:

NeverendingAbyss wrote:You know it sounds a lot like Rhapsody.

+1
and that fuckin snare is too damn high

I don't think it sounds like Rhapsody, Rhapsody are more "power/epic" oriented and less "progressive" and, of course, they haven't Jens,Matias,Lauri and Kotipelto behind, not even Luca Turilli shredding across the songs.
About Rhapsody, I like the two Symphony and a couple of other songs, but Strato are too much above them in production,songwriting and charisma,and I state it as italian guy!

About the snare volume...is high because the frequencies of the drum part are more "penetrating" and, since the song I've uploaded is recorded with a phone and not directly from the radio streaming, the level are unbalanced!

fuck wrote:It's only half of the song.

I know, just imagine what the second half will bring us!

I loved Shine in The Dark and Lost Without a Trace and I am not convinced about Lost Saga.

Sure it has a good intro (when the song started was like "oh god, I will be fuckingmindblowed") and some superb rhythm guitars (for me, Stratovarius lacks of rhythm guitars live)and the soloing is mindblowing but I don't know, separately there are magnificent things but as a song and as a whole concept/idea/structure it does not convince me at (and it is not for the bad quality sound). Perhaps with more listens...

Pancio wrote: I don't think it sounds like Rhapsody, Rhapsody are more "power/epic" oriented and less "progressive" and, of course, they haven't Jens,Matias,Lauri and Kotipelto behind, not even Luca Turilli shredding across the songs.

I think Lost Saga reminds me of the speedy songs from Legendary Tales and Symphony of Enchanted Lands I. Of course Rhapsody is more epic, but this song has the earlier elements of Rhapsody, combined with the modern Stratovarius sound.

Interesting to say the least.

Reminds me of the song Visions

I wasn't going to listen to this until I heard comparisons to Visions and early Rhapsody. Then I had to listen.

I don't hear either of those in this, but I do think it is absolutely incredible how this band continues to evolve with every album, and I love what is going on in this song.

Cannot wait to have this album in my hands.

Empathica1928 wrote:I wasn't going to listen to this until I heard comparisons to Visions and early Rhapsody. Then I had to listen.

I don't hear either of those in this, but I do think it is absolutely incredible how this band continues to evolve with every album, and I love what is going on in this song.

Cannot wait to have this album in my hands.

The full song is structured like Visions.

is the first half really 7 and a half minutes long?

the youtube video won't actually load for me, for whatever reason.

I personally don't like it. And it doesn't sound like Stratovarius

doc_holliday wrote:And it doesn't sound like Stratovarius

And what does Stratovarius sound like, if I may ask? Like Dreamspace times, like Fourth Dimension times, like self-titled-times, like Polaris, like Elysium, like Nemesis, like Jens, like Timo, like Lauri...?
(I guess you get me by now)

Last time people were bitching about how way too modern and electronic Halcyon Days was, but it's a cool song and fits into the album, and now it's part of Stratovarius discography. And you have heard only half of the song...

I didn't listen to it so far and I won't. It was great to hear two songs already, but that's more than enough for now. As much as I like to hear the album, but I want to hear it IN FULL. And I simply can't stand another terrible-quality-piece. Hope they won't let the radio stations play even more.

mocobhc wrote:

doc_holliday wrote:And it doesn't sound like Stratovarius

And what does Stratovarius sound like, if I may ask? Like Dreamspace times, like Fourth Dimension times, like self-titled-times, like Polaris, like Elysium, like Nemesis, like Jens, like Timo, like Lauri...?
(I guess you get me by now)

Last time people were bitching about how way too modern and electronic Halcyon Days was, but it's a cool song and fits into the album, and now it's part of Stratovarius discography. And you have heard only half of the song...

I didn't listen to it so far and I won't. It was great to hear two songs already, but that's more than enough for now. As much as I like to hear the album, but I want to hear it IN FULL. And I simply can't stand another terrible-quality-piece. Hope they won't let the radio stations play even more.

I like halcyon days. I think it does sound like Stratovarius: it has nice melody. It doesn't exactly sound like old Tolkkivarius, but it does sound like modernvarius. But lost saga has no melody. and if it does, it sucks (in my opinion).

mocobhc wrote:

doc_holliday wrote:And it doesn't sound like Stratovarius

And what does Stratovarius sound like, if I may ask? Like Dreamspace times, like Fourth Dimension times, like self-titled-times, like Polaris, like Elysium, like Nemesis, like Jens, like Timo, like Lauri...?
(I guess you get me by now)

Last time people were bitching about how way too modern and electronic Halcyon Days was, but it's a cool song and fits into the album, and now it's part of Stratovarius discography. And you have heard only half of the song...

I didn't listen to it so far and I won't. It was great to hear two songs already, but that's more than enough for now. As much as I like to hear the album, but I want to hear it IN FULL. And I simply can't stand another terrible-quality-piece. Hope they won't let the radio stations play even more.

:luv1: Oh, how I agree with you. 9000 times...

mocobhc wrote:

doc_holliday wrote:And it doesn't sound like Stratovarius

And what does Stratovarius sound like, if I may ask? Like Dreamspace times, like Fourth Dimension times, like self-titled-times, like Polaris, like Elysium, like Nemesis, like Jens, like Timo, like Lauri...?
(I guess you get me by now)

AMEN.

mocobhc wrote:

doc_holliday wrote:And it doesn't sound like Stratovarius

And what does Stratovarius sound like, if I may ask? Like Dreamspace times, like Fourth Dimension times, like self-titled-times, like Polaris, like Elysium, like Nemesis, like Jens, like Timo, like Lauri...?
(I guess you get me by now)

I think I see what the doc brown means,
the stratovarius we all fell in love died when tolkki left, and thas hard on many long time fans, and now that the guys are trying new stuff and directions is even harder to embrace, they distance further of the tolkki songwriting style in every album (I believe thats the goal)
I like some stuff and im buying this album, but god knows im more of a die hard fan of the old stuff way more that recent outcomes.

I am a die-hard fan too but ... come on guys, Stratovarius are always Stratovarius and the band is much better now than it was in 2005!
Think about it, Tolkki wrote a lot of beautiful songs, but that was long time ago, today he can not pull off a single decent song without someone's helping him and, if he had stayed in Strato, he probably would not have ever worked with other guys, and this would have completely destroyed the band.
So it's better to have a band with new members that cooperate with each other and that are able to innovate their music rather than having a dictator who constantly recycles his ideas.
This is what I think, I'm open to new ideas, and even if it's true that I'm very nostalgic for the good old days, it is also true that I love this band and I consider Statovarius at 100%.
About the song, I think it sounds like Visions in the structure but it is much more like the second part of Elysium(for general feeling), Nemesis(for the arrangement) and Out of the Fog(for heavy interludes and riffs).

adrian9 wrote: I think I see what the doc brown means,
the stratovarius we all fell in love died when tolkki left, and thas hard on many long time fans, and now that the guys are trying new stuff and directions is even harder to embrace, they distance further of the tolkki songwriting style in every album (I believe thats the goal).

Very true, and that's exactly what a band should do if it doesn't want to repeat itself constantly. No one gains anything when they keep delivering Hunting pt. 2, Black Diamond pt. 3 and Eagleheart pt. 15. And of course taking new directions means that there are people who like the new stuff and people who don't, that's just a matter of taste.
In my opinion this band doesn't have a future if it doesn't develop its own new style, otherwise it ain't much more than a coverband.

+ what Pancio said.

Personally I didn't really get into Stratovarius until I heard the Nemesis album, so I kinda started out with the newer sound, then went and listened to Tolkki era stuff. I think both Tolkki and post-Tolkki era is great, but different, and to me, that's just because of the different band members. I like Tolkki era music, I think he was incredible in his prime, but he was kind of controlling. You didn't really get Jens or Kotipelto writing much when Tolkki was around. I think now there's just more creative freedom. But the new stuff still sounds awesome, still sounds like Stratovarius to me.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't, honestly.

Tolkki may have penned some of the greatest power metal anthems ever written and helped usher in a new age of power metal, but let's be honest, many of his riffs, melodies and lyrics were self-derivative album after album after album. With Matias in the band I haven't heard that, I've heard diversity, experimentation, and bold attempts at injecting new life into an old, familiar style.

Modernvarius is every bit as good as Tolkkivarius, to my eyes and ears. And, dare I say, more willing to take risks. It's a group effort, which is really nice to hear.

One thing I hope for Eternal is more interesting drum parts. Maybe a drum solo somewhere, or some proggy rhythms here and there. I absolutely love Rolf's work on Nemesis.

As far as Lost Saga goes: from what I heard (I only listened to it once), it's structured similarly to Visions, but I think it's still a cool song. It's a far cry from the Stratovarius of the 90s and 2000s, but this is not the Stratovarius of the 90s and 2000s. It's like a well-oiled machine with upgraded hardware - out with the old, in with the new. There's absolutely no reason for them to be writing songs with vocals in the stratosphere the way they used to - it destroyed Timo's voice then and it would kill him now.

Empathica1928 wrote:There's absolutely no reason for them to be writing songs with vocals in the stratosphere the way they used to - it destroyed Timo's voice then and it would kill him now.

I fully agree on that one, and it's really a shame. I mean, Timo's voice is still great, but he's definitely lost some of his range.

What is this? A thorough analysis and respectable debate going on in the Stratoforum?

Anyway, we have yet to listen to the whole album. I must say, when I first listened to Halcyon Days I was skeptical of the outcome. It is a song that grows in you the more you listen to. And then the album was released and so were my millions of sperm.

I don't think I will be disappointed. The guys have done a great job impressing us. Keep it up!

NeverendingAbyss wrote:What is this? A thorough analysis and respectable debate going on in the Stratoforum?

Anyway, we have yet to listen to the whole album. I must say, when I first listened to Halcyon Days I was skeptical of the outcome. It is a song that grows in you the more you listen to. And then the album was released and so were my millions of sperm.

I don't think I will be disappointed. The guys have done a great job impressing us. Keep it up!

True true. But they haven't disappointed me yet so I can't see why they would now.
Also, control thy sperm.

I hope there are blast beats on eternal.

is not like if you like old strato you cant enjoy the new...thats not the case.

I really like the song! don't know...since now, the album seems is gonna be amazing.