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Rating:
8.9 |
Stratovarius - Elements Part I
27 January 2003
01. Eagleheart
02. Soul Of A Vagabond
03. Find Your Own Voice
04. Fantasia
05. Learning To Fly
06. Papillon
07. Stratofortress
08. Elements
09. A Drop In The Ocean
Ah... the long-awaited new Stratovarius album! I should say, this 3-year break proved very helpful for the guys - Elements pt.1 sounds really fresh and is definitely better than the previous two efforts (Destiny and Infinite). It's also VERY epic - at times you even think the guys went a bit too far with this obsession for the epic-orchestral-choral stuff. Well, I shouldn't complain about this, since I'm obsessed with the same thing.
The album opener (and the new single) Eagleheart, Find Your Own Voice and Learning To Fly are the faster and more straight-forward songs and have this instantly recognizable Stratovarius trademark sound. However, they are better than usually (remember Glory Of The World and Freedom off the previous album - typical fillers!) - maybe because they are not as cheesy... Well, alright, they are cheesy - but that's Stratovarius we're talking about 
But what really fascinated me about this album were the epic and heavily orchestrated songs, Soul Of A Vagabond, Papillon and Elements. Damn, they are absolutely amazing (Papillon being less amazing because of this annoying boy singing in the beginning and in the end). This is exactly what I love about Stratovarius and been longing for since Episode, which was filled with this kind of songs (Eternity, Uncertainty, Season Of Change). But this time they have more power and, of course, these lush mindblowing orchestral and choral parts. These are definitely the songs that made this album.
Fantasia is quite an unusual song for the band, especially the beginning - a good sign, actually, since (let's face it) Stratovarius have never bothered themselves with much originality. Clever orchestration also adds a very nice touch.
The first instrumental since Visions, Stratofortress, left no impression on me at all. Boring.
The album closes with a VERY nice quiet acoustic ballad Drop In The Ocean, accompanied once again by symphonic orchestra and some ocean sounds. The great ending for the great album.
written by Ivan | 22.09.2003 |
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Comments
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12
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Devil Child - 10.09.2006 at 08:13
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| I totallly agree with your review, Stratovarius improve a lot in this album and Soul Of A Vagabond, Fantasia, and Elements are among the best songs Stratovarius have ever done. |
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 Bas - 10.09.2006 at 18:57
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i wouldnt give it a 9.5, but it is a very good album, a 9.0 maybe
my favourite is soul of a vagabond |
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Arcaliz666 - 18.07.2007 at 23:17
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I completely agree with the qualification of the Review.
Best Tracks : Soul Of A Vagabond, Learning To Fly, Stratofortress
Killing Track : Eagleheart |
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This is probably their best  , seriously. |
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| I agree with Lowelas. This is probably their best album... or teh one I enjoy the most at least. Find your own voice is the best song by them IMO. |
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| Damn Eagleheart is flawless. I have been wallowing in that song |
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| This album is nothing more than average maybe 6.5 |
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| I really dont agree with this review. This album better than Destiny and Infinite...well not even close to me. How can someone rate 9.5 to an album and say that have some filler songs. For me a album worth of a 9 dont have any filler, all songs were to be made with a purpose and sense in the album. |
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 Great review. Really loved ''Eagleheart'' and ''Stratofortress''. |
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| Eaglehart is probably their best song |
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| No, Infinite and Destiny we're better albums. Although this is still a good album, far from the best this band offers in their earlier discography. (Visions anybody?) |
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| I don't understand how this can be better than Infinite. I'm not saying it's bad but Infinite is a masterpiece of Power metal and metal in general... |
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