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Pancio Member
Joined: 08 Sep 2014 Posts: 64 Location: Reggio Emilia, Italy
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2018 8:33 pm Post subject: Enigma: Intermission Pt.2 opinions |
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As object, your opinions about the new album are welcomed.
I'll start this thread saying that I like the three new songs, Burn me Down rythm part in particular since I can clearly hear Symphony Xish influences in it.
I like the orchestral stuff too except for Fantasy, which it's ruined by the intrusive "drums" and, for me, could have gained a lot using the sole orchestra.
Anyway I really love Shine in the Dark and Winter Skies, the first one give me goosebump during the lifting lyrics part and, tho it's a happy song, give some kind of sad vibes too, maybe old feelings and stuff like that.
About the bonus track nothing to say, the album lacks of "Endless Forest" but I really like all the tracks, tho I've already listened tons of times to them and already purchased them in japanese edition, vinyl and other "not ordinary" material.
I'll give the album a 7/10 ratings only because I want so bad a new full length and the new stuff is limited to three songs only.
Let me know your thoughs.
P.s.: I've ordered the vinyl too and I hope to take a copy of the 10" vinyl on tour, here in Milan |
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Texidor Sr. Member

Joined: 14 Jan 2005 Posts: 307 Location: New Jersey, USA
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Southern_Cross Sr. Member

Joined: 06 Jun 2013 Posts: 712 Location: USA
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AGAG Sr. Member

Joined: 06 Jun 2008 Posts: 7857 Location: El Salvador
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valo_666 Sr. Member

Joined: 25 Sep 2002 Posts: 635
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NeverendingAbyss Sr. Member

Joined: 29 Sep 2008 Posts: 4484
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SentineLEX Sr. Member

Joined: 10 Nov 2012 Posts: 413 Location: NJ, United States
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Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 3:18 am Post subject: |
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NeverendingAbyss wrote: |
valo_666 wrote: |
I miss Tolkki’s Stratovarius. Al these songs are ok but they dont hold the Stratovarius essence al all. Maybe I am being nostalgic but anyway. |
The new Strato is powerful, loud, and dark. It is a commodity to the modern power metal. I am enchanted to listen to these tracks as I feel the message within their melodies in my ear. They can be quite catchy.
Tolkki's Strato is soft, peaceful, but it is more memorable than modern Strato. The tunes were scripted in fine detail, and the lyrical ingenuity spoke to the ear and heart of the listener.
I still welcome the new Stratovarius. The new tracks are worthy to be the remnants of the former band. For all we know, the new project could have gone terribly wrong. |
Sometime in the early to mid 90s Tolkki figured out he was very, very good at doing one thing and he proceeded to do that thing over and over, while taking a few experimental steps to each side. The experimentation slowly came to a close although he tried to bring it back with RR. But in the process he gave us all the classic Strato songs we know and love.
I don't think any of the 4 guys (not counting Pilve) is by himself as compelling a composer as Tolkki was. But together they manage to fill in all their weaknesses and make a solid band. Jens is probably closest to the classic sound but is more poppy and, being a keyboarder, keeps all the interesting stuff in the keys. Lauri has a lot of ideas and if you took one hour of his songs and put them together in a single album, it would be more diverse than any actual Stratovarius album. But it would be very inconsistent, and some of his experiments don't work. Which ones? Depends on who you ask. If you ask me, it's either Falling Star or When Mountains Fall. But Fantasy seems to be a fan favorite so I guess that one does. Kotipelto also writes the same song over and over (Timo Tolkki actually complained about this a while back), but now that he's figured that out he usually restricts himself to his strength - good lyrics. Or gets help from Matias and Jani. And Matias definitely has a darker, proggier approach to his songs compared to TT, which on one hand is nice and fresh but on the other hand you're right, it's not quite as memorable as his predecessor.
I would disagree with you on Timo Tolkki's lyrical ingenuity though. I understand the occasional miss in grammar/themes here and there. I'd probably have a hard time writing good song lyrics in Finnish. But when we're talking on the level of
Quote: |
It struck me like a million lightnings
and here I am telling to you
Every second of day it is coming your way
Future unknown is here to stay
Got to open your mind
Or you will be led to astray |
And you've been writing song lyrics for 10 years, it's time to let the other Timo take a more proactive role in writing the lyrics. Or call up the guy who helped with the lyrics for Father Time. |
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oslamph16 Jr. Member

Joined: 12 Sep 2018 Posts: 4
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oslamph16 Jr. Member

Joined: 12 Sep 2018 Posts: 4
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SentineLEX Sr. Member

Joined: 10 Nov 2012 Posts: 413 Location: NJ, United States
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 4:21 am Post subject: |
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Finally listened to the whole thing through a few times. Here's some takes in no particular order:
1. This album has Lauri Porra's name all over it. I don't know if song credits for the new songs have been released. I'm guessing Jens did Burn Me Down and I'm positive Lauri wrote Oblivion; the jury's still out on Enigma. But of the 13 existing tracks on this record, 6 of them are Porra's: Hallowed, Last Shore, Fireborn, Castaway, Old Man and the Sea, and Fantasy. No previous album had so much compositional involvement from the bassist and it creates a specific sort of atmosphere having all those songs on there. Very cool.
2. On the subject of Porra's songs, I'm glad they're all here. My usual MO is to buy the vanilla album and pirate all the extras, but because they're vinyl tracks, I've had Hallowed and Last Shore in shitty quality and Old Man and the Sea way quieter than the rest of the Nemesis album. So now I got them in good quality and Strato gets some more of my money. Everyone wins.
3. Well all except one. The original Intermission had that song that Strato used to open shows with in the 90's. Requiem. So where the hell can I get the new opening in good quality? Intermission Part 3? Bonus track to the album full of bonus tracks?
4. Also Endless Forest.
5. The new songs are really nice. Burn Me Down is definitely my favorite of the 3. It's very Nemesis-like. And just like Nemesis I'm mad that there aren't any fast moments (except maybe Fireborn). Those drums in the chorus are begging to be doubled. Enigma is still an enigma at this point, but overall a net positive. Oblivion is very atmospheric, but it sounds like someone who isn't Timo Kotipelto should be singing it. And one of the biggest net positives of post-Tolkki Strato is that it's fun to play the "who wrote this song" game. Still waiting on the answer key.
6. I was a bit disappointed because I was expecting something different with the orchestral tracks. I was thinking something like this would be on the album, but between the orchestral flair, very prominent acoustic guitar, and light but by no means sparse drums, it sounded more like one of Epica's acoustic tracks at points. Specifically Fantasy and parts of Unbreakable. But removed from any expectations, they're very well done. Especially Unbreakable and Winter Skies, which at times seems like an enhanced version of the original song, and at times outright cinematic. What a great way to end the album, leaving the listener to ask for more.
7. Biggest hope for this tour is that they play one of these bonus tracks live.
10/10 would pay 9 and a half shekels to Amazon again but only if Lauri's show opener is included. |
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ZenithMC Jr. Member
Joined: 21 Sep 2018 Posts: 7 Location: United States
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 1:51 pm Post subject: |
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SentineLEX wrote: |
1. This album has Lauri Porra's name all over it. I don't know if song credits for the new songs have been released. I'm guessing Jens did Burn Me Down and I'm positive Lauri wrote Oblivion; the jury's still out on Enigma. But of the 13 existing tracks on this record, 6 of them are Porra's: Hallowed, Last Shore, Fireborn, Castaway, Old Man and the Sea, and Fantasy. No previous album had so much compositional involvement from the bassist and it creates a specific sort of atmosphere having all those songs on there. Very cool. |
I found the credits for Enigma here. I can't verify their validity, but they're probably correct.
A few years ago, I was planning on buying the collector's edition of Elysium just for the exclusive tracks. Now that they are included on this release, I'm glad that I didn't. It's great to finally have them in digital format. |
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SentineLEX Sr. Member

Joined: 10 Nov 2012 Posts: 413 Location: NJ, United States
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Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2018 4:02 pm Post subject: |
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ZenithMC wrote: |
SentineLEX wrote: |
1. This album has Lauri Porra's name all over it. I don't know if song credits for the new songs have been released. I'm guessing Jens did Burn Me Down and I'm positive Lauri wrote Oblivion; the jury's still out on Enigma. But of the 13 existing tracks on this record, 6 of them are Porra's: Hallowed, Last Shore, Fireborn, Castaway, Old Man and the Sea, and Fantasy. No previous album had so much compositional involvement from the bassist and it creates a specific sort of atmosphere having all those songs on there. Very cool. |
I found the credits for Enigma here. I can't verify their validity, but they're probably correct.
A few years ago, I was planning on buying the collector's edition of Elysium just for the exclusive tracks. Now that they are included on this release, I'm glad that I didn't. It's great to finally have them in digital format. |
All 3 by Matias? Wasn't expecting that. |
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Empathica1928 Sr. Member
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mocobhc Sr. Member

Joined: 16 Feb 2010 Posts: 751 Location: mitten im Kraichgau
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NeverendingAbyss Sr. Member

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SentineLEX Sr. Member

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Carn Jr. Member

Joined: 01 May 2017 Posts: 13 Location: Brussels.. I mean Athens
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Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 5:01 pm Post subject: |
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I love it !
Most of the songs I didn't have, except the Nemesis vinyl ones so it's a real pleasure and discovery. The three new songs are amazing, in my humble opinion, Oblivion remaining my fave, maybe because i listened to it more than 30 times before the two others.
I'm more mixed feeling about the orch. versions, as they're totally not what I expected. Fantasy is okay, because the lyrics kinda suit with that style, and Winter Skies is pretty nice too (like the acoustic guitar solo ). I'm less into ShineitD and Unbreakable, I'm a bit "eh" about them.
Also I love, LOVE the cover ! I wanna scan the LP cover in high rez and print it for my wall. °w° I as sad to see that there were no Crystal&Fish shirt as tour merch. ( I also rly like the cd booklet band pic, 5 Big Moods in one pic ) |
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Pancio Member
Joined: 08 Sep 2014 Posts: 64 Location: Reggio Emilia, Italy
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Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 8:36 pm Post subject: |
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Hey guys, I'm back.
Sorry for the delay but I'm always busy with work and stuff, if not I try to visit the forum as a guest twice a week so I'm actually reading all the replies.
About the credits from Emigma I can confirm that Matias is involved in every new song.
Enigma: Music by Kotipelto, Liimatainen and Kupiainen Lyrics by Kotipelto
Burn me Down: Music by Kupiainen and Iivo Kaipainen (member of Arion, where the brother of Matias play drums) Lyrics by Kupiainen and Iivo and Ilari Kaipainen (brother and sister, I guess)
Oblivion: Music and Lyrics by Kupiainen and Francisco Cresp (if I'm not misled he actually work with Matias at 5by5 studio as producer)
After a lot of listening session I confirm what I've said before: Enigma is good, I love the new three songs and the orchestral tracks are good too (still I don't like the poppy hipster version of Fantasy, too weak for me and with an annoying drum beat).
The bonus tracks are good too, expecially those from Jens.
About the tour what can I say?
Yesterday I was in Milano and the show was great.
Timo was on fire and give us one of the best performance I've ever seen.
Destiny, Hunting High and Low, Black Diamond and Forever Free were full of power.
Of course they've downtuned the songs half a tone and Kotipelto sometimes struggle in the mid-high register, but his high register is fantastic, listen to Forever Free, if you want, I have already uploaded the video on youtube along with Oblivion, 4000 Rainy Nights and Destiny too.
Oh, and Timo confirmed the new album and tour for 2019, they will be in studio after this tour and a couple of gigs in Finland sooooo... Cross fingers, I hope in an old school progressive vibe like Elysium (the song) mixed with the new progressive style of Nemesis, both with a big power metal vein in it, like My Eternal Dream and The Lost Saga.
Ok, guys, reply as you wish
P.s.: the videos from yesterday gig
4000 Rainy Nights:
https://youtu.be/6py17Ek37V8
Destiny:
https://youtu.be/4ECpQOWfDSQ
Forever Free e Oblivion:
https://youtu.be/CzEA1N6bf2c |
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NeverendingAbyss Sr. Member

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Empathica1928 Sr. Member
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Carn Jr. Member

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lucaf9397 Jr. Member
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