C'est lequel des deux E.T. ?

preview très longue du nouvel album de strato (bonne lecture)



STRATOVARIUS

Last September while I was at BB King's-club in New York with Nightwish, I met Jens Johansson, who gave me an alert, that there will be more to hard rock leaning Stratovarius. Now it's been heard, and to some degree I must agree.

Imperiumi will be the first metal media in the world bringing a report from the pre-listening session of Stratovarius's new Album.

International metal press with representants from Germany, Italy, Greece, Sweden, Norway and accompanied by a few more from Finland, got the album to listen once through at Finnvox-studios. In the following, I'd like to serve my thoughts on the album track by track. I will leave it for the reader to notice, that evaluation of the songs is based on one-time listen to the album, hence my observations are not necessarily comparable with the usual objective Imperiumi reviews based on several repeated listens. Also the awesome circumstances at Finnvox-studios with acoustic elemets and top class active speakers must be considered, because only your home stereo will reveal the truth about it, how crunching the ultra-heavy riffs on the record will turn out.


Was the album titled PopKiller or, as I heard from one collega only this morning, ShotMaker?

The answer was neither of those given, but the new album is titled

Stratovarius.


CD will be out on August 25th including tracks:

1. Maniac Dance
2. Fight!!
3. Just Carry On
4. Back to Madness
5. Gypsy in Me
6. Götterdämmerung (Zenith of Power)
7. The Land of Ice and Snow
8. Leave the Tribe
9. United


After the band's manager Antje Lange telling us how the record was born amidst bad personal turnabouts, the album opens with Maniac Dance's twisted humour, which is like out of videogame-pop band Desert Planet's track. Longish, monotone 80's style lo-fi tv-game diddling ”tittidi tittidi” plays alone, until riff turns into crushing heavy guitars and the piece forms into 4/4-paced middle tempo heavy metal, with a character somewhere between Metallica's Black Album and Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell. Kotipelto's siging goes all the way inside the man's natural scale, and his performance is strong. The song isn't especially catchy, but it has got power. Missing are the booming double-kicks and lightning-fast solos. Maniac Dance will be the first single of this album.


Next song Fight!! can be recognized as Stratovarius, even when the style remains quite different from what Strato is known for. The heavy line continues, and even if Tolkkis solo sounds "tolkkish", it definitely isn't diddling. Again, the track is more like "heavy" than catchy.


Just Carry On continues the crunching, and there won't be drifting out from the heavy mid-tempo, yet. Exaggeration is followed by a clear theme, airy by it's space-effect which then bends into a catchy, melodic chorus not to be mistaken by even those less familiar with Stratovarius. No fiddling in the solo and this song is the first on the album, where Kotipelto has to sing really high. The song ends with a special, hollow echoing synth outro.


Fourth track Back to Madness shifts into another gear. The track is an Elements pt1-like heavy, progressive and epic. Starting with sorrowful piano/cello duet only now Kotipelto's high singing is given the full role. Melancholy acoustic guitar leads the song forward, and in the middle there is a special bridge, sung by Kotipelto's friend, opera singer Petri Bäckström. Singing is accompanied by a plain piano and this track will for sure need more than one listen to get into it. Epic singing accompanied by guitars turns heavier to bear than madness itself and grows into choruses and banging of drums reminding roaring cannonblasts. After the last chorus the track wanishes into emptyness while blabbering human voices replace the music. Crazyness takes it's share and human voices turn into disturbing noise, in which no individual sounds are recognizeable. Without a halt the track moves on into deep male voice, questioning if death will be the only salvation from life. Dramatic, desperate piano accompanying speech on a human to be born to die and to die to only being reborn again. The circle closes and male voice turns into a baby blabbering, the voice of Imperiumi's own Starbuck changes into the language of JÖrg Michael's child, understood only by the innocent.


A child giggles. Begins the melodic riff of Gypsy in Me with it's twisted drums, running in odd timing, then turning into normal heavy metal back-kick beat and the track starts up a middle tempo melodic song slightly reminding Cold Winter Nights.


Götterdämmerung (Zenith of Power) with all it's pompousness could easily fit into Elements pt1. This is the track which caused a storm in a glass because of it's Hitler-theme. After all fuss the lyrics were not even changed, and the criticized clip of Hitler's speech was not removed, but mixed so deep in the background, that finding it will depend on the listeners and the quality of their stereo. Mammoth-heavy and substantial, the track runs in 4/4-rhythm and sounds to my ears similar to and somewhat clumsy and pompous as Babylon, which never has been one of my Strato-favourites. Again the track ends with a slightly strange keyboard outro.


The Land of Ice and Snow is like Forever by character, but where Forever is a praise to fans, evenly fragile made The Land of Ice and Snow is merely a folkish song of appreciation to Finnish national characterstics, Koskenkorva, frost and to people who despite of their murkyness have a golden heart. The song begins with Kotipelto's a capella singing, with every breath intake audible. This solo singing kind of brings to mind the song Destiny and it's Suomi-sclagerish middle part. Obviously the part telling about Koskenkorva has been purposedly mixed in the front, so nobody will miss the joke when they hear the word. The singing raises towards the end into stormy march, then falling back to the tenderly fragile main theme ending within frosty howling wind.


Leave the Tribe begins with enormous chorus and a single note bass pattern. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. The sound, size of a brownstone building, reminds me again of Elements. The melodic chorus is catchy, bringing far reminders from some songlines of a Yngwie Malmsteen song, the name of which I'm unable to recall. The song overall is slow and depressing by it's athmospere. Pressure created by this heavy piece is broken only by the hopeliftng chorus, which will stick in your head. Tolkki plays one very atypical ripping solo, which ends with rocking the whammy bar in a way I haven't heard since the debut record of Tarot with Zachary Hietala's shaking electric vibrations.


United, closing the album starts with thick sounding drums TATATATA – TATATATA – TATATATA – TATATAT -rotations then turning into 3/4 paced Tat-TATA, Tat-TATA. Before finished wondering the exaggeratrd drums, you will be smacked with the easily most awesome part of the album, a totally brilliant chorus, the only highlight on the record to pass the "body-hair test". I have an unmistaking indicator for good music on my arms, and now Strato hits the bull's eye and brings on cold shivers. An awesome song melody, which is brilliantly variated in good proportions by the perfectly singing Kotipelto, will raise the track into heights while the orchestrated backgrounds keep building up. Except the missing double-kicks we are on the very same line with any other of the most pompous epics ever before made by Stratovarius. Something new, something old; the good old Strato heeling the world again. The catchy and gripping theme builds up into enourmous spheres, until enters a cheesy horn sound from the keys, more typical to German Freedom Call, which despite being big and pompous, shoots the high flying epic down with it's corniness. Those horns keep brawling till the end, but the bombastic song has made it's remarks already. Strato has definitely made a strong comeback.


The 11th album on Stratovarius's career has been titled according to the band, and it is a new beginning for a band that has gone through quite a turbulence, both inside and outside. During the windy times the manager of the band has changed, the leader of the band has been seriously ill and the band has been split once. Timo Tolkki's psychic difficulties reflect in the lyrics on this album. But now TT, who has remarkably recovered during the last few months, dares to laugh at himself in the spirit of Back to Madness and Maniac Dance.


While the songs on this record are made about two years ago, after the Elements albums, they are in most parts very different material from both of the predecessros. The album lacks several Stratovarius-brands, as the thumping sound of Jörg Michae's double-kicks, Tolkki's über-fast solos and if not counting a couple of songs, also Timo Kotipelto's ultra-high vocals.


By binning Helloween- and Yngwie-alike elements, replacements are those that Strato has posessed before, but they have been given a stronger role; crushing heavy riffs and melodies leaning on traditional heavy metal. Tolkki's solos are more Blackmore-spirited, and in them he is looking more to play on the terms of melodies than posing with the speed. In addition he has got more depth and feeling in the solos.


One can find characteristics from Strato's older material and in the most epic parts also from Elements. Jens Johansson delivers only one fast solo if I remember right, and the keys have a minor role, more like sound effects, especially on the smashing tracks in the beginning of the album. But anyhow, those tracks leaning on heavy, rough guitar riffing would be much pooreer by sound without the keyboard playing in the background in a side role, but Johansson has his solo moments only durng those wierd, twisted sounding outros.


While those elements that irritate some people have been taken off from the Stratovarius-sound, part of the result could be called 'safe'. According to Kotipelto changes are results from the fact, that on Elements-albums the progressive and epical limits had been reached, and there wasn't any room to think blowing it anywhere further. Renewing the sound only by means of simplifying was the only way to go. Everything else had already been done before.


If the song material on the new album isn't of Strato's strongest A-class, considering the circumstances it remains a strong work from a band in the middle of renewing process. Produced by Timo Tolkki, the album consists of top produced, melodic pieces of heavy metal. The album 'Stratovarius' has been built the way, that tracks in the beginning are the furthest from the known Stratovarius-sound and when progressing towards the end, the familiarity in the material will become obvious to older fans. There are also some surprisingly humorous spots on this record which after all the fuss are somewhat unexpected.

Merci Heidon.

Ca correspond à ce qui a été dit précédemment. Mais apparemment le truc est un peu plus sombre qu'à l'accoutumé. Et Tolkki nous refait un passage comme sur son album solo (hym to life) avec back to madness.

Ca me rend curieux ce compte rendu.

de rien ultima.
Oui en lisant le compte rendu, les chansons n ont pas l air tres joyeuses.
En tout cas, le changement est bien là, fini le speed pour eux. Fini les solos avec les notes a deux milles à l heure. Mais je pense sincerement que cela sera un album de transition vu l atmosphere des dernieres annees.
Vite , un sample !! Et puis les revoir sur scene en france serait génial !!

Sur la tournée Elements Pt I je les avais vu au Zénith et je les avais trouvé moyen. Très pro mais sans âme. Pourtant il y avait de bonnes compos. Ensuite il y a peut être l'effet Zénith qui joue...
Mais ils avaient été meilleurs sur le Infinite Tour.

sur cette tournée, je pense que pour timo tollki, cela commencait a ne plus aller. Je me rappel par contre de leurs deux concerts a l 'élysée montmartre, c'était fantastique !!
C est mon groupe préféré, mais je pense sincèrement que le reformation est dû a leurs obligations contractuelles et à l'avance consentie par Sanctuary records. Si cela permet de relancer le groupe, que l entente se revele meilleure maintenant, alors tant mieux !!
Strato for ever !!

sur cette tournée, je pense que pour timo tollki, cela commencait a ne plus aller. Je me rappel par contre de leurs deux concerts a l 'élysée montmartre, c'était fantastique !!
C est mon groupe préféré, mais je pense sincèrement que le reformation est dû a leurs obligations contractuelles et à l'avance consentie par Sanctuary records. Si cela permet de relancer le groupe, que l entente se revele meilleure maintenant, alors tant mieux !!
Strato for ever !!

sur cette tournée, je pense que pour timo tollki, cela commencait a ne plus aller. Je me rappel par contre de leurs deux concerts a l 'élysée montmartre, c'était fantastique !!
C est mon groupe préféré, mais je pense sincèrement que le reformation est dû a leurs obligations contractuelles et à l'avance consentie par Sanctuary records. Si cela permet de relancer le groupe, que l entente se revele meilleure maintenant, alors tant mieux !!
Strato for ever !!

oula le flood de ma part !! il est vrai je suis pressé de quitter le statut buveur d'eau !!

C'est vrai que Sanctuary leur avait collé un procès au cul. Faut dire splitter quelques semaines après la signature d'un contrat de 3,5 millions €, faut le faire .

Et concernant la fille qui devait chanter dans le groupe, elle devient quoi ?

miss K. , gentiment mis en dehors du groupe. Je pense qu on en entendra plus parlée, enfin sait on jamais !!

Ouais dans un film porno, elle avait le look.

COMME LE PETIT dANI fILTH

Encore des news : l'album "STRATOVARIUS" sort le 5 Septembre 2005 suivi d'une tournée en 2005-2006 (dates annoncées en mai)





voyez une autre photo, c est mieux question sourire

merde, ça coute si cher de sourire?

Tout à fait d'accord avec toi Joebar , cette morgue affichée ostensiblement par les métalleux en général m'agace profondément . D'autant qu'en "coulisse" ou dans la vie hors scène et représentation médiatique ce sont la plupart du temps des zicos festifs et tout à fait joviaux .
Curieux cette manie de vouloir passer pour des gros méchants .

( peut-être la crise de l'adolescence pas encore résolue ? faire la gueule à 15 ans a toujours été une "parodie sociale codée de révolte" , chacun sait à quoi s'en tenir .)

yes!
c'est pourquoi j'apprécie bien quand des mecs sont contents et le montrent sur leurs disques et sur scène (Freedom call en short, quoi de plus normal?!)

mon lien de la la photo a été remplacé par une autre qui fera plaisir a Maynine et Joebar

Ben voilà ! Sont-y-pas trognons comme ça ?

excellent!!!