Has there ever been a better example of a band carrying on in the absence of its figurehead than Stratovarius? Struggling to survive during the last days of Timo Tolkki, the current iteration of the band has now released an album called Survive while positively thriving.
Review by musclassia ››

Few bands could hope to release a 16th studio album and fewer bands still could even dream that their 16th effort would be an album that could stand with some of their best. While the likes of Helloween, Gamma Ray and Rhapsody seem to have reached a stage where they sound completely uninspired with a lack of passion for their music, Finnish power metal juggernauts Stratovarius sound as good as they have done in many years.
Review by Belegûr ››

What a difference a line-up change can make. An energy is present in Stratovarius's camp which can only be pinned down to a fresh chemistry. New gun Rolf Pilve has quite the role to fill and expectations are high as he replaces Jorg Michael who provided the drums for many of the band's classic records. Perseverance is key and even after all their previous dramas Stratovarius have made Nemesis their most expressive return to form.
Review by R'Vannith ››

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"...
Review by Doc G. ››

Let's be honest, after all this fuc#$&% Stratovarius drama I was more than afraid for the most famous Finnish band ever. Really it was hard for me to believe in a new album and I was quite sure that the band was just? dead. My fault I'm...
Review by Jeff ››