Search - Stratovarius :: Fright Night

Masterpiece for melodic metal fans!

Juha Ylinen | Finland | 09/06/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is absolutely Stratovarius best album! There are no weak lenks. Tolkki sings better can you imagine. Instrumental tracks are just great ( Fire Dance and Goodbye ). My favourites songs are False Messiah and Fright Night, which are melodic heavy classics. Why I can't find these songs of Chosen Ones best of collection. This album is must buy for every Stratovarius fan and those people. Keyboards player is a real professional and he plays like a heavy metal god. Tolkki can play guitar like a master!"

It lets "Twilight Time" eat dust !

Gustavo D. | Rio de Janeiro , Brazil | 11/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you don't know, Twilight time or Stratovarius II was the group's second cd. It's only average, despite the good songs

(Break the ice or Out of the shadows for example).

Fright Night is the band's rarest studio album, but the best with

Timo Tolkki on vocals if we make the good track percentage. (Debut too)

With the exception of the filler Goodbye ( acoustic instrumental)

this work has NO DOWNS. Almost no keyboards, but inventive riffs

and AWESOME guitar solos by Tolkki as always. Tuomo Lassila ( ex-drummer) doesn't let the repetition ghost, that haunts Jorg Michael, get near.It's heavier overall but didn't lose the melodic metal attributes.



Future shock: Looks like Timo put clothes nailer on his nose to sing, but don't be afraid: it doesn't mean untuning.



False Messiah: It contains something that Jari Kainulainen doesn't do in Strato songs : bass solo (short,but well placed).

The beat varies much (thanks, Lassila!). Good chorus. One of my favourites.



Black Knight: Go, go, go ,go, go ,go! Black Knight! Tolkki's energy in this track called my attention. That guitar stroke in 2:20 ...... fabulous! He does some David Murray-esque(Iron Maiden guitarist) linking solos (turbo)in the beggining. Listen, man!



Witch hunt: Tuomo does an interesting drum solo at start, check it out.



Fire Dance: Well worked instrumental. 47 seconds mark: a rhythm that remembers the army, I like it. As in standard Strato instrumental songs, Tolkki abuses of his playing abilities.How great!



Fright Night : It's like the 2nd track ,many tempo variations.

It came closer to the progressive style.

It has my favourite riffs in the album. One word sums it all:

perfect



The 7th and 8th tracks are worthwhile too.

If you can't buy it in your country try downloading it from internet.

"

The best Stratovarius album? Hmmm... well not for me anyways

Clay | Austin, Tx | 08/07/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Well... I would call this CD an average CD but this isn't really for me entirely. It came out in 1989, but it sounds a lot older than that. It sounds like something a band would come out in the very early 80s. Although I am a big fan of a few old school metal bands (like old Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Slayer) this really doesn't do it for me. It's not really that heavy for a power metal album. Certainly not for people who care for heavyness in their music. I'm not saying that softness is a bad thing in music I just think that this album would have sounded better if the production increased the sound volume a lil more. So what I am saying then, if you like something that sounds in the line of Black Sabbath and Black Label Society you well probably love this album. As for me, it just didn't do it for me. I got three albums from them so far. They are Visions (amazing album), Elements Pt. 1 (only liked a few songs here but the ones that I like are my favorites), and Episode (another awesome album). I know that they were different in the past so I was prepared to expect the difference (I love both old and new Arch Enemy, same goes for In Flames). Do not get me wrong of this but I STILL LIKE IT but just not wowed is all. If your gonna start off with this band start off with Visions. It's definitly the best way you can go.



Song ratings: 1 = lowest 10 = highest (in my opinion)



Future Shock: 6/10 Not a bad intro to the album. It kicks things up with a bang.



False Messiah: 7/10 This song has a beat that makes the album feel like it's still starting up while it's getting stronger at the same time.



Black Night: 5/10 My least favorite on here. It's not that bad but the vocalist annoys me when he says "no no no no no no".



Witch Hunt: 10/10 This song is stuck in my head so I really have no choice but to give it a 10. It's an awesome song and the rhythm will get stuck in your head for days.



Fire Dance: 9/10 The half way point of the album. It's an awesome instrumental and it launches you into the second half of the album. The drummer is a shining sun on this instrumental.



Fright Night: 10/10 Best song off the album without a doubt. It's the longest and heaviest song off the album. Very great. Sometimes I just skip to Fire Dance, listen to this song next, then just turn off the album because I just feel like listening to this gem.



Night Screamer: 10/10 Very good song. Deserves another 10.



Darkness: 7/10 Not bad. Very enchanting feeling.



Goodbye: 8/10 It's an outtro. I love albums that have these instrumentals in it cause it keeps the pace of the album will either ending of beggining it. It's a nice way to end this album. After this song ends I feel pretty majestic yet disapointed at the same time.



So this maybe wasn't my cup of tea. I probably had too much death metal is all but anyways. These are just my faults for the album. Others I'm sure will enjoy it since a lot of people enjoy the old school feeling this album brings. I woundn't recommend it to someone who likes really heavy bands such as Necrophagist, Obituary, Carcass, Death, and you get the point. I highly recommend it though to people who love old school metal. Just be warned it's not for everyone at all. Dangerously overhyped."