Stratovarius Retrospective Part 1
What is the point of these?
I love making lists, and what better band to give a retrospective than the Finnish legends Stratovarius. This is probably the biggest challenge for discog reviews I’ve put myself up to yet. Stratovarius has been a band for 30+ years and with a new release dropping soon they seem to show no signs of retiring anytime soon. The first time I heard this band was on some metal mix album that I bought while living in Finland. Maybe one of the most influential albums of my life as it introduced me to Ensiferum, Finntroll, Stratovarius, Thunderstone, and Children of Bodom. I decided that when I do these pieces I am going to rely on using wikipedia as little as possible as simply regurgitating information from the wiki here is not my goal with these pieces. This is mostly going to be a “vibe check” as the Zoomers say.
Fright Night
Right away the first track “Future Shock” is something that stands out to longtime fans of the band is how different the vocals are for this album compared to later works. The band has much more of a classical heavy metal sound on the opener. The guitars feel thicker than their more modern sound, vocals are closer to being gruff than the soaring vocals we now get from the band. None of this is bad and I think I am going to have a fun time listening to how the sound of this band evolves as they had a much slower evolution progress than Metallica or Nightwish. The follow up track “False Messiah” also feels a lot heavier than what you’d expect from Stratovarius. The band has always had questionable lyrics, but the lyrics for both tracks so far are enjoyable. Most metal songs are very “I am 16 and this is very deep” and the band seems to really nail that aesthetic with their first release. By far the weakest track on here is “Witch Hunt” which has some cool parts sonically, but very boring lyrics, and a vocal style that just didn’t work for me. The guitar work in the song is sick as hell, but something about this tracks vocals doesn’t land with me and I am not sure I can explain it. It just sounds like he’s talking into the mic for most of the song and only sings during the bridge and chorus.
Overall this is a fantastic album from the band that really ages well and it’s fun to go back and visit their early days. The tone of the band has shifted so dramatically from this album to their modern sound. The tracks that I really enjoyed are included in the Best of Stratovarius playlist at the end of the post. For the show I picked “Future Shock” and “Fright Night” as these two tracks best capture the sound of the album, but “Night Screamer” almost made the cut for the show. All 3 of those are iconic tracks for the band.
Score: 3.5/5
Twilight Time
This album starts off with “Break the Ice” and just like Fright Night this album has a very different sound from modern Stratovarius. You get glimpses of what the band will sound like in this track as the vocals are starting to mature a bit. The song has a slow melodic bridge section in the middle which is also a change in sound from their previous release. Things really kick into high gear with “The Hands of Time”. This is one of the all time best tracks from Strat and I was fist pumping in my office when this kicked on earlier this week. The self-titled track “Twilight Time” is also another song from the band that really sticks out, and “The Hills Have Eyes” is a cult classic with it’s weird 80’s synth that hits out of nowhere. The first time I heard this track I had to pause the music because I thought the synth hit was an alert for some arcane program at work. The closer “Lead Us Into the Light” is also particularly good and features that slow haunting guitar riffing that I love from Strat.
The bands sound has some evolution by the second album but not as much and the album has less bangers on it that other sophomore albums covered on this blog. Still a good step forward for a young band with some tracks that remain fan favorites.
Score: 3.5/5
Dreamspace
This album isn’t fucking aorund. The opener “Chasing Shadows,” hits you with the signature vocal styles of Timo Tolkki (this is the last album he is lead singer on) and the band are clearly starting to settle into what will be their future sound. This album is loaded with big synth hits such as those we get on “4th Reich,” along with some nice catchy guitar riffs and solid solos like in “Eyes of the World”. This is the first album from the band where every track is perfect. As this is Stratovarius you know this album is going to have a fucking BANGER for a title track and “Dreamspace,” delivers. Timo’s vocals pierce your ears at the end of the song, the haunting laugh at the interlude, the guitar work that manages to be catchy but not overstay it’s welcome. Just a flawless track from the band. The overall tight cohesive work on the album is a large part of what this album is still held in such high regards by fans of the band.
The last few tracks on this album are the weakest, but even then they really aren’t bad tracks. After “Thin Ice” the album has a nice wind down period. While this is the last album with their original singer the band will go on to release a stream of highly regarded albums for the next decade so buckle the fuck in for some of the best metal ever produced.
Score: 4/5
Fourth Dimension
Dreamspace was the beginning of the golden era of this band. Fourth Dimension is one of the best reviewed albums from the band. The band will spend the next 5 years releasing incredible albums. Fourth Dimension starts off with an absolute banger with “Against the Wind.” This is a track I’ve spent a lot of time listening to while playing WoW. I really can’t count the number of hours that I’ve spent listening to this song. The band has a new singer (also named Timo) who really elevated the band to a new level. This is the last album to feature Antti Ikonen. He lays down some of his best work with this opening track. “Galaxies” is another early track on the album that stands out. The pumping chorus will have you fist pumping and doing karate kicks around the office. Timo really shows off his broad range and signature sound on this album with tracks like “Galaxies” and the follow up “Winter”. The haunting vocals have a power behind that and the bridge into the guitar solo is just a perfect fit for his style. Timo really comes out to show that he is the vocalist for the band, and there is a reason he hasn’t been replaced since his first appearance nearly 30 years ago.
This album also features some cool instrumental tracks like “Stratovarius” that give the rest of the band some time to shine. I love the pulsing baseline in this track and the way the bass runs with the guitar during the track. The guitar work is crisp and fast. Keyboards have a good showing in the track and the musicianship of the other band members really comes through in this one.
Score: 4.5/5
Episodes
This album is not fucking around. Right off the bat we get blasted with one of the best Strat songs of all time, “Father Time” with the iconic chorus “Where have all the years gone? \ That’s what I am asking now.” Yes, it’s a little on the Finnish-English side of things, but the song still has a great easy to parse message that feels even more relevant considering this album is nearly 30 years old. This was also the first Strat album to chart in the top 25 in Finland which was a big step for the band. Despite its age the recording quality is great, the mixing is near perfect for the band, and everything feels well layered. “Will the Sun Rise” is another early track off this album that continues to be a favorite of mine. The solo work on the track is great, and the chugging bass really drives the guitars home. The only really odd part of the mixing on this album is how quickly each track fades out. I didn’t notice it at firsty, but once I started to pay attention to it all the song fade outs feel very rushed.
The title track for this album “Episode” is a nice interlude as we move from the first few tracks to the middle of the album. Long albums from the CD era tended to trag in the middle, but this one starts off with a ripper in “Speed of Light”. The weakest song on the album is “Uncertainty,” which has a decent solo but overall feels like a sleepy song you hide in the middle of the album. The middle section of the album closes out with another instrumental song which leads to this album having the most structure so far of their discography.
Score: 5/5
Visions
This album isn’t fucking around. It starts with 3 classic tracks from the band, “The Kiss of Judas,” “Black Diamond,” and “Forever Free.” These are some of the best tracks the band has ever released and all 3 are openers for this album. The album art is also insane for the band. Strat has never been a stranger to weird album art, but this art just goes hard. The band seems to have a good understanding of how to structure an album at this point. “Before the Winter” serves as a nice slow down song after the high energy we got in the previous 3 tracks.
The next track that really sticks out to me is “The Abyss of Your Eyes.” The cool synth strings, counter play with the guitar, and the way the bass chugs along in the opening section let you know the song is going to be awesome. The effect on the vocals to make them more ethereal and haunting combined with Timo’s style really lands well. “Holy Light” is the last instrumental transition song that we get on the album and it leads into another classic from the band, “Paradise”. Both of these songs are fan favorites from the band, with “Paradise” being one of the biggest tracks from the band.
Score: 5/5
Destiny
Another banger album from the band. The album hits hard from the start with the title track “Destiny”. I love the little angelic vocal segment right at the start of the opening track. We hear that motif repeated again on “S.O.S”. The band really leans into having a more mature sound for themselves. They are starting to use more and more 1 shot sound effects in their songs like the popping sound in “S.O.S.” The first half of the album culminates with “4000 Rainy Nights” which is one of their all time best tracks (this album has a few tracks that really hold up). This album doesn’t have the same structure of breaking up the album with instrumental sections like we’ve gotten on other albums. Usually when I listen to an album and I am trying to judge it as a whole complete piece of work I listen to it once, and then hit it up again in a few days after I have an overall impression of it. I hadn’t listened to this album in years and I still remembered all the beats for it. That is something that really signifies this is an all time classic Strat album. Good albums should have staying power with their listeners.
As I said on the show this is an album that you really should listen to instead of just taking my opinion.
Score: 5/5
Infinite
Coming next week.
Keep Heavy the Sabbath Day