Band:	Revolution Renaissance
Album:	New Era
Style:	Heavy metal, Power metal
Release date:	June 2008

01. Heroes
02. I Did It My Way
03. We Are Magic
04. Angel
05. Eden Is Burning
06. Glorious And Divine
07. Born Upon The Cross
08. Keep The Flame Alive
09. Last Night On Earth
10. Revolution Renaissance

As a long-time fan of Stratovarius I had eagerly been anticipating this release. Assembling a strong and internationally renowned line-up, Timo Tolkki promised to continue what Stratovarius started, carrying the flame into a 'New Era'. Many fans, including myself, had feared something potentially below 2005's Stratovarius self-titled. Unfortunately this is what I personally found. While including some mildly satisfying tracks, the album is devoid of a concept or theme and the use of three different vocalists further complicates this division.

Perhaps the must unfortunate fault is that it actually sounds too much like Stratovarius. Even redeeming tracks like 'Heroes' have the habit of sounding like Visions era Strato'. 'I Did It My Way' continues in a very predictable fashion, much like the rest of this album. 'We Are Magic' could be taken in the same light. 'Angel' is a nice song, but nothing entirely original or special, sounding like a weak '1000 Rainy Nights'. 'Eden Is Burning' has an obvious thematic concept, and has a very similar song structure and feel to the classic 'Infinity'. The same could be said about 'Born Upon The Cross', sounding much like 'Infinity'. By this point of the CD I found myself caring very little. 'Glorious and Divine' has by far the strangest lyrics of the album. A couple of the track's melodies even sound exactly like songs from Elements Part I and II. 'Keep The Flame Alive' is a slow ballad appealing to the Stratovarius Legions. The folky aspect of this song works very well. 'Last Night On Earth' doesn't really flow too well after this, and is followed by the final and unfortunately cringe-worthy track 'Revolution Renaissance'.

New Era sounds like a weak, diluted and recycled version of Stratovarius, without a concept or reasoning. Even the guitar solos sound limited, with no technicality and of course, no Jens Johansson to bounce off on keyboards. It even sounds like Timo simply told the drummer to copy the feel and style of Jörg Michael. This album leaves the feeling that, unfortunately, Stratovarius has been done to death. Now all that is left is the release of the 'surviving' members of Stratovarius to see if this flame can finally rest in peace.