I think it's a bit of a stretch to try and craft Stratovarius as a progressive band at all. I like them, I've supported them, but labeling them as progressive is just an attempt to legitimize them in the eyes of people who aren't going to be swayed anyway as far as I'm concerned. They were a very influential power metal band in Europe, and that's good enough for me.
Being "progressive" makes something "legitimate"?
If your trying to get prog fans into them, then yes.
Seriously, do you really think that was the purpose of the conversation we were having regarding progressive elements in some Stratovarius songs?
All we know Stratovarius is a power metal band! AND NO, I don't want, nor I'm trying to turn them into a progressive band like DT or smt. But you can't deny there are prog elements in some of their songs. Even more than many songs coming from "progressive bands"... And it is a direction they got when Matias Kupiainen came to the band. They still having the same ideas, but with a new direction and new thoughts coming from a new composer for the band, Kupiainen, who likes a lot prog music. He loves SymphonyX for example. Those are things they said in interviews, not random thoughts coming from me.
If you think that means that me or 4/5 users are trying to gain some attention from people around here, then you have a problem...But I'm sure you don't think it that way.
It's easier. If you listen to Elysium, their last album you have:
- The typical kind of power metal stuff they always had in their style in: Under Flaming Skies, Infernal Maze, The game never ends, Event Horizon and Castaway.
- The typical kind of single they used to have: Darkest hours.
- Ballads with a new touch and some new elements: Fairness justified, Move the mountain.
- Some songs with more prog elements on it: Lifetime in a moment in some way, and Elysium is a progressive song or at least a progpower song.
The same happened with Polaris, the first album they released without Tolkki, emancipation suite is not the typical Stratovarius song. Listen in that album King of Nothing, Falling Star and Emancipation Suite. that's not the typical old Stratovarius at all. Even Deep Unknown is a single that many people was surprised while seeing that song becoming a single. Of course you can hear their elements, but it's not the same. It is a new direction.
Elysium marks that new direction. And again, that is not a random thought I'm having while posting, it is what reviews, fans and the band members says too.
Topic: Timo Tolkki calls it a day (Read 5106 times)
