So according to the official facebook page, Stratovarius are set to release their new studio album Nemesis on February 22, with the first single Unbreakable released January 25th.

Being someone who was quite fond of the last two studio albums, I suspect this one will be good too. I do find it weird how quickly they are knocking these albums out lately, not that I'm complaining! What do you guys think?

Here's the single cover:

Their last couple were above average Euro power, so I'm sure this will be worth a few listens. Will probably have little staying power like most of their other work, though.

Their last 2 albums were probably the best they've ever done (with the exception of the fucking glorious Episode and Visions).

Of course I'm looking forward to it.

I hope the actual album has better artwork than that EP. That is atrocious.

Elysium was pretty good, but I certainly wouldn't put it up there with anything up to and including Infinite. I prefer Timo's neo-classical approach over the new guy's proggy sounding. Elysium is one hell of a song though.

I liked the last two, some of ny favourite faggy flower metal, I won't be too excited due to.the whole being faggy flower metal thing, but hopefully I'll be surprisingly impressed again

My favorite Strato album is definitely Polaris, and even though I was slightly disappointed with Elysium, I'll definitely be looking forward to this. They really do seem to have a new breath of life with Tolkki out of the band.

Given that their albums have been steadily improving since that ass of a self titled album, I'm excited. Should be cool...

My reaction and expectations are about the same as they are for the new Helloween. The last two albums were absolutely amazing and I should be satisfied with more of the same.

Stratovarius never let their fans down. Extremely excited.

They certainly did in 2005.

Same. I've enjoyed the band a lot more since Tolkki left. Before that I was just stuck listening to their '90s material.

Pretty much anything after Destiny and before Polaris is worthless, though they have a few great tunes like "Hunting High and Low" or "Learning to Fly" even in the 2000-2005 crap.

I like their heavier, more metallic stuff, and not so much the sugary-sweet euro-flower/power stuff. Even still, I've never heard anything by them that I would say is outright bad.

Dreamspace was pretty much their zenith, but that was another time and another place as they say. Elements Pt. 1 is great and their mid to late 90s material isn't even good, probably the most overrated PM in existence. But I'm weird.

I could agree with Dreamspace being their best, but I dig Fourth Dimension-Destiny quite a bit too. After that it was hit or miss with some crap until Polaris. What about Elements is superior to the 90's run? Not trying to be antagonistic, I just find that somewhat curious.

Good. Really enjoyed the recent works. The artwork for the single is atrocious, though.

Elements part 1 is better than the 90s stuff for you, M_D? I'm curious too. That album has like 3 good songs and a bunch of overwrought crap. Still better than Infinite's one good song and then crap for the rest of the album, though...I will give it that.

Infinite rocks.

I'm really curious why you think so. Differing points of view are fun...

I think it's a really good mix of more straightforward power metal and slightly proggy power metal. I'm actually more familiar with Infinite than I am with most of their discography, which might be the reason. But regardless, I think it's a damn fine album aside from maybe Glory of the World and Freedom. And the artwork is awesome, whatever that's worth.

Infinite was the first Stratovarius album I saw back in 2003 or so, and with a cover like that I was very impressed (wouldn't even have called my self a metal fan back then). I'm not as harsh as Empyreal on the album, but I will agree that it's not great. Some songs are just flat like "Millenium," but others like "Mother Gaia" are ass. The album needed better writing to chop all those half-thought ideas, because there truly is a good base to work with. The opening track is proof that there was a direction that the band didn't need to go all-in for. If they stuck with that formula instead of the cheese-mongering, then they would have been fine - a step down, but still in the clear. Compare anything on Infinite to something on Elysium, like "Lifetime In A Moment," and you get a "holy shit" moment.

Funny, those 2 songs along with 'Hunting High And Low' are the only 3 i like from that album.

Argh how could you not like "A Million Light Years Away"?, damn catchy chorus. Ahwell I havn't had much to do with Stratovarius for a few years now, bit of a shame really. But this new album is something to look forward to nonetheless.

Elements Pt. 1 is my ultimate favorite, not just as a Stratovarius record but when it comes to power metal. I think it's an album you either love or hate - it's pretty extreme.

Away from Tolkki era, I liked Polaris but Elysium never opened to me.

I don't really get the hate for Infinite. It has several of my favourite Stratovarius songs and is just a killer record overall.

With that said, Elysium was my favourite Stratovarius album so I have very high expectations for this new one.

i think i might be the only one whose favorite Stratovarius album is 'Twilight Time'. It's short, it has enough diversity (not as pretentious as 'Dreamspace' ) and also because it has 2 of their best songs: 'The Hands Of Time' and 'Out Of The Shadows'.

I find Twilight Time rather inconsistent, but "The Hands of Time" is indeed the greatest song they ever did. That one is just unforgettable.

Idk if i am going to really care for this one. For some reason I tend to only listen to their first 3 albums which are really kickass. everything after that beside for a couple songs or its too idk i guess cheesy and keyboard empowering for me.

Looks like it's time for me to return to these guys, I had given up on them god knows how long since the disappointment that was Elements Pt. 2.

Seriously not getting the hate for Infinite though, the only songs I didn't like were Mother Gaia and Celestial Dream...

I just think Infinite is relentlessly subpar, with a few songs that have catchy hooks, sure, but they're also really, really shallow...the two songs you mentioned are the worst of the bunch but the whole thing is just full of mediocre, throwaway songs. Aside from the opener anyway.

While the last two albums are quite good (and both have great covers IMO, unlike the single above), I rarely spin them. I will probably check this out though. Hopefully they do a decent tour for this album, seem 'em live thrice and they were excellent each time.

The album cover and a sample of "Unbreakable" was just released: http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?m ... mID=183196

I would recommend not listening to the sample because you'll be disappointed that it's only a minute long. This is definitely going to leave you wanting to hear the whole song and album.

Also, the cover was very disappointing. It's way too similar to the EP cover, which wasn't all that good compared to Elysium's album cover.

Loving this sample. Also call me crazy but I like the cover.

What an unappealing cover art. Wish they kept the same color scheme and traits of the last two albums for the cover. Of course, the EP cover clued us in that it wasn't going to happen at all, but this cover is ass.

The song, however, was insanely entertaining. Very uplifting and fun. Empyreal, check this out.

Damn it, what the hell is the point of releasing these stupid minute-long samples? Give us a full song, jeez. Still, sample sounds good. Stratovarius is on the up with their last two albums, so I'll probably be getting this. (And yeah, Infinite was incredibly inconsistent, but for super-sugary Euro power metal, you can do a whole lot worse. Like Elements, for instance.)

That sample song sounds extremely sugary and cheesy. I love it.

That sample sounded cool, though I'd much prefer an entire song. It's weird though; I got a slight Angel Dust vibe from that. It was probably because of the contrast between the thick, grinding guitar playing and the delicate keyboards though.

That was a good sample. Koltipelto sounded awesome, and we got all the things that made Stratovarius good - a well done and non-embarrassing pop hook, some of that Finnish slickness and heaviness, and a cool, catchy hook...good shit, I bet I will love this.

Cover art could be better, but that sample was ridiculously awesome. Further proof that Tolkki's departure was the best thing to ever happen to these guys.

The new song was written by the new guitar player, that guy is very talented.