In the period between 1997 to 2000, STRATOVARIUS released their top three albums to date, "Visions", "Destiny" and "Infinite". Since then, I have been waiting for the same result in their newer albums, however, my wish didn't came true as the band wasn't able to come up with the same executions in later albums. After Timo Tolkki ditched the band and was replaced by the younger Matias Kupiainen, I thought that the approaching of new blood will vent out a flaming success, yet, their efforts can't be compared to what was done in the late 90s. STRATOVARIUS's new album, "Elysium", is the new outcome for the commencing of 2011 and in overall, it is pretty much satisfying.

Every so often it felt like "Elysium" and also the previous "Polaris" album, presented STRATOVARIUS in a much darker image than before. At first I thought that this pattern was a way to elevate the maturity of the material, yet, this band's material was always mature and was roaming between reality and fantasy. Who said that fantasy themes imply that a group is immature? Then it came to me that STRATOVARIUS tried to implement several aspects that weren't there before. I think that the main reason lies within the change of guitarists and with that there was a change in perceptions. In the past Tolkki had his way on composing, of course with the help of Kotipelto & Johansson, yet, mostly the stuff was registered to him. With the coming of Kupiainen, STRATOVARIUS still kept on being artistic, yet, quite less than before. The guy is great but he is notTolkki and the compositions are the evidence. Call it tyranny if you will but the harmony between Tolkki, Kotipelto & Johansson in the earlier tunes was undeniable, on "Elysium" it is a bit different.

The material itself has its shares of complexities and the performance as always is formidable. Even with less shreds as peak moments,STRATOVARIUS still have an edge on unveiling melodic Power / Speed Metal tracks that had arisen recollections of their classic days. The"Darkest Hours" single, which is the opener of the album. When I heard "Darkest Hours", took me right back to the "Destiny" with its intense melodies, speed and classic chorus. The last track of the album revealed something new, but refreshing, in STRATOVARIUS. The eighteen minutes epic of "Elysium" displayed the band in a rather DREAM THEATER like image. Well, this is no "Metropolis Pt.1" or something taken from"Scenes From A Memory", but in their Metal way, STRATOVARIUS made it to sound more interesting and enticing than the American Prog giants. This track is probably the best example of the band's new form. The stepping out of regular melodic Power Metal and into a newfound way did well for the band to enhance the originality a bit. With those, there good tracks were ordinary like STRATOVARIUS tunes as "Under Flaming Skies" & "The Game Never Ends", which are the energy burners and always pleasing.

The rest of the songs on "Elysium" also were a sort of tryouts to do something different while attempting to enhance a different emotional setting.STRATOVARIUS, as always, tried to concentrate more on problems the society has like nuclear war, environment, relationships and such, yet, they didn't create here"4,000 Rainy Nights", "A Million Light Years Away" or "Paradise". Even if those mentioned tracks were catchy, tracks on this one as "Infernal Maze", "Move The Mountain" or "Fairness Justified", can be comparable to those classics even though they try innovate. I know that with their talents they will have the ability to set up their material and create something that will knock off Metalheads from where they stand. It is only a matter of time...

The brand new STRATOVARIUS album has arrived. I am glad I didn't have to wait too long for this one. STRATOVARIUS has been a true favorite of mine since I first heard them. They were always a true power metal band much like HELLOWEEN. They are an extremely good band. I for one wasn't too worried when the founder of the band, Timo Tolkki left and transferred his rights to the remaining members. When I first discovered that Timo was having mental health issues, I was afraid the band would fold, but now that he is gone, so is the drama and now the band can continue without him dragging them down. I feel badly for the guy. When he tried to form another band called Revolution Renaissance, he seemed to have lost his desire to create new power metal music. The fast and furiousness of previous releases that he released while in STRATOVARIUS were gone. So with that being the case, I thought him leaving was a good thing. If your heart isn't in it, leave.

"Elysium" is a very good album. It isn't great, but it is very good. The songs are well written but too many of them lag, and there is also the huge buzkill of an over eighteen minute song. As always, I wonder how many times a band expects fans will listen to a song of that length. I understand the need to be "epic", but one can be fully epic without being pompous and overblown. The only time I have ever liked a song that was over twelve minutes long was "Halloween" by HELLOWEEN. That song is epic and awesome, but one can only catch lightning in a bottle so many times. I hope they don't try to play it live. It would drastically alter the set list by taking the place of the potential of four songs just for the sake of one. I am a huge KISS fan and KISS fans are always complaining about them playing "100.000 Years" with the lengthened eight plus minute version with audience participation. It seems that they would all rather hear two or three other songs than endure such a long, "boring song" (their words, not mine). I can't count the times fans have referred to it as a "piss break". That's not something I would want my fans referring to my song as if I was a member of the band. Hopefully others will find something in "Elysium" (the song) that I was unable to.

Do not fear though, STRATOVARIUS still delivers with the other songs on the album. The songs are slower than on previous releases but they still have three fast ones. The playing is absolutely amazing. The production is wonderful. These guys know how to lay tracks down. The song, "Event Horizon" is my favorite track on the album. I just wish the whole album was like that. Maybe I expect too much. Perhaps I have become a bit jaded in my old age. "Infernal Maze" is also a great song, but it doesn't shred like, "Event Horizon". I know I will be playing it over and over again for a long time to come. I consider Timo Kotipelto to be right up there with other legendary power metal vocalists such as Eric Adams, Fabio Lione and Michael Kiske. Because of this, I am always anxious to hear whatever he does, and since he has such a great voice I find myself able to tolerate the ballads and other slower songs that I otherwise would probably not be able to.

I am willing to give the guys a pass on this one. That said, I do hope they get back to their roots with their next release. If the fans respond to "Elysium" like I do, then perhaps they will. In the music business, it's all about pleasing your fan base. Power metal is given more leeway by many fans due to its very nature of being so expansive. There have always been moments where the songs slow down and they go for an approach of "beauty" over speed. Rest assured, they have not pulled a METALLICA on us like when the abysmal "Load" album was released.

Overall, if you are a fan of the band, I see no reason not to purchase this album. I intend to get the special edition, but then again whenever that's an option for any band I like, I always buy that version. This album has its shining moments and I intend to enjoy them and the band while they are still around. Never forget how close we came to losing STRATOVARIUS a few years back. I will squeeze every last second of enjoyment out them while I still can.

It must have been around Christmas of '95 where I had my first "contact" with the -at that time- pioneering power metal band from Finland. I still remember the first time I've heard the song that got me into them -"Against the Wind-" and the ultimate hook up with amazing "Lord of the Wasteland" from "Fourth Dimension"... 16 years later I have the honor to review their thirteenth album named "Elysium" and more importantly, their second without Timo Tolkki on the creative helm!

I will confess that my touch with the band and the power genre in particular is hectic the past few years, to say the least. When "Polaris" got out almost two years ago I had a dozen of listens and I was quite content with what STRATOVARIUS had to offer. It might seemed a bit rushed or forced release since they had quite a legacy to keep fulfilling over the past two decades but they didn't disappoint in any way. Now with "Elysium" someone might say - same old same old- but they prove them wrong.

The new songs sound way more solid, more coherent, with a specific musical direction which was missing since "Infinity". Don't expect any return to their speed/power roots. Don't expect crazy hooks from the first listen and to be exact there are many moments that the album actually borderlines on the progressive genre. The first thing an 'old timer' might realize is the focus on the keyboard, which kind of contradict the fact that most songs -musically- are being composed by Mr. Kupiainen which is the guitar player replacing Mr.Tolkki. Don't get me wrong, the riffs are there, just not so obvious like before. It seems like the group let Jens Johansson and Jorg Michael go crazy and the result is more than promising; just listen to the "Game Never Ends" and "Event Horizon". Timo Kotipelto's voice is as good as ever, even a bit lower pitched than before, which helps the mid-tempo moments of the album shine; like the "Fairness Justified" or the eighteen minute long self-titled song. The two singles released - the opener "Darkest Hours" and the "Infernal Maze"- are both good choices to introduce people to the album but the later one is a blatant homage to the "Fourth Dimension" and "Episode" days of the band. And believe me, they still have it!

I am not sure whether the departure of Timo Tolkki was a good or bad thing, for the band, but STRATOVARIUS did their best to leave that question out of the equation and they did it with "Elysium". They radiate a hunger to succeed and to evolve at the same time into something new without denying their past and they delivered a solid album with lots of fresh ideas; and above all, good music! See you at Athens in few days, gentlemen!