So anybody can criticize these guys. Love them or hate them, you cannot deny the influence that these guys have on the Metal community, going beyond their days as a quartet, incorporating many other "elements" so to speak, rather than your stick-in-the-mud standardized Euro-Power Metal lash of drum pounding and neo-classical guitar riffs, moving beyond the centrifuge of what got them noticed in the first place, evolving like any band would.
But for the Finnish quintet, the evolution has not gone anywhere out in left field (per say like Queensryche and
Metallica have), they have moved beyond the standard of Tollki's Malmsteen influenced guitar alongside the psuedo-classical harpsichord keyboard styling to using more in your face production, adding more than the thrust of guitar and keyboard overtures, incorporating a less frivolous soundscape to keep themselves from becoming redundant within the style that they helped create.
Opening up with a dark transitional
"Alpha and Omega," providing the continuation for the second half of Elements, sounding like it could end the record rather than begin this one, complete with strings, making the heavier symphonic element present just the way it is on part one. Now it's back to basics with
"I walk to my own song" easily in comparison to
"Hunting High and Low" from Infinity or
"Save Our Soul" from Destiny, but yet they again go beyond the whole straight ahead double bass and repetitive rhythmic patterns, showcasing more of a stripped down rock drumming style, bass lines that stand out, and more standardized progressive organization than the normal sub avant-garde structure (so what are you saying Hashman, have they have gone pop..? Noooo, stop accusing them of that!!), but yet the
Stratovarius sound is still at it's utmost presence.
Cuts like
"I'm Still Alive" and
"Know the Difference" follow the same path while
"Awaken the Giant," with it's Headless Cross-era Sabbath sound and the Queensryche-ish
"Dreamweaver" show a more introspective sound for the band (Oh, thank God, that's not the same
"Dreamweaver" that most 70's soft rock radio stations play the shit out of). Now what album would this album be without ballads, the emotional, sub-acoustic
"Season of Faith's Perfection," the atmospheric
"Luminous," and the closing number,
"Liberty" round out the second Elements' sound.
Overall it's a great fucking record, not disappointing at all, and perfect to compliment the first one, not to mention easily fulfilling the Stratovarious fan. This hit me right then and there. Great record to end the year with, and proves again that the wait was worth it being that the elements albums were the first "conventional" releases to come from these guys since 2000's Infinity (excluding 2001's Intermission, due to the fact that it was mainly a compilation). A must for all Stratovarus fans.
Written by
Hashman Sunday, January 4, 2004
Show all reviews by HashmanRatingsHashman: 8.5/10Members: 7/10 - Average of 1 ratings.
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 | Tommy
Rating: 7/10
This is indeed a very solid release. The classic Strato stuff is all here, but compared to... · Read more · |
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