Originally written by Chris Chellis.
I know what these guys are thinking: “We can’t win. We play power metal, and they say it’s cheesy. We play rock, and they call it lame.” Well, someone has got to tell it like it is, and while this album isn’t terrible, most will have the same complaints they had before the group’s apparent reinvention; it’s been done better. For curious minds, I am not going to travel into the group’s more recent tragic history. Call it lazy, but the music is what matters here. Sixteen years and ten original full-lengths later, you’d think these guys would get so bored that they’d be likely to go into a completely different direction. In fact, you might even think that after going in this direction, they’d be likely to call this new stuff genius or brilliant, because they’ve been so stagnant the past few years that anything new is inherently interesting. You’d be god damn right sucker, because that’s exactly how this self-titled release sounds. How about that weird ass electronic introduction? What a way to get us all pumped the hell up, right? And it’s even called “Maniac Dance.” How rad, because we’re all a bunch of blue-haired transvestites that drive our purple Prius’s to the local 80s themed club every Saturday night, right? I can’t explain how frustrating this album can be at times, but the guys in Stratovarius sure did the reviewing community a service by selecting “Maniac Dance” as their new album’s first track, seeing how definitive it is of the album as a whole. This is cheese rock with a few really good, albeit often out of place solos. If I want this style done right I’ll knock on Edguy’s door. At least those guys aren’t trying to commit to a style that doesn’t come natural to them. I can’t help but feel like Kotipelto, Tolkki and gang are trying too hard to play something different to keep it interesting. I imagine it’s comparable to when a relationship is going sour, so the guy tries to spice things up by playing the whole blindfold game, only to discover that trying something new is about as exciting as doing nothing. Not all is bad, though. Despite the horrible name, “Fight!!!” (three exclamation points included) is one of those songs that has the potential to be an adrenaline-pumper were it not for the fact that it settles so early into a limp chorus. That said, it’s catchy and worth a single download if you can find it somewhere. In fact, a lot of songs fit that description, including the following track, “Just Carry On.” There’s a lot of orchestration and smaller details that went into constructing this album that I appreciate, such as the inclusion of strings in the beginning of “Back to Madness,” but it doesn’t add much to a very boring mix. The Stratovarius faithful and fans of Edguy should give this a listen before writing it off, because there’s some potential in this new direction. I don’t want to argue for down-tuned riffs, but if the riffs were a bit grittier and the electronic elements and cheesy voice-overs were done away with, what would be left could make for a more interesting and rewarding listen.
