Finnish folklore between metal and rock

After the 1998 album "Destiny", the Finnish power metal band Stratovarius have in 2010 to secure a place in my personal collection with their album ELYSIUM. I have long to wait for such a long player again. Now Elysium is rightly alongside recent Nightwish albums.

Convince with Elysium the guys around Timo Antero Kotipelto with old virtues that I got no more be heard in this form long. Alone with the "Stand up" - Anthem Darkest Hour, which was published last year as a single, STRATOVARIUS show that they have in 2010 not lost faith in statements and philosophy of life. Even if I had a little hymn-like and pompous liked the track, he brings the message to go its own way, a clever and lively over without losing the sense of melody.

With UNDER FLAMING SKIES STRATOVARIUS raise the so often used finger in the wound, where they forcefully in excellent power metal style each warn to misinterpret the signs of our Mother Earth. The instrumental leadership structure in the background and between the individual verses like it particularly, which can spread a little oriental flair at the beginning even. But Zwischenmenschliches work STRATOVARIUS on in rather different ways. So they go in INFERNAL MAZE on a journey into the subconscious where it backs the dispute of Schei Terens musically closer. Although this song is started fairly eporal, it evolves into a real musical Stratovarius classics from the past decade. They use also sent individual musical elements of an organ that brings across the transience very good, then the rollercoaster of sense by the heavy use of the E - to symbolize guitars. As the first mass-market ballad FAIRNESS JUSTIFIED is because I also want to put more back content in the camp of a certain Beziehungskiste. Both the use of the choir in the chorus, and the solo use of E - guitar should find many fans of such stories. After the good 5 minutes of more or less contemplation STRATOVARIUS find back to its former strength and presses the listener to track down the excellent unconverted Power Metal, the place with THE GAME NEVER ENDS another melodic continuation with some playful passages.

With LIFETIME IN A MOMENT shoot from STRATOVARIUS the bird the entire album by leaving here at the beginning of a Gregor Iranian monk singing the opening song of the tracks are to be drifting into a rather slow but solid rock number that Live can certainly do some things here. But that's not enough, so MOVE THE MOUNTAIN is heralded by elfin sounds and leans skillfully to his predecessor on the album both on the pace, as well as on the type of. One thing is therefore certain: STRATOVARIUS are not only for Power Metal without speed limit, but can also score with easy rock and acoustic-like numbers, where you can catch up on the shore of the metal in which they throw their whole musical skills into the mix. Respect!

EVENT HORIZON is for me, after the musical trip to the Rockgefilde, then the best number that heavy reminded me of the Destiny album from 1998. This certainly has something to do with the use of the keyboard instruments that have helped the Destiny album too much fame. Also this song makes a little to get started in a 18-minute musical experiment, which has also lent the album its name. ELYSIUM is the musical highlight what stands out not only by its length. Here STRATOVARIUS wait so pretty on everything she lacked in recent years. A rollercoaster of melodic metal and oriented parts are detached from outstanding arranged instrumental acts that are in competition with the rock-oriented parts of the song again. A little I get here the impression that the previous songs were stylistically joined and united in this number. So I feel the previous tracks on this album a little as a prelude to the final Act of the work. This song is only to buy value, although likely to be safe this matter of taste of each individual.