Off-topic:
AAAAAAAAAA wrote:Hill:
The Old House on the Hill Chapter 1: A Death in the Family - Dragonland
The Old House on the Hill Chapter 2: The Thing in the Cellar - Dragonland
The Old House on the Hill Chapter 3: The Ring of Edward Walton - Dragonland
On-topic:
Here's my iTunes review of Elysium. But first, my review of Darkest Hours and Infernal Maze (from the 2010 EP).
Review for "Darkest Hours - EP"
5 stars
"Darkest Hours" is a single from the new and upcoming Stratovarius album, Elysium. The EP it's on comes with two new songs ("Darkest Hours" and "Infernal Maze", respectively) and two live recordings of some old classics, as well as the demo version of "Darkest Hours".
"Darkest Hours" is the new album's take on "Hunting High and Low" and "Eagleheart", with some aspects similar to "Deep Unknown" (2009 single). It's very dark and heavy, but it's very short and its chorus is very positive. Pardon the pun, but it really helps you to get out of your darkest hours. The solo is short, but very good, and its beat is very catchy.
"Infernal Maze" is a break from the new sound and a return to the old sound the fans from the glory days of this band will love. "Infernal Maze" returns to that era: the intro is hypnotic, the chorus is catchy and the signature Stratovarius keyboard vs. guitar duels during the solo will absolutely blow your mind.
Review for Elysium
5 stars
Throughout the years, the people have seen Stratovarius evolve greatly. With many major line-up changes through the years, the most significant being the departure of guitarist and songwriter Timo Tolkki and the arrival of Matias Kupiainen, it's hard to expect that the band would still be releasing music, because when a great band loses a significant member like this, it will almost certainly change the musical direction of their sound. Some fans will take sides at this and say things like "Strato isn't Strato without Tolkki" and that's very understandable, but it's not the path that I have taken and if you're reading this, you probably haven't chosen that path either. Download this album and compare it with Polaris, and you'll see that it goes way above and beyond that album by far.
On Friday, November 26th, 2010, the band released "Darkest Hours" as a single on an EP along with "Infernal Maze" as a preview for Elysium. As I predicted, it would be a great album. I've already reviewed "Darkest Hours" and "Infernal Maze", so if you want to see their reviews, look for "Darkest Hours - EP" in the iTunes store (the review for them is posted above). Both are written by Matias Kupiainen.
"Under Flaming Skies" is a short but very powerful song. It was written by Timo Kotipelto, the singer. It has no guitar solo, just a guitar melody playing the melody line of the chorus. Its lyrics are extremely catchy and well-written.
"Fairness Justified" is one of the two ballads of Elysium. It's very deep and meaningful and it has a beautiful, enchanting chorus. My only gripe is that it could have been much longer. There is nothing much else to say here.
"The Game Never Ends" is written by Jens Johansson, the keyboardist. It is very catchy and OMG THE SOLO IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS EVER. THE FRICKING SOLO!!!!! O.O
"Lifetime In A Moment" is very slow and heavy and it's written by Lauri Porra, the bassist (the one who wrote Emancipation Suites 1 & 2 from Polaris). Its intro is very ominous and long, giving a kind of cold, powerful atmosphere. It's very philosophical, and its message is this: Your decisions in the now can change your life forever.
"Move The Mountain" is the second ballad from Elysium, written by Jens Johansson. It starts off with a very mysterious feeling and that leaves you with the impression that it would make a great funeral song. It's one of the best ballads released by the band, and it's up there with "Before the Winter", "Coming Home", "A Drop in the Ocean" and "Winter Skies" from their previous releases. I quite like the solo in the song because Jens is very original and he plays it in a way that is quite unusual for Stratovarius.
"Event Horizon" is the fastest off of this new album, and it just happened to be one of the songs that was leaked early. Because it is the fastest, it is very reminiscent of, and even on par with some of the famous Stratovarius classics like "Against The Wind", "Black Diamond", "Learning to Fly" and "Millennium". Not to mention that this song also has the famous fast and epic double-bass drums and guitar vs. keyboard shredding duels that make up Stratovarius.
The most epic moments on the album, though, are those of it's own title track, "Elysium". I have never heard such a range and plethora of emotions expressed this efficiently in a Stratovarius song since "Visions (Southern Cross)", "Destiny" and "Infinity" (all are title songs as well). The song is an astounding 18 minutes long but it is divided up neatly into three little parts that last about six minutes long, each having its own chorus and solo section. You can really hear how much the band has evolved in this song as it lyrically picks up from where "Emancipation Suite (2 Dawn)" left off, following the story of a dying soldier who has waged a civil war from oppression and discrimination against his culture. This song, at the end, is so powerful that it made me weep after listening to the lyrics.
This is nothing short of a great Stratovarius return album at its best. Elysium is a sign of Matias' full new integration with the band. Five songs, including "Darkest Hours", "Infernal Maze", "Fairness Justified", "Event Horizon" and "Elysium" itself; were composed by the one and only Matias Kupiainen (with some lyrical contributions by Timo Kotipelto). No doubt about it-- he is a GENIUS. The efforts from other band members are also very good.
)
?
