Author Topic: The Stratovarius Thread (Read 105022 times)

Scorpion · « **Reply #525 on:** April 26, 2015, 07:31:12 AM »

I actually found Nemesis, while still good, to be a definite step down from Elysium, but then again that's probably my favourite power metal album of the decade so far, so it's not really a fair comparison.

If the new album is as good as Nemesis, I sure won't complain.

wolfking · « **Reply #526 on:** April 26, 2015, 08:43:13 PM »

You're not alone Scorpion, I found Nemises quite a step down compared to Elysium too. Still realy looking forward to this new one.

Bolsters · « **Reply #527 on:** April 26, 2015, 10:02:27 PM »

I tried to get into both Polaris and Elysium again after Nemesis (pretty sure I only listened to them once each at release), but for me there's just no comparison. Nemesis is way out in front.

Shadow Ninja 2.0 · « **Reply #528 on:** April 26, 2015, 10:14:03 PM »

Let's be real here folks, we all know Dreamspace is the best them.

Scorpion · « **Reply #529 on:** April 26, 2015, 11:41:43 PM »

Did I ever say anything else?

Zydar · « **Reply #530 on:** April 27, 2015, 12:46:57 AM »

Quote from: Shadow Ninja 2.0 on April 26, 2015, 10:14:03 PM

Let's be real here folks, we all know Dreamspace is the best them.

Visions and/or Episode takes it for me.

Bolsters · « **Reply #531 on:** April 27, 2015, 03:18:04 AM »

I always thought Visions was overrated. Of the old stuff, my favourites are Episode and Destiny. Dreamspace is pretty good too. But overall I'd have to say that Nemesis is the best them now.

gazinwales · « **Reply #532 on:** April 27, 2015, 03:56:41 AM »

Actually my fave would be the Infinite album.
Besides being a great album, it also holds some rather fond memories
of my first trip to Helsinki.
Where I ended up at the album's release party and got pretty drunk

bl5150 · « **Reply #533 on:** April 27, 2015, 04:45:35 AM »

For me power metal is powerful when it slows down and has some crunchy riffs and time changes etc..... rather than being some sort of double kick marathon ,so I like albums where this tends to happen a lot. That's why I like Nemesis (and most of the recent albums) along with tracks like Kiss of Judas ,Uncertainty, We Hold The Key etc...

My top 4 would be (no particular order) Nemesis, Elysium , Episode and Fourth Dimension. I have a soft spot for Fourth Dimension as it was my first of theirs (bought around the time of release). We Hold The Key really blew me away at the time and it remains one of the hugest guitar/key sounds I've heard ,despite perhaps sounding a touch dated now.

Mladen · « **Reply #534 on:** April 27, 2015, 05:14:23 AM »

My favorites would probably be Elysium, Polaris, Episode, Infinite and Fourth dimension. Truth be told, I haven't been listening to Stratovarius in a while. I got crazy about the later stuff once the new guitarist joined the band, but Nemesis didn't exactly blow me away aside from a couple of songs. We'll see about the new album...

wolfking · « **Reply #535 on:** April 27, 2015, 05:26:05 AM »

I always have had a soft spot for Twilight Time, great atmosphere. Elements 1 is probably still my fav.

gazinwales · « **Reply #536 on:** April 29, 2015, 01:26:29 PM »

Another new Cain's Offering song, this one is also very good, despite the horrible YT compression.
https://youtu.be/HEd4SQYCtaY

gazinwales · « **Reply #537 on:** April 29, 2015, 01:30:29 PM »

Quote from: wolfking on April 27, 2015, 05:26:05 AM

I always have had a soft spot for Twilight Time, great atmosphere. Elements 1 is probably still my fav.

Elements 1 is good, so is 2.
But if you combine both and cut a few songs, it has real killer potential.
Probably Tolkki's last great works.

ronnibran · « **Reply #538 on:** April 29, 2015, 04:26:25 PM »

I liked Polaris, and thought it was a step in the right direction. Elysium exceeded my expectations and was a further step in the right direction.

And then Nemesis... I liked it even quite a bit more then Polaris and Elysium (although the title track of Elysium is prob my favorite Strato song ever).

wolfking · « **Reply #539 on:** April 29, 2015, 10:54:07 PM »

Quote from: gazinwales on April 29, 2015, 01:26:29 PM

Another new Cain's Offering song, this one is also very good, despite the horrible YT compression.
https://youtu.be/HEd4SQYCtaY

Not bad. Similar feel to the first album.

Quote from: gazinwales on April 29, 2015, 01:30:29 PM

Quote from: wolfking on April 27, 2015, 05:26:05 AM
I always have had a soft spot for Twilight Time, great atmosphere. Elements 1 is probably still my fav.

Elements 1 is good, so is 2.
But if you combine both and cut a few songs, it has real killer potential.
Probably Tolkki's last great works.

2 was a bit of a let down compared to 1 IMO. You could add a couple of songs from 2 to 1 to make it killer though.

gazinwales · « **Reply #540 on:** April 30, 2015, 01:00:11 AM »

Bought this one last year:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elements-Pt-Complete-Stratovarius/dp/B00OGP7ZLW/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1430376851&sr=1-3&keywords=stratovarius
Pretty good stuff too, bonus DVD has some nice 5.1 mixes on it.

wolfking · « **Reply #541 on:** April 30, 2015, 05:22:57 AM »

Those 5.1 DVD's always make it a no deal for me. I have no use for them at all. Cool package if you didn't have the albums too. I got both the original box sets of both parts when the albums were released. They have most of those bonus tracks on them anyway. Run Away is a great bonus track.

gazinwales · « **Reply #542 on:** May 01, 2015, 01:44:43 AM »

I got the new Cain's Offering CD from CD Japan.
Absolutely magnificent from start to finish, not a dud song in sight.
Killer power metal, nothing new of course, but just so good and so well done.

The new Stratovarius is going to be 100% perfect to beat this release.

wolfking · « **Reply #543 on:** May 01, 2015, 06:01:48 AM »

Good to read. I didn't know we were that close to the release date. Gotta source this one. Any Japan bonuses worth noting?

gazinwales · « **Reply #544 on:** May 01, 2015, 10:51:03 AM »

1 killer bonus track, one of the best songs on the album and a first press sticker, which I think are all gone already.
I think the release date apart from Japan is in a few weeks.

wolfking · « **Reply #545 on:** May 01, 2015, 03:47:13 PM »

That makes sense, I thought it was late May. Might have to look into a Japanese copy.

gazinwales · « **Reply #546 on:** May 01, 2015, 09:14:35 PM »

For us Aussie's, Japanese CD's are not that expensive.
$25-28 plus shipping is pretty good and if you buy a few at a time.

ToT-147 · « **Reply #547 on:** May 25, 2015, 07:20:58 PM »

Absolutely joining this thread..

Here my favorite albums:

1- Episode (constant

)

2- Elements pt 2 (sadly underrated

)
3- Nemesis

4- Infinite
5- Intermission (WMSERiP

)
6- Destiny
7- Stratovarius (another one)
8- Visions
9- Elysium
10- Elements pt 1

11- Polaris
12- Fourth Dimension
13- Twilight Time
14- Dreamspace
15- Fright Night

Scorpion · « **Reply #548 on:** May 25, 2015, 11:45:31 PM »

Dreamspace is about 14 spots too low.

1. Dreamspace
2. Elysium
3. Polaris
4. Episode
5. 4th Dimension
6. Nemesis
7. Destiny
8. Visions
9. Infinite
10. Twilight Time
11. Elements Pt 1
12. Elements Pt 2
13. Fright Night
14. Stratovarius

Haven't heard Intermission yet.

ToT-147 · « **Reply #549 on:** May 26, 2015, 02:39:44 PM »

Quote from: Scorpion on May 25, 2015, 11:45:31 PM

Dreamspace is about 14 spots too low.

Elements pt 2 is about 10 spots too low..

Quote from: Scorpion on May 25, 2015, 11:45:31 PM

Haven't heard Intermission yet.

You should.. It has great songs.. Especially the first four..

wolfking · « **Reply #550 on:** May 26, 2015, 03:09:04 PM »

Quote from: ToT-147 on May 26, 2015, 02:39:44 PM

Quote from: Scorpion on May 25, 2015, 11:45:31 PM
Dreamspace is about 14 spots too low.

Elements pt 2 is about 10 spots too low..

No. It's about where it should be. Elements Part 1 on the other hand...

NotePad · « **Reply #551 on:** June 02, 2015, 01:19:37 PM »

Have given Stratovarius a chance and they failed. I don't like really symphonic power metal like that. I'm a huge Helloween fan but think its weird they are compared sometimes because Helloween doesn't have a symphonic element in their power metal, while Strat is filled with that stuff. Same could be said about Hammerfall, who I think of more as a traditional metal band like Maiden or Priest.

Although I think I would like Stratovarius a lot more if it wasn't for the vocals. It's a real shame.

bl5150 · « **Reply #552 on:** June 23, 2015, 09:05:17 PM »

Coming Sept 11

Tracklist:
1. My Eternal Dream
2. Shine in the Dark
3. Rise Above It
4. Lost Without a Trace
5. Feeding the Fire
6. In My Line of Work
7. Man in the Mirror
8. Few Are Those
9. Fire in Your Eyes
10. Lost Saga

Bolsters · « **Reply #553 on:** June 23, 2015, 10:05:26 PM »

Probably the most anticipated release of the year for me.

Scorpion · « **Reply #554 on:** June 23, 2015, 11:39:34 PM »

Looking forward to this, let's hope it's more in the vein of Polaris/Elysium than of Nemesis.

Bolsters · « **Reply #555 on:** June 23, 2015, 11:43:48 PM »

Quote from: Scorpion on June 23, 2015, 11:39:34 PM

Looking forward to this, let's hope it's more in the vein of Polaris/Elysium than of Nemesis.

You can hope that on your own, I'll hope for the opposite.

bl5150 · « **Reply #556 on:** June 23, 2015, 11:54:02 PM »

Quote from: Bolsters on June 23, 2015, 11:43:48 PM

Quote from: Scorpion on June 23, 2015, 11:39:34 PM
Looking forward to this, let's hope it's more in the vein of Polaris/Elysium than of Nemesis.
You can hope that on your own, I'll hope for the opposite.

Elysium is cool too. I think the current lineup with deliver ,just a matter of how good . In fact I think it may even surpass Tolkki's recent output

Scorpion · « **Reply #557 on:** June 23, 2015, 11:55:26 PM »

Quote from: Bolsters on June 23, 2015, 11:43:48 PM

Quote from: Scorpion on June 23, 2015, 11:39:34 PM
Looking forward to this, let's hope it's more in the vein of Polaris/Elysium than of Nemesis.
You can hope that on your own, I'll hope for the opposite.

Heh.

I mean, Nemesis was pretty good, great in parts even, so I wouldn't complain about something in that style, but Elysium is my tied favourite Stratovarius album - absolutely brilliant from start to finish.

wolfking · « **Reply #558 on:** June 24, 2015, 04:44:04 AM »

Quote from: Scorpion on June 23, 2015, 11:39:34 PM

Looking forward to this, let's hope it's more in the vein of Polaris/Elysium than of Nemesis.

Agree with this 100%. Dunno what it is about Nemesis, it's good but a step down from Elysium which was just incredible.

EDIT: Yeah basically what you said above, it's just stunning.

Bolsters · « **Reply #559 on:** June 24, 2015, 05:04:47 AM »

I guess I just don't see what you guys see in Elysium, it all sounds pretty average to me. I thought Nemesis was a gigantic step up.

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Author Topic: The Stratovarius Thread (Read 105022 times)