Stratovarius - Elysium
| Release date: | 12 January 2011 |
| Style: | Power metal |
|
Owners: |
398 have it 43 want it |
Disc I
01. Darkest Hours
02. Under Flaming Skies
03. Infernal Maze
04. Fairness Justified
05. The Game Never Ends
06. Lifetime In A Moment
07. Move The Mountain
08. Event Horizon
09. Elysium
1 - Part 1
2 - Part 2
3 - Part 3
10. Castaway [Japanese bonus]
11. Last Shore [collector's edition bonus]
12. Hallowed [collector's edition bonus]
Disc II [Digipack edition demo's]
01. Darkest Hours
02. Under Flaming Skies
03. Infernal Maze
04. Fairness Justified
05. The Game Never Ends
06. Lifetime In A Moment
07. Move The Mountain
08. Event Horizon
09. Elysium
01. Darkest Hours
02. Under Flaming Skies
03. Infernal Maze
04. Fairness Justified
05. The Game Never Ends
06. Lifetime In A Moment
07. Move The Mountain
08. Event Horizon
09. Elysium
1 - Part 1
2 - Part 2
3 - Part 3
10. Castaway [Japanese bonus]
11. Last Shore [collector's edition bonus]
12. Hallowed [collector's edition bonus]
Disc II [Digipack edition demo's]
01. Darkest Hours
02. Under Flaming Skies
03. Infernal Maze
04. Fairness Justified
05. The Game Never Ends
06. Lifetime In A Moment
07. Move The Mountain
08. Event Horizon
09. Elysium
Reviews 
Lyrics Timo Kotipelto - vocals
Jens Johansson - keyboards
Matias Kupiainen - guitars, additional keyboards
Jörg Michael - drums
Lauri Porra - bass, additional keyboards
Additional musicians:
Perttu Vänskä - programming
Riso Kupiainen - programming, additional keyboards
Choir: Arzka Sievälä, Jani Liimatainen, Aleksi Parviainen, Tipe Johnson, Anssi Stenberg, Hepa Waara.
Additional info
Matias Kupiainen
Release dates:
Asia - January 12
Worldwide - January 14
Deluxe digipack contains:
- A bonus disk with demos of the entire album.
- 5 postcards with album art and a personal message from every band member.
- Holographic CD case
The Japanese version includes one bonus track:
10. Castaway (04:40)
The Limited Edition has a bonus CD with demo versions of all the songs of the album.
The Collector's Edition is signed by the band and contains the demos of the bonus CD of the limited edition as mp3 files. It also contains a bonus 7" with exclusive songs:
Side A: Last Shore
Side B: Hallowed
Tracks 5 & 7 by Johansson
Tracks 6 & 10 by Porra
Track 2 music by Kotipelto/Kupiainen, lyrics by Kotipelto
Tracks 3, 4 & 8 music by Kupiainen, lyrics by Kotipelto
Tracks 1 & 9 music by by Kupiainen, lyrics by Kotipleto/Kupiainen
Rating:
8.0
8.0
|
Rating: 8.0 |
Stratovarius...That's that Finnish soap opera, right? Well, yeah, it's easy enough to chock this bands last few lack-lustre albums up to piss poor band chemistry and the downright cartoon-like drama that ensued because of it. So they "eliminated" the "problem", and came out with Polaris - an inching recovery, but a recovery nonetheless. Polaris, to put it lightly, was hit-or-miss on many tracks, but overall left most people, aside from perhaps the die-hard fans with an overall "meh" feeling. Fair enough, you can easily blame the new guy for that one, maybe the band chemistry just hadn't clicked yet? Well, the new guy is no longer the new guy, and there's been no reported in-fighting since Mr.Tolkki's days. I guess you could say every silver lining has a black cloud, because at this point they no longer had any excuse to release anything but their best. I'm not entirely sure what Stratovarius' "best" sounds like, but I can imagine it sounds something like this. Read more ›› |
Rating:
8.2
8.2
|
Rating: 8.2 |
After the surprisingly good Polaris and yes it is surprising since Timo Tolkki wrote most of the band's songs and hits, I had really high hopes that the new album would be even better but after listening to the single "Darkest Hours", I felt "Deep Unknown" was on a higher level. Well I was wrong! The album is as solid as it gets. Unlike Polaris which contains some of Stratovarius' best songs ("Deep Unknown", "Falling Star", "King Of Nothing", "Winter Skies"), but also had its share of mediocre moments ("Blind", "Higher We Go"), Elysium on the other hand starts with the fairly good "Darkest Hours" and continues to impress me with each passing track. The production is crystal clear and not over polished at all, the highlight being the sound of Lauri Porra's bass guitar. The groove he provides on "Lifetime In A Moment" and "Fairness Justified" is phenomenal and contributes positively to the overall sound. The absence of the typical fast double bass songs is eminent throughout but that's not to say that there are none. "Infernal Maze", being one of the finest tracks on the album, has the best vocal performance by Timo Kotipelto since the Infinite album. Perhaps the biggest surprise in Elysium is the presence of the 18 minute epic title track with its epic feel and changing moods which stands as one of the most impressive works the band has released to date. The admission of guitarist Matias Kupiainen was a good choice even though the change in the band's sound might be repelling to the Tolkki enthusiasts but Kupiainen is doing more than well in filling the big shoes of Timo Tolkki, his influence on the 18 minute title track brought some very inspiring moments and showcased what drummer Jörg Michael is capable of ("Elysium" Part II is worth mentioning). Read more ›› |
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Comments: 63
Visited by: 977 users
| Empyror Posts: 89  |
Written by Angelic Storm on 06.02.2011 at 15:03 Where did you hear these at?
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675  |
Written by Empyror on 07.02.2011 at 04:17 I downloaded them.  I obviously can't post any links here though...
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| Doc G. Full Grown Hoser Staff Posts: 9718  |
Written by Fat & Sassy! on 01.02.2011 at 22:08 Yeah, I've noticed the same thing. It's a bit annoying, really. It does nothing to promote discussion, and it's nothing that can't be just as easily stated in the album votes.
---- "I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck." - George Carlin
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941  |
Written by Doc G. on 09.02.2011 at 14:01 Sounds to me as this guy gives his 'verdict' about an album and that's all. I mean, as if he believes by posting this he ends up all discussion and teaches us the 'undeniable truth'. His posts give me the feeling he believes his opinion is the one and final. And, in fact, his posts explain absolutely nothing and are only a dead list of numbers. Pointless.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| Fat & Sassy! Elite Posts: 3857  |
Written by [user id=107773] on 09.02.2011 at 20:05 Yes. In fact, they are. ... Now imagine if I left my post at that and did not explain why. I mean, you are wondering why, right? That's basically what numbers are. It doesn't give you an idea of *why* someone likes something or whatever. No reasoning whatsoever. The point to these threads is to "discuss" things. Just posting numbers or "I like this, cus I like it comments" are fairly pointless. It's not insightful at all, and we learn nothing about others thoughts, ideas, and perspectives.
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| Fat & Sassy! Elite Posts: 3857 |
Written by [user id=107773] on 09.02.2011 at 23:11 So... what do they exactly represent? That's my point. We do not know. Why do people bother writing reviews if they could just slap a meaningless number on it? Why do some reviewers fill the rating slot with N/A? To draw a parallel here: Do you go through life questioning nothing? I mean, if you are challenged with a conflict in your life, do you just accept it for what it is or try and figure out WHY the conflict exists in the first place to reach a better understanding of the problem? This is the kind of reasoning I think is important to follow when throwing out an opinion or whatever. "Oh, well I think this album sucks." "Why?" "Uh... I just do." "Oh, cool story, bro. Glad we've reached some sort of understanding." This is what numbers mean to me. Okay... If you can't understand where I'm coming from now, I don't know what to tell you. I tried my best. ;P
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| Luneth Account deleted |
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| Fat & Sassy! Elite Posts: 3857 |
Written by [user id=107773] on 10.02.2011 at 00:00 See what I did there? Totally just used this whole discussion as an example. Now... I have a better understanding of where you are coming from. SO... I will just end it there, since a)We are pretty off-topic b)We've kinda come to a resolution c)I don't really know you well enough to share anymore of my philosophical thoughts on the the subject at hand. Don't wanna offend.
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| Luneth Account deleted |
Luneth
Account deleted Written by Fat & Sassy! on 10.02.2011 at 00:08 Hahaha lol, it's not what you think.
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| fade Son of Sweden Staff Posts: 3771  |
Written by Andreas on 04.02.2011 at 17:08 Well duh, I certainly don't speak for anyone else but me as this was not my review. 
---- The troubles of avoiding horseshit. My Music database: http://www.racksandtags.com/northernsky/
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| Kropy Posts: 108  |
Thanks for your feedback. Assessment is for me. I need to know these values for further work with CD for archiving, etc. My English is not good for writing reviews. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'll still use this assessment.
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| Luneth Account deleted |
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| MJOLNIR Posts: 2 |
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| Obaida Posts: 11  |
This album is not like the old Stratovarius's releases, but if we want to compare it with other power releases, it's perfect, amazing and an epic masterpiece !
---- If a writer wrote merely for his time, I would have to break my pen and throw it away ..
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| ARGON Posts: 2  |
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| consign2oblivion Posts: 24  |
Quite "feeble" in total, but I still love their melodies and vocals and drums.
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| Starchild Posts: 111  |
I'm big fan of old stratovarius (episode, visions, destiny, infinite), and I thought that they will never again be on that level. Last 3 albums was mediocre, and i lost hope they will produce a great album again, but i was wrong. This album is amazing, definitelly return to form, their comeback. I like that progressive touch in some songs, and dark apocaliptic atmosphere/lyrics, melodies are great, and new guitarist Matias Kupiainen made a really good job, and can't forget to mention last song (18 mins of epicness ) So, great album, Stratovarius rocks again!!!
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| Berserk Posts: 164  |
Started listening to it and thought it was pretty good. Then I got to the last song, eylsium, and I ended up being very impressed
---- Fear the Old Blood
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| The Norseman Posts: 78  |
Even tho I listen to power metal for more than 10 years I never really gave a try to a Stratovarius album from the start to the end, this was my first. I started to listen with an open mind, I don't care about their popularity and their classic albums, I'm just listening to this album as if it was from a new unknown band. Well.. I really can give more than a 6, and even 6 was being nice so I end up with a 5. I gave the album a lot of spins waiting to see if it would grow on me (sometimes happens) but even still, nothing... overall I just didn't enjoy. Cain's Offering (with the same vocals) was a much more enjoyable album for me. Sorry Stratovarius fans, this album might sound good for you but for me... it's just didnt trigger.
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| AXA Posts: 199  |
Yeah brother The Norseman ,,, i agree with u i try to hear this album as new metal band ,,, not Stratovarius this a nother bad album with good sound i can give this album more than a 6 ... maybe 6 .5
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| Pankar95 Posts: 46 |
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| DJCynic Posts: 13  |
Written by The Norseman on 01.06.2011 at 18:22 yeah me too i like most cain's offering - gather the faithful then this album.elysium is just not a classic for me but not boring either
---- DJCynic
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| ScnD361 Posts: 73 |
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| Stunning Cactus Posts: 324  |
I will never understand what people liked more about Nemesis. This album blows it away in every aspect.
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