Search - Stratovarius :: Episode

Another amazing album from Stratovarius

Stargazer | New York | 02/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Stratovarius is one of the best bands ever. This album is a metal milestone and it's not even there best album! This song has everything fast rockers, slow epics, ballads, amazing vocals, virtuoso guitar work, a great rythym section. The songwriting is excellent too.



1.Father Time- 10/10 A great fast opener. The riff is awesome and Timo Kotipelto's vocals are excellent. An excellent guitar solo too. This is a classic



2.Will the Sun Rise?- 10/10 Another great song. The riff is excellent and Kotipelto hits some very high notes. The classic section is great too which leads right into an explosive guitar and keyboard trade off.



3.Eternity- 10/10 The intro is awesome and the riff is one of the best I've ever heard. The soft part which Kotipelto singing has an 80's feel to it. The keyboards are great in this song and Timo Tolkki throws in god like guitar solo.



4.Episode- 10/10 A beautiful instrumental. The keyboards are excellent and Timo Tolkki's guitar work has a lot of feel to it. A great intro to the next song too.



5.Speed of Light- 10/10 Another classic. The riff is excellent. There's one guitar fill in here so fast you'd swear it was sped up but it's not! Timo Kotipelto's vocals are great and Timo Tolkki's guitar solo is incredible and it is one of the best guitar solos I've ever heard.



6.Uncertainty- 10/10 A great song with an awesome riff. The pounding rythym section sounds great too. The soft part is excellent and Kotipelto's vocals are great. Another great guitar solo too.



7.Season of Change- 9/10 A great ballad with amazing vocals by Kotieplto. A very well written song with a great chorus. A great keyboard solo too. Timo Tolkki's solo is great too.



8.Stratosphere- 10/10 An awesome instrumental with excellent guitar work. The opening line is great but it gets even better when it explodes into a fast solo section. The soft part is beautiful and features some of Timo Tolkki's best guitar work ever.



9.Babylon- 10/10 An excellent Rainbow influenced epic. This sounds a lot like the Rainbow songs Stargazer, Gates Of Babylon and Eyes OF Fire. The vocals are excellent and I don't even need to say that the music is great too. The scream beofre the solo is excellent too. The solo sounds like a mix of Ritchie Blackmore, George Lynch and Yngwie and the keyboard solo is great too.



10.Tomorrow- 9/10 Another great song. The riff is awesome and the vocals are great. Timo Tolkki's solo is excellent too.



11.Night Time Eclipse- 10/10 A classic song with one of the best guitar riffs I've ever heard. The soft part is beautiful and Timo Kotipelto's vocals are excellent. More great guitar work. An excellent epic.



12.Forever- 10/10 A beautiful ballad with amazing vocals. This has a real mideval feel to it.



13.When the Night Meets the Day- 10/10 Another great song. This song is very slow and it's a ballad. The vocals are amazing and the guitar solo is very touching.



If you like power metal than this album is essential. There best album is Visions but this album is great too. Timo Tolkki plays fast but plays with a lot of emotion too so the guitar solos are almost perfect. If you like Helloween, Queensryche, Rainbow, Dio, Iron Maiden or any other Stratovarius album than you need this album.



Timo Kotipelto- Vocals

Timo Tolkki- Guitar

Jorg Michael- Drums

Jari Kainulainen- Bass

Jens Johansson- Keyboards

"

I don't know why people give it less than 4 stars.

Fredward Drewdarf | Santa Clarita CA | 02/02/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent cd. It's quite a jump from their original cds and songwriting however, it's for the better. I love the musicality and intricacies. I also like the addition of an epic feel to songs like Eternity and Stratosphere. The singing is a little different but I grew accustomed to it. Overall I would recommend this to any power metal fan."

An interesting stepping stone on the Stratovarius journey

Paul Lawrence | Australia | 01/11/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This album straddles two eras of the band. There is plenty of clunky early style stuff. But just when you thought that this might be like Dreamspace or Fright Night they pull out stuff like Father Time. Personally I prefer the live version on the Visions live double CD but this is still a cool track. Not to mention the fey sort of feelings invoked by listening to Forever. Try it with the lights out! However I can't justify more than three stars due to the feeling that these Finns were only just seeing beyond the front door and hadn't yet escaped their musical isolation.



Though I was tempted to make this four stars due to the excellent Season of Change....."