PREVIEW OF NEW ALBUM BUT WAS IT RIGHT?

[Texidor]

I hope I don't get crucified cause Strato is my fave band and I would not do anything offend them ( So I come in peace! ) Melodicrock.com has posted 5 song YES 5 song preview of the new work. I am not sure if this was legal but why would reputable site do this if it wasn't? But I am here to let my fellow legions who are worrying about the so called "NEW SOUND" what I think!
WOW! your jaws will drop and won't come up for awhile! I'll be honest I was in completely shocked and taken by surprise. This album is beyond what I expected. Maniac Dance was first ( all were about minute long) and this songs kicks serious ass and it is very different. Very raw and un typical Strato, I must say but you can hear why. Fight came on next and once again is very different and heavy as hell. I like the chorus on this one and its going to go great live! Just Carry On smoothed its way through my speakers and still not typical Strato but you definatley hear the essence in it. Even though it was only a preview this song seems to be one that will build into a monster chorus ( HOPE I"M RIGHT!). Also this song has some really good keys and background vocals. Back To Madness sees the beast from finland rear its head to conquer once again. The riff on this songs is killer and Timo K sounds amazing. I have heard that this is more epic but we'll have to wait and see. My heart is still racing. Finally Gypsy In Me roars in its melodic fury with a style that I haven't heard since DREAMSPACE! Very catchy and very powerful.
Well there you have it. 5 of 5 in my opinion. This is a band still healing and they are doing a good job so far. Yeah its not too neo classical and there are no double bass. But what this album lacks in flashiness it gains in power and soul. Welcome back guys!!!!!

[NeonVomit]

Ok, well since these are 1-minute previews sanctioned by the record company, I don't see any harm in hearing them. So I did.

WOW.

Think Million Light Years Away, but heavier. No double bass, but just heavy guitars and crushing riffs. Kinda like Awaken The Giant, Soul of a Vagabond, but simpler and yes, heavier. More straightforward metal. Great power in these songs, and wonderful atmospherics from Jens.

In a word: 'HEADBANGING!!!!'

[Texidor]

thanks for you support - I just want make sure the legions stick by us on this one!

[Mormegil]

Shit, they are a lot better than I expected. Not absolutely breathtaking, but good anyway. Still I'd like to hear the whole songs before giving my final judgement.
For me Maniac Dance sounds a bit Judas Priestish.

[Burning Reflection]

This is the first time I've heard these, and let me say I didn't really like it. I mean, I'm a diehard fan of Stratovarius, but there's a difference between supporting the band and blindly following everything they do, so don't hate me or judge as an "untrue" fan or whatever for saying what I'm going to say. All of the songs were flat out boring. All I could hear is recycled Paradise riffs and Hunting High and Low drum beats. Maniac Dance's riff sounds like a song from 30 years ago, meaning that it wasn't innovative or interesting. If I wanted to listen to songs like that, I'd break out my old Sabbath cds. Gypsy King was a little bit more interesting because it had a bit more melodic riffs in the beginning (not anything special by any means) but sounded too much like Eternity for a second, and then it went into a HHAL drum beat. This is just my first impression of these songs, and I'll reserve my final judgement for when I buy the album when it comes out. Ending on a positive note though, Kotipelto's voice sounds really professional, interesting and more diverse than his vocals in the past. His voice sounds more low and rugged and I think gives the music a fresh new sound. Nevertheless too, I'm definitely thankful the boys are back together and touring again!

[Stratofanius]

Maniac Dance sounds REALLY REALLY REALLY odd and Kotipelto's voice is very agressive. I never download new album, but I just download those clips. And I will dw those others.

EDIT: Maniac Dance sounds better than Gypsy in Me

[CottonCandy]

I will check those clips when I have more time later today. But why wasn't Stratovarius the first to play these clips on their own site? I hope this website has TTs and the record company's blessing/permission to do that!

[Stratofanius]

Fight!! sounds Run to the Hills

[Mathieu_Power]

of course the first songs are cool but "Götterdämmerung" and the other last tracks are boring as hell

[A_Llama]

I've listened to Maniac Dance and I thought I was listening to megadeth for a second, I didn't know Dave Mustaine was stratovarius's new singer

[STRATOPHILIUS]

lol....I thought the exact same thing about maniac dance.....but I must say from these tiny previews fight is gonna be my favorite ...but nothing agaisnt any of the others they are all kickass.....way to go team awesome stuff guys!!!

[Sir. Decadence]

Okey, I must say now that this album really is awesome!
Yeah, I have heard it and I will buy it too, it's better than last 4 Stratoalbums, only Visions and Episode are better actually.
Talking about those "clip"-tracks (I won't talk about details), "Maniac Dance" is actually a little bit strange song for me, but still good.
"Fight!!!" is really amazing, tight as hell!
It could be better single than "Maniac Dance".
"Just Carry On" is very good too and "Back To Madness" is a masterpiece!
It's one of the best Stratosongs ever! Really!
"Gypsy In Me" is really good too.

And, Mathieu_Power, other tracks are not boring at all! (but I won't talk about those tracks)
There's no bad songs in that album.

[Zeppelin]

Downloading the preview right now...

It's ok to downlaod those, just if you buy the Cd's later on !

Just try not to give it to everybody, that sucks to see it going to people that won't buy it !

[FakeTolkki]

WooWWOw ....that realy surprised me....i didnt thought that tolkki could do something so heavy like maniac dance.....realy amazing...it sounds like rage....fight is a lot more maiden stile....its also great....just carry on....isalso great....but fight and btm are better for me...back to madness is increadible....but more common than the first two.....gipsy in me is more like stratovarius....iwtmos to be precise....great....if the album continues like this than it will be the best since destiny

[NeonVomit]

Seeing the circumstances under which Tolkki wrote this material, Im not surprised at the rage in the music.

[Zeppelin]

Oh My lord !!!!!!!
Maniac Dance os full of rage, reallllllly great song

I like how Kotipelto sings on that one !

[Jack]

Good stuff.... is good, good stuff. Really cant wait til the new album comes out now! If only they had previews for the other songs as well. Also, I predict there will be many chants of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" at upcoming Strato shows, from the one minute sample given, I conclude that song to be fucking awesome!

[metalion]

well i downloaded the clips from the new album
lucky for us this sound is a rebirth
the clips i heard are differant for sure to me it sounds like
old strato fright night days mixed with the latest strato elements
it is for sure stratovarius right where stratovarius should be
there is only one word that describes the sound of this album and
that is its title stratovarius i can not wait to hear the full songs !

TO THE BAND all i can say is thank you welcome back !!

[NeonVomit]

Am I the only one who has noticed the striking similarities between the Stratovarius samples and the Dream Theater samples from the respective new albums?

It's quite scary The only major difference is Mike Portnoy's flashier playing really...

[fifthtea_sausage]

Its really awesome!
I REALLY like maniac dance.
The others are great too.

However, I wish it was faster, and there was at least some* double bass (yes, i'm a Sonata Arctica fan )

Overall top grade work!

[NeonVomit]

.

However, I wish it was faster, and there was at least some* double bass (yes, i'm a Sonata Arctica fan )

Being a SA fan, wouldn't that make you sick of double bass?

[AgentC]

Great to hear breathing & inventive guitar riffs once again. I was scared when the press preview talked about basically all songs being "midtempo" 'cos I interpreted that to mean something like Enter Sandman or even slower but now I understand that was in comparision to Speed of Light-tempos

[stratoplayer]

Great to hear breathing & inventive guitar riffs once again. I was scared when the press preview talked about basically all songs being "midtempo" 'cos I interpreted that to mean something like Enter Sandman or even slower but now I understand that was in comparision to Speed of Light-tempos

oh, excellent i was actually worried about that as well!

[CottonCandy]

Overall, the clips were good! :headbang: I am partial to "Maniac Dance", but the others I like, also.
The guys have made a great comeback, and IMO, there is no need for worry any longer. The boys are back in town&we can celebrate the rebirth of Stratovarius!

Yes, I think this album will sell very well!

[iron_thunder]

don't care for maniac dance, but i like the others! really, really diferent from the older stuff but kind of what i was expecting when tolkki suggested more of a rock approach. to be truthful there could be SOME doulbe kick, just to vary up the drumlines, which don't have many fills or variety to begin with ... anyway i like them! cool!... kotipelto sings a little differently, but i guess it's time for a change.

/M\

[Piewithlegs]

Overall, I'd say that they're pretty good. Not perfect, but certaintly better than Elements.

Maniac Dance was nice and heavy, I can't wait to hear the whole thing
Fight was nice too, but not as good as Maniac Dance
Just Carry On was nice, but it didn't excite me too much
Back to Madness didn't do to much for me
Gypsy in Me had some nice moments

Overall, I'll probably pick this one up in september.

[Figaro1]

Sad to say but the whole album is all over the internet already

[Jaakko]

Ít's quite clear:

When person X says "it's all over the internet", a huge number of people see it and are then informed that they can download it for free.

Sad to say but the whole album is all over the internet already

Eh... I'll be calling you "person X" from now on!

[Aresius]

i think maniac dance es the less good song in the album, my favorites are: united, just carry on, land of ice and snow and back to madness

[cliff]

You guys make me feel like downloading it for real (and get my own opinion about it), even if I won't do.

I think Sanctuary should change the official released date of the album, and release it for example next month, or maybe autorizes the band to put clips on the website. Several music companies did the same when the album was "available" too much earlier than the official release date.

They did a huge mistake in sending those promo-copies too early, and if they don't find a quick solution, they will just get bankrupt.
(on the other hand, it would be a good lesson for them)