Hello!

Here you can talk about Stratovarius and related bands. Language used is English.
Post Reply
chawthornebales
Jr. Member
Posts:3
Joined:Fri Oct 23, 2015 8:38 pm
Location:Nottingham, England
Hello!

Post by chawthornebales » Fri Oct 23, 2015 8:42 pm

I'm new to this forum. I'm Charley, 15 years old and a massive rock/metal fan. Stratovarius is one of my favourite bands along with AC/DC, Status Quo, Iron Maiden, Europe, UFO, Black Star Riders, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Whitesnake. My favourite album is Nemesis closely followed by Eternal. Halcyon Days, Abandon and Few Are Those are my favourites.
"For few are those who
See with their own eyes
Few who feel with their own hearts"

User avatar
SentineLEX
Sr. Member
Posts:523
Joined:Sat Nov 10, 2012 7:23 am
Location:Seattle, United States

Re: Hello!

Post by SentineLEX » Fri Oct 23, 2015 10:38 pm

Hi Charley!

Which other Strato albums have you listened to?

chawthornebales
Jr. Member
Posts:3
Joined:Fri Oct 23, 2015 8:38 pm
Location:Nottingham, England

Re: Hello!

Post by chawthornebales » Fri Oct 23, 2015 11:04 pm

SentineLEX wrote:Hi Charley!

Which other Strato albums have you listened to?
Visions, Elysium, Dreamspace, Polaris, Episode. Will get the other albums eventually. Is Elements any good?
"For few are those who
See with their own eyes
Few who feel with their own hearts"

User avatar
SentineLEX
Sr. Member
Posts:523
Joined:Sat Nov 10, 2012 7:23 am
Location:Seattle, United States

Re: Hello!

Post by SentineLEX » Fri Oct 23, 2015 11:15 pm

chawthornebales wrote:
SentineLEX wrote:Hi Charley!

Which other Strato albums have you listened to?
Visions, Elysium, Dreamspace, Polaris, Episode. Will get the other albums eventually. Is Elements any good?
It's polarizing is all I can say. Especially Elements 1. I personally love the Elements albums and the title track is my favorite Strato song, but you can find a lot of people on this forum that both agree and disagree with me.

There's a relatively unbiased description on Reddit:
Elements Pt. 1(2003)- The first word that comes to mind when I think of this album is immense. Its the full realization of the sound Tolkki has been working towards since Destiny, which is a more grandiose, bombastic sound. Nearly every track on here is a mid tempo epic that thunders along with huge chorus after huge chorus. Throw in that only one song(excluding the instrumental), is under five minutes and the 'immense' description is pretty fitting. Much like the progression from Fright Night to Twilight Time, Infinite to Elements 1 is essentially the same style but with the latter being more focused and refined. The keyboards and (even more so)the orchestral parts completely dominate this album, leaving little room for anything else. This is especially apparent on tracks like Soul of a Vagabond, fantasia and the title track. And this is where we find the problem a lot of people have with this album. This just doesn't feel like a Stratovarius album. Tolkki seems more focused on being a composer instead of a guitar player and that guitar driven power metal that they dominated the 90s with just isn't there. Many would go so far to say its a toothless shell with no edge to it. The album does have Eagleheart and Find your own voice(Which is absolutely spectacular) to give us some semblance of the golden days, but at this point its safe to say its a different band. This would be come apparent in the next few years. If you're like me and drawn to more theatrical music and can appreciate “sugar coated� metal you might want to check this album out. If you prefer the more traditional stuff, this album isn't for you.
Elements Pt. 2(2003)- The guys would return later in the year with Elements II. In retrospect a pretty misleading album title considering it shares practically nothing with the brilliant departure that was Part 1(Despite being written during the same time). Infinite part 2 would have been more fitting because this is a return to the sound that was prevalent on that album. By this time though, drama had reared its ugly head and the band was starting to fracture from within. This album feels like a band that is drowning and the flailing is doing nothing and despite getting a few gasps of air here and there(I'm still alive, Dreamweaver and Know the difference.) the bands end is near. The same problems with Infinite are again the same problems with this album. A band going through the motions by stealing from themselves to put out an album that none of them really cared about. Elements I worked because it was essentially a passion project by Tolkki, like he could sense the end coming and wanted to get his magnum opus out before it all came crumbling down. Even the enjoyable songs here seem more out of nostalgia than actual quality. I do legitimately enjoy Know the Difference, Johansson absolutely destroys that track, but other than that i'm just looking for that sense of similarity. Check this out after you already have a firm comprehension of what the band is and what they were capable of. If you start with this it could skew your opinion.
I'd say if you were to listen to them, go Destiny -> Infinite -> Elements 1 -> Elements 2.

chawthornebales
Jr. Member
Posts:3
Joined:Fri Oct 23, 2015 8:38 pm
Location:Nottingham, England

Re: Hello!

Post by chawthornebales » Fri Oct 23, 2015 11:25 pm

SentineLEX wrote:
chawthornebales wrote:
SentineLEX wrote:Hi Charley!

Which other Strato albums have you listened to?
Visions, Elysium, Dreamspace, Polaris, Episode. Will get the other albums eventually. Is Elements any good?
It's polarizing is all I can say. Especially Elements 1. I personally love the Elements albums and the title track is my favorite Strato song, but you can find a lot of people on this forum that both agree and disagree with me.

There's a relatively unbiased description on Reddit:
Elements Pt. 1(2003)- The first word that comes to mind when I think of this album is immense. Its the full realization of the sound Tolkki has been working towards since Destiny, which is a more grandiose, bombastic sound. Nearly every track on here is a mid tempo epic that thunders along with huge chorus after huge chorus. Throw in that only one song(excluding the instrumental), is under five minutes and the 'immense' description is pretty fitting. Much like the progression from Fright Night to Twilight Time, Infinite to Elements 1 is essentially the same style but with the latter being more focused and refined. The keyboards and (even more so)the orchestral parts completely dominate this album, leaving little room for anything else. This is especially apparent on tracks like Soul of a Vagabond, fantasia and the title track. And this is where we find the problem a lot of people have with this album. This just doesn't feel like a Stratovarius album. Tolkki seems more focused on being a composer instead of a guitar player and that guitar driven power metal that they dominated the 90s with just isn't there. Many would go so far to say its a toothless shell with no edge to it. The album does have Eagleheart and Find your own voice(Which is absolutely spectacular) to give us some semblance of the golden days, but at this point its safe to say its a different band. This would be come apparent in the next few years. If you're like me and drawn to more theatrical music and can appreciate “sugar coated� metal you might want to check this album out. If you prefer the more traditional stuff, this album isn't for you.
Elements Pt. 2(2003)- The guys would return later in the year with Elements II. In retrospect a pretty misleading album title considering it shares practically nothing with the brilliant departure that was Part 1(Despite being written during the same time). Infinite part 2 would have been more fitting because this is a return to the sound that was prevalent on that album. By this time though, drama had reared its ugly head and the band was starting to fracture from within. This album feels like a band that is drowning and the flailing is doing nothing and despite getting a few gasps of air here and there(I'm still alive, Dreamweaver and Know the difference.) the bands end is near. The same problems with Infinite are again the same problems with this album. A band going through the motions by stealing from themselves to put out an album that none of them really cared about. Elements I worked because it was essentially a passion project by Tolkki, like he could sense the end coming and wanted to get his magnum opus out before it all came crumbling down. Even the enjoyable songs here seem more out of nostalgia than actual quality. I do legitimately enjoy Know the Difference, Johansson absolutely destroys that track, but other than that i'm just looking for that sense of similarity. Check this out after you already have a firm comprehension of what the band is and what they were capable of. If you start with this it could skew your opinion.
I'd say if you were to listen to them, go Destiny -> Infinite -> Elements 1 -> Elements 2.
I'll get them albums whenever i can, hopefully in the next few weeks.
"For few are those who
See with their own eyes
Few who feel with their own hearts"

User avatar
Tero-75
Member
Posts:280
Joined:Wed Jun 11, 2008 11:23 pm
Location:Piikkiö, Finland

Re: Hello!

Post by Tero-75 » Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:55 am

And as you can see this forum allows quite a few trollers so better get used to them right away :D

User avatar
AAAAAAAAAA
Sr. Member
Posts:3585
Joined:Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:37 pm

Re: Hello!

Post by AAAAAAAAAA » Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:16 am

Hahahahahahaha

What an introduction .

"Release the hounds!"

InfernalMaze
Jr. Member
Posts:16
Joined:Sun Aug 26, 2012 5:48 pm
Location:Belgium

Re: Hello!

Post by InfernalMaze » Tue Nov 03, 2015 8:47 pm

Welcome!

I enjoy listening to every Strato album: make sure to buy them all, best spent money ever! :-)

Post Reply