I agree. As much as getting rid of Tolkki was good, adding Kupianien was even better. He wrote 5 songs on Elysium and co-wrote another. Two of those include the mind-blowing "Event Horizon" and "Elysium". I'm really hoping that he wrote most of this album (along with Johannsson, who is the other strong writer in this band, IMO).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9XbEjJeyeQ

The full version of "Unbreakable" is up for those who want to hear it (you probably have at this point, but here it is for those who haven't). Gets more upbeat as the song goes on, but also has a very awesome riff around the 3 minute area. THIS is why I love this incarnation of Stratovarius so much. Still love the verse and chorus, as well.

That was cool. I really like the production - better than the last two albums even. Nice, meaty, full sound.

Fuck, you're right about that riff around the third minute. It almost sounds like it came out of one of the latest Symphony X albums! And yeah, really liked this. Very anthemic and memorable. Definitely will give the album a listen when it drops.

Goddamn... 2:55 onwards is just... wow.

I just don't see the appeal of this. It's boring as fuck, and the vocalist is annoying. Yeah, there's one actual riff about 2/3 of the way through the song. Fucking groundbreaking for Stratovarius, I guess, but that's more a function of just how trashy this band is than anything else.

Can't say I'm terribly excited by this song. Kinda uninteresting for the most part, but hopefully it's one of the few duds on the album given the quality of the last two.

It's kinda weird seeing folks come out of the Heavy/Power/Speed recommendations thread. It's like hermits emerging from their caves for the first time in years.

^



They aren't a band for people who listen to traditional/power metal expecting only 80s homages and Iron Maiden/Queensryche stylings (though in their 90s heydey they were pretty heavily QR influenced). The main appeal is just the catchy pop hooks. It's infectious. I'd say the difference in opinion here is like, in DM circles, when people come in and go "I don't get why people like tech death; it's soulless and wanky." Well of course it is. And Stratovarius is poppy and mainstream sounding...that's their angle, is all. The whole appeal. I doubt anybody listens to em for the heavy riffage (despite the last few comments here).

Not to say there's anything wrong with liking old 80s metal or old school death metal, both are two of my choice metal genres...I just don't listen to Stratovarius for reasons I listen to metal.

I love this song. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's just so fucking endearing and memorable.

I've heard the promo stream of the album and this stuff is going to surprise a lot of people. It's VERY good, probably the best thing they've done since Visions. Better than Elysium and better than Infinite. The new guitar player has absolutely sick rhythm riffs, the new drummer really expands their sound quite a bit, and everything is just very heavy and epic. That heavy riff on "Unbreakable" is very indicative of what you can expect from the rest of the album.

Another new song available called Halcyon Days is available here:
http://www.bravewords.com/news/197077

Pretty cool, sounds a bit like Pagan's Mind with the riffs but still with the signature Strato style chorus. But still doesn't leave as big an effect on me as I hoped it would have.

Not as memorable as "Unbreakable," and the pacing sure is different, but the chorus was nice once the song kept that starting riff. Definitely enjoying Johansson fiddling with the keys (some of that electronic farting during the bridge wasn't too great, though) and the way Kotpelto sounds more confident with them.

That was really good, better than Pagan's Mind has been in years. The chorus wasn't their best ever, but it was cool and unique and the music had that really, really good electronic/spacey segment that just ruled. This is setting up to be a firebomb right out of the gates for 2013 - great start to the year for power metal!

This song did not do it at all for me. The chorus isn't too bad, but the rest of the song is either too dominated by the electronic aspect or the darker melodies. I'm hoping it will grow on me, but the electronic parts really left a bad taste in my mouth.

I think'd it'd be alright to bring this back for this news. Album leaked. Then again, you can go purchase it, too, so "leaked" isn't so significant. Only a few tracks in, but it's definitely Stratovarius still kicking ass.

@ Empyreal - listen to "Out of the Fog"! Wow!

Stop that right now!

Stop it!

/broke

Just ordered it on Amazon, but it says it doesn't even come out until the end of the month - guess that's the US release date. Oh well.

The new song sounds okay, but I enjoy classics like "Phoenix" and "Speed of Light" better. At least it's not as bad as the self-titled album, that thing almost turned me off Strato for good.

"Out of the Fog" sounds like something off of DragonForce's Ultra Beatdown almost. This is a pretty crazy album.

edit: On my third listen and I think after this I'll delete the download and just wait for the real copy. I think this is really good, and definitely their heaviest and most eclectic album since the 90s. However I think Elysium may be better - this album is a little too crammed with lyrics and different styles, and while it's very ambitious, I just miss the atmosphere and cohesion that Elysium had. That album just had a way of using simple musical motifs and making them sound absolutely huge, and the repetition of choruses and themes added a lot of wistful atmosphere, like a misty night in the big city under streetlights - that was great, and this one doesn't exactly have that flow. But maybe Nemesis will grow on me. Favorite tracks have to be "Abandon," "Fantasy" and maybe the title track - one thing they really do well on this is writing great verses and build-ups; even better than the choruses sometimes, which I didn't expect.

Well you guys got me so excited I just pre-ordered this and the new Rotting Christ from Amazon!

I've been listening over and over to this album for a while now. It's definitely a grower. There's just so much to absorb, and I think I'm well on my way of getting to really know the songs now. I really really like this album. I don't know if it's gonna be better than Elysium for me, but it might. Great album from a great band indeed. Really showing Sonata Arctica how it should be done.