Stratovarius – Elysium
Scheduled Release Date: 14th January 2011 on Edel Music
Stratovarius are a very well established band by now and by their 13th album, you kind of know what to expect from them. Great guitar riffs, good melody driven songs and the odd long instrumental thrown in occasionally. Unfortunately this isn’t an album to get particularly excited about. As the first track, Darkest Hours starts up it gives out a positive vibe and a good start, but it doesnt lead into anything much too special, it leads into a track of large repetition. Yes, ok, the chorus is quite nice and catchy, but having it repeated about 4 times, with the same bridge just before almost every time is a bit excessive. Under Flaming Skies is a decent song however with some nice catchy melodies and some of the usual guitar work you’ve come to expect from them, but again nothing too special. This kind of theme seems to follow through most of the album, with many repetitive sections and lacking any real spark to it.
That is until it reaches track 8, Event Horizon, the first track to really grab my attention. It belts into some fantastic riffing and a less boring feel to the whole track compared to the rest of the album. Once again some fantastic solo’s and a nice catchy chorus that isnt overly used like in some of the previous tracks.
Ending with the title track this album does actually end on a high, even if it hasn’t been particularly brilliant through the rest of it, which is a real shame. Elysium is a good interesting song with some strong guitar and bass riffing, and a decent, more interesting structure to it. It kicks into gear with faster tempo after about 5 minutes and manages to hold my attention nicely throughout its 18 minutes which is a shame as the rest of the album couldnt keep me that interested, and a lot of people wouldnt have listened this far into it.
Unfortunately, despite ending on a high note, this seems to be an album of filler tracks for Stratovarius. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent album that will keep stratovarius fans as fans, but it lacks any real spark until the last 2 tracks, which a lot of listeners would miss out on. Other than those 2, it’s just plain song structures, repetitive songs and if you're not already a fan of them, this probably wont grab you particularly well.
5/10
Bryan Shuttleworth
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