Stratovarius Community

Album sampler:

http://youtu.be/mNFtHTr4a2Q

Agree! Also listening right now and my god it's good.

Kmasters wrote:Listening the album right now and i got to say Hats off to Roberto this guy can shred

saw the video, amazing guitar playing for sure

adrian9 wrote:

Kmasters wrote:Listening the album right now and i got to say Hats off to Roberto this guy can shred

saw the video, amazing guitar playing for sure

There's way more on the album! You should give it a listen!

Son of a bitch this album rocks. Rhapsody's got some groove in them on this album. Winter's Rain is fucking cool, that guitar riff is sick. Voice in the Cold Wind is phenomenal, channels classic Rhapsody.

Already digging this way more than Dark Wings. Fuck yeah.

Empathica1928 wrote:Son of a bitch this album rocks. Rhapsody's got some groove in them on this album. Winter's Rain is fucking cool, that guitar riff is sick. Voice in the Cold Wind is phenomenal, channels classic Rhapsody.

Already digging this way more than Dark Wings. Fuck yeah.

Completely agree. And I love the fact that they used a real orchestra again. The balance between the orchestra and the guitars is great. Fabio is great. Everything is great.

rikkertje wrote:

Empathica1928 wrote:Son of a bitch this album rocks. Rhapsody's got some groove in them on this album. Winter's Rain is fucking cool, that guitar riff is sick. Voice in the Cold Wind is phenomenal, channels classic Rhapsody.

Already digging this way more than Dark Wings. Fuck yeah.

Completely agree. And I love the fact that they used a real orchestra again. The balance between the orchestra and the guitars is great. Fabio is great. Everything is great.

Man, the real orchestra really adds some oomph to this album. 'In Principio' is way better than 'Vis Divina' on Dark Wings. The orchestral part of Winter's Rain is my favorite part of the album, I think. There's a Village of Dwarves & Trolls in the Dark/Dark Moor vibe to Voice in the Cold Wind, too, which in my opinion is THE sound of late 90s/early 2000s catchy power metal...

Oh and props to that low male choir part in Winter's Rain. I've grown annoyed with the stereotypical full-blown usage of choirs in power metal (see Epica, Nightwish) and this was a very pleasant surprise.

I see this one aging very well. Can't wait to get back home and blast Kiss of Life on my new speakers. That's such a weird song. It's 17 minutes and at times has all the epic grandiosity of Rhapsody but it's so stripped down and unlike anything else they've done. Yet this time, it works, unlike most of Dark Wings.

Empathica1928 wrote:

rikkertje wrote:

Empathica1928 wrote:Son of a bitch this album rocks. Rhapsody's got some groove in them on this album. Winter's Rain is fucking cool, that guitar riff is sick. Voice in the Cold Wind is phenomenal, channels classic Rhapsody.

Already digging this way more than Dark Wings. Fuck yeah.

Completely agree. And I love the fact that they used a real orchestra again. The balance between the orchestra and the guitars is great. Fabio is great. Everything is great.

Man, the real orchestra really adds some oomph to this album. 'In Principio' is way better than 'Vis Divina' on Dark Wings. The orchestral part of Winter's Rain is my favorite part of the album, I think. There's a Village of Dwarves & Trolls in the Dark/Dark Moor vibe to Voice in the Cold Wind, too, which in my opinion is THE sound of late 90s/early 2000s catchy power metal...

Oh and props to that low male choir part in Winter's Rain. I've grown annoyed with the stereotypical full-blown usage of choirs in power metal (see Epica, Nightwish) and this was a very pleasant surprise.

I see this one aging very well. Can't wait to get back home and blast Kiss of Life on my new speakers. That's such a weird song. It's 17 minutes and at times has all the epic grandiosity of Rhapsody but it's so stripped down and unlike anything else they've done. Yet this time, it works, unlike most of Dark Wings.

Hitting the nail on the head!

OK, I retract what I said earlier. This album is fantastic. The shreds, the drums, and the chorus really bring back the best of Rhapsody. This album should have been released after Power of the Dragon Flame. Fabio's voice is surprisingly well tuned. Did he use an aid?

Listening to the album for the third time now.

NeverendingAbyss wrote:Fabio's voice is surprisingly well tuned. Did he use an aid?

That's my only point of doubt as well. Of course singing in the studio is more relaxed and you can do parts over and over again. But I really wonder if he'll be able to sing Distant Sky live. I for one don't think so.

Then again, the rest of the songs are in a normal range so luckily it's not like the whole album is Fabio overachieving.

Yeah, Fabio has kind of a cavalier attitude towards taking care of his voice but I have to say it's held up very well over the years given all the smoking! I think his voice was used very well on this album although yeah Distant Sky gets way up there. I think it's best used in Kiss of Life.

Kiss of Life, by the way, wow, what a fucking great epic. Blasting this on speakers and it brought tears to my eyes. The hook totally has the vibe of Gargoyles, Angels of Darkness. Big Dragonflame vibe all over these songs.

rikkertje wrote:

NeverendingAbyss wrote:Fabio's voice is surprisingly well tuned. Did he use an aid?

That's my only point of doubt as well. Of course singing in the studio is more relaxed and you can do parts over and over again. But I really wonder if he'll be able to sing Distant Sky live. I for one don't think so.

Then again, the rest of the songs are in a normal range so luckily it's not like the whole album is Fabio overachieving.

simple things like adding reverb while help tuning the voice, there might be some polishing in those tracks, but nothing big, is not auto-tuned if thats what you wanted to ask.

adrian9 wrote:

rikkertje wrote:

NeverendingAbyss wrote:Fabio's voice is surprisingly well tuned. Did he use an aid?

That's my only point of doubt as well. Of course singing in the studio is more relaxed and you can do parts over and over again. But I really wonder if he'll be able to sing Distant Sky live. I for one don't think so.

Then again, the rest of the songs are in a normal range so luckily it's not like the whole album is Fabio overachieving.

simple things like adding reverb while help tuning the voice, there might be some polishing in those tracks, but nothing big, is not auto-tuned if thats what you wanted to ask.

Everyone uses auto-tune these days. Using autotune doesn't mean it's all fake and impossible to sing live.

There is a difference in using autotune like singers in metal do, and for example Britney Spears.

And I do agree on a few posts above, that Fabio's (live) voice really remained quite good.

rikkertje wrote:

adrian9 wrote:

rikkertje wrote:

NeverendingAbyss wrote:Fabio's voice is surprisingly well tuned. Did he use an aid?

That's my only point of doubt as well. Of course singing in the studio is more relaxed and you can do parts over and over again. But I really wonder if he'll be able to sing Distant Sky live. I for one don't think so.

Then again, the rest of the songs are in a normal range so luckily it's not like the whole album is Fabio overachieving.

simple things like adding reverb while help tuning the voice, there might be some polishing in those tracks, but nothing big, is not auto-tuned if thats what you wanted to ask.

Everyone uses auto-tune these days. Using autotune doesn't mean it's all fake and impossible to sing live.

There is a difference in using autotune like singers in metal do, and for example Britney Spears.

And I do agree on a few posts above, that Fabio's (live) voice really remained quite good.

that might be true, however I find very hypocritical to say auto tune is fine in metal but bull shit in pop music...so much bashing that damn software, is ok for everybody to use it, I just think is bad for the audience that is now used to hear perfection where in reality it doesnt exist.

pd, also auto tune is a trade mark not something generic, there are many softwares to help tuning the voice, so when I say auto-tune im just referencing that specific software.

adrian9 wrote:

rikkertje wrote:

adrian9 wrote:

rikkertje wrote:

NeverendingAbyss wrote:Fabio's voice is surprisingly well tuned. Did he use an aid?

That's my only point of doubt as well. Of course singing in the studio is more relaxed and you can do parts over and over again. But I really wonder if he'll be able to sing Distant Sky live. I for one don't think so.

Then again, the rest of the songs are in a normal range so luckily it's not like the whole album is Fabio overachieving.

simple things like adding reverb while help tuning the voice, there might be some polishing in those tracks, but nothing big, is not auto-tuned if thats what you wanted to ask.

Everyone uses auto-tune these days. Using autotune doesn't mean it's all fake and impossible to sing live.

There is a difference in using autotune like singers in metal do, and for example Britney Spears.

And I do agree on a few posts above, that Fabio's (live) voice really remained quite good.

that might be true, however I find very hypocritical to say auto tune is fine in metal but bull shit in pop music

I do agree to a certain degree. The difference is that in for example metal, pitch correction software is used to fine tune a little mistake. (For example I can imagine that if Fabio sings the chorus of distant sky really good but with one mistake, that they correct the one mistake instead of having him sing it again and again).

And in pop music pitch correction is more and more used on people who cannot actually sing. Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, etc. When they sing live it is usually really bad.

So I do agree with you that we should not say "it's fine in metal but is sucks in pop music". Because it's not the genre that makes the use fine or bad, but it is the way people use it. If you use it to correct a little mistake in a recording that was very good for the biggest part: fine. If you use it to correct every single note you sing because you cannot actually sing: find another job.

OT again:

I can't wait to hear the new songs in a live setting! Hope they'll play a lot of new songs!

I like the orchestrals, but I honestly think that Rhapsody seems to be taking steps back from the sound they managed to land in Frozen Tears of Angels and From Chaos to Eternity. It feels like Alex stops himself short everytime they try to get that 2010 sound back.

LOL at the extended recorder solo in a voice in the cold wind!! Felt like I was butt fucking myself with a cactus.

fuck wrote:LOL at the extended recorder solo in a voice in the cold wind!! Felt like I was butt fucking myself with a cactus.

And what about the recorder solo on Sacred Power of Raging Winds?

SentineLEX wrote:I like the orchestrals, but I honestly think that Rhapsody seems to be taking steps back from the sound they managed to land in Frozen Tears of Angels and From Chaos to Eternity. It feels like Alex stops himself short everytime they try to get that 2010 sound back.

I disagree; I think ITL is actually an expansion upon the more recent Rhapsody sound. I think it's a perfect mix of Dark Wings of Steel and Frozen Tears. From Chaos... seems to be a bit of an oddity in their discography, there's a whole lot that just has nothing in common with past or future Rhapsody albums. Very strange.

I know Alex himself has said he dislikes the massive arrangements and 6 keyboards he used to mess with and that's a huge reason for the split of Rhapsody once the concept finally ended, and why the last two albums have sounded so stripped down. That said it'd be nice if he had even just one more synth for live use instead of playing strings on one and leaving the rest to backtracks.

Empathica1928 wrote:

fuck wrote:LOL at the extended recorder solo in a voice in the cold wind!! Felt like I was butt fucking myself with a cactus.

And what about the recorder solo on Sacred Power of Raging Winds?

I don't remember it. But I did remember this masterpiece:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X2WH8mHJnhM

the drummer left of rhapsody too!!

http://www.metalunderground.com/news/de ... sid=128214

rikkertje wrote:Just heard the first single of their forthcoming album.
The video is pure shit, but the song itself gives me some classic Rhapsody vibes.

I recommend listening to it without watching the video.

http://youtu.be/__6VtmQxsg0

He could almost do like Jorn and make a Dio tribute.

They have their new singer Giacomo Voli, he's got a great voice.
http://bravewords.com/news/rhapsody-of- ... -streaming

Motha-faka wrote:im out for now of the music, only for fdeal, i dont will listen including stratovarius

You do what you want. As of me, i'll never again get away from music, for me, youtube is a paradise for discoveries.

As for that guy Giacomo Voli, wow, to know that he started on the Voice Italy, it is quite a big career move to be in a big band now. I can understand why he is so happy to be with them.

Giacomo sounds great. I think he's a great fit for the band. Good to see he can nail Distant Sky, too! I wonder what changes (if any) to the setlist there will be. Would be nice if they changed it up and offered some different songs from the old days.

(Also, I've always thought Giacomo was a badass name. He's the name of one of the primary antagonists in Baten Kaitos, a beautiful and fun RPG for the GameCube.)

If fans want to see them for one last time, they will be doing their farewell tour with the original members.

https://www.facebook.com/rhapsodyreunio ... 43454670:0

https://www.facebook.com/rhapsodyreunion/

Liberty wrote:If fans want to see them for one last time, they will be doing their farewell tour with the original members.

https://www.facebook.com/rhapsodyreunio ... 43454670:0

https://www.facebook.com/rhapsodyreunion/

Yes and no all the original members but no the keyboard player alex staropoli

Kmasters wrote:

Liberty wrote:If fans want to see them for one last time, they will be doing their farewell tour with the original members.

https://www.facebook.com/rhapsodyreunio ... 43454670:0

https://www.facebook.com/rhapsodyreunion/

Yes and no all the original members but no the keyboard player alex staropoli

the bad blood between luca and straropoli seems to be the real shit !

Looks like Mr. Staropoli is going to be busy too:

Quote:'' Regarding the music production, I am currently developing ideas for the new studio album while Roby De Micheli is constantly working on riffs and elements for guitar. We are also looking for creative ideas and stories for the next studio album. Having great new singer and drummer will be very exciting to go through this creative process.''
http://www.metalunderground.com/news/de ... sid=128214

But, does it matter if he won't be part of that tour ? Will it affect their ticket sales or their performance ?