Stratovarius Community

IMHO, Stratovarius made three great albums: Episode, Visions, Destiny.
Those albums were bold.
Then, with Infinite album, Stratovarius started to climb higher, maybe not in a musical aspect, but in the meaning and conception. Lyrics most of all. That's why, I think, Tolkki started to write them all without letting other members to write lyrics as before. He had a 'vision' about world and universe, and he climbed up.

Both Elements are actually great and big albums. Maybe they were not what everybody was waiting to hear musically, but listent to the lyrics of 'Papillon', 'Luminous', 'A drop in the ocean', 'Season of faith's...', 'Elements', 'Alpha & Omega'. They continue to the meaning of 'Celestial dream', 'Millennium', 'Infinity', 'Mother Gaia' and so.

Maybe that quantum leap in Tolkki's mind and art (among other personal things I think) made him fall in crisis and put Stratovarius in the dead line. But now they are reunited, I see the chance for everything to be healed by music. I think next record will be much similar to 'Episode' and 'Visions'.

But I'm sure in the distance we'll realize both Elements are great and 'high' in concept.

I don't have anything to say except that was a wonderfully touching&insightful post-----I think you are right about many things you stated!

The subject matter of both Elements delved into deeper material than Strato had ever done before and people, I believe, started feeling more&understanding more of what TT was trying to get across to people with his music. The E2 Album had some of the most soul touching/searching lyrics I have ever heard. I think TT was on an inner quest during the Elements period&he blessed us with his thoughts and feelings in these albums.......maybe he was crying out for help in some way, or simply expressing himself in a way that we can accept.
Whatever. I hope this album will continue the expression of TTs mind&heart. I know it will be good!
That is not assumption or speculation, but faith based on observation.

i don't get why episode is bold...?.?....?........?........
it's a masterpiece

Well, I have stated it many times, that the dearest album for me is Elements Part I. I listened to it so many times, and mostly, when I was preparing for the Elements concert. It was a good time.

In my humble opinion, and as I know, most of the fans' and non Stratofan metal heads', Visions is the best album.

But the next album should not be Elements, nor Visions. It must be something new.

Sure something new. I hope that TT still writes the music from his heart included with his thoughts.. Most Strato fans, I think don't like E1 but I think it's a good album. I'm sure Tolkki new that every one of the fans would not like it but I think the reason to it's lyrics are just like browneyedgirl wrote.

Great post "Inventariado".

I just add to your comment the music Liberty.

BUT the thing is : Stratovarius is NOT a Tolkki solo project. If he wanted to make albums that are 100 % his, I think he should have made them under his own name, just like he did HTL.

like browneyedgirl wrote "...maybe he was crying out for help in some way"

TT
Let your heart sing and the guitar cry.....

TT stated he wrote the lyrics for E2 in about 20 minutes----if so, he had to have been writing from his heart for words to have flowed so quick&smoothly. I like that album very much because of its expression of TTs feelings&thoughts.
Lets hope the next album is as deep, yet, hopefully TTs happy/joyous thoughts will prevail on it!

I think that the both elements abums didint have the standard quality of each of the previous strat albums and i think that making two albums like those was a big mistake

At first I thought E pt 2 was better than E pt 1 but now I think Elements pt1 is much better..maybe the songs have grown on me..I duno. Yea its a bit slow sometimes and Fantasia is a cheesy song but its very good otherwise, and well so is elements pt 2 but like they are more easy listening songs.

yeah E1 is the better album, listening to E2 is a bit boring, nearly all the songs on E2 have the same feeling.. And i think E1 was the orchestral part, on E2 i couldn't hear any classical instruments..

(1212)

Dave wrote:yeah E1 is the better album, listening to E2 is a bit boring, nearly all the songs on E2 have the same feeling.. And i think E1 was the orchestral part, on E2 i couldn't hear any classical instruments..

Only the first and last one from EII... or maybe they were keyboard parts?

in the booklet it say it was a real orchestra.
well i think Alpha & Omega is the second part of A Drop In The Ocean, it begins like drop in the ocean ends.

(1213)

Dave wrote:in the booklet it say it was a real orchestra.
well i think Alpha & Omega is the second part of A Drop In The Ocean, it begins like drop in the ocean ends.

You're right.

btw: E2 is very similar to Infinite. Hunting High And Low and Eagleheart are both openers and sounding very similar.. On both albums the 8th track is an long orchtestral part, and the 9th a short ballad..

(1214)

You mean Hunting and I Walk to?

oh no sorry i meant elements part ONE is very similar to infinite..

(1215)

But Hunting and I Walk is so similar, more than Eagle.

what do you mean exactly?

(1218)

I mean, that IWTMOS is much more similar to Hunting, than Eagle is.

oh really?? no actually i meant why you're saying walk to my own song was so similar to hunting high and low..

(1220)

"I walk to my own song."
"I am hunting high and low."

Sing these two lines, you will understand.

i sung them ten times but still i don't know what you mean

MaFiaBoY wrote:BUT the thing is : Stratovarius is NOT a Tolkki solo project. If he wanted to make albums that are 100 % his, I think he should have made them under his own name, just like he did HTL.

Not entirely true, to express himself he needs all the instruments played well by a band he knows and has played with alot. HtL is simply missing so much because the bass sounds like midi, boring and wrongly accented, Tolkki needs someone else to make his vision reality, I think he knows what to expect from these guys and he can imagine what it will sound like when played by them already in the composing stage.

(1222)

Dave wrote:i sung them ten times but still i don't know what you mean

Ahh, damn it! Didn't you recognize, that "I walk to my own song" is nearly the same as "I am hunting high and low"? And not the words, but how it is sung. But I tell you something: listen to them, rather to sing them... maybe you're as bad in singing, as me.

Beast_Pete wrote:(1222)

Dave wrote:i sung them ten times but still i don't know what you mean

Ahh, damn it! Didn't you recognize, that "I walk to my own song" is nearly the same as "I am hunting high and low"? And not the words, but how it is sung. But I tell you something: listen to them, rather to sing them... maybe you're as bad in singing, as me.

yeah i think so so my music teacher was kidding me all the time?

(1225)

Dave wrote:yeah i think so so my music teacher was kidding me all the time?

LOL. Sorry for that then, but hey, did you recognize the similarity at last?

Beast_Pete wrote:(1225)

Dave wrote:yeah i think so so my music teacher was kidding me all the time?

LOL. Sorry for that then, but hey, did you recognize the similarity at last?

well i think there's really some kind of similarity but imho eagleheart is still more similar to hunting high and low.. they both sound like pop songs

Dave wrote:

Beast_Pete wrote:(1225)

Dave wrote:yeah i think so so my music teacher was kidding me all the time?

LOL. Sorry for that then, but hey, did you recognize the similarity at last?

well i think there's really some kind of similarity but imho eagleheart is still more similar to hunting high and low.. they both sound like pop songs

Since when pop songs have guitar solos