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Stratovarius > Nemesis > Reviews > gasmask_colostomy
Stratovarius - Nemesis

The city burns - 95%

gasmask_colostomy, May 2nd, 2015

Seriously man, what the fuck were Stratovarius thinking? Let's take our classical, reasonably melodic power metal and end a slump by sticking some huge-sounding guitar tone onto that basic formula and polishing things off by adding a pronounced dance sound on about half of the tracks. No way should that thought have entered their heads. No fucking way. And yet it did. This album is a few steps away from its older brother Elysium and light years away from the Timo Tolkki era albums that came earlier in the band's career. They had no right to do this and I'm sure some people were a little miffed. Not me, though. I haven't been a Strat fan for long, so my allegiance is not to be counted on in the first place. What I do agree is that under no circumstances should this album work.

And yet it does. It's just so fucking obvious now I sit down and think about it: power metal is all about fists-in-the-air euphoria and the feeling of unity and energy - so is dance music, though the approach is worlds apart. Just to make it clear, I'm talking here about modern dance music (nothing from the '80s), the kind you might hear in clubs, the kind that makes you drink and jump and take ecstasy and sleep at 4am. I mean, listen to the keyboards on 'Unbreakable' doing entirely their own thing, which is almost nothing to do with power metal, just grooving along behind the riff and keeping the excitement going; listen to the crazy post-chorus surge of 'One Must Fall' and tell me it doesn't take you away to a club; then 'Halcyon Days' is a pure dancefloor song, right from the synths to the explosive chorus. I've seen the keyboard presence on this album described as industrial, but that really isn't true, except maybe in the middle of 'Halcyon Days', though it actually goes a little closer to dubstep than typical industrial sounds. There's that burst of upbeat dance energy and another style, a subtler variation that I think sounds like a vast cinematic shot of the burning city on the cover, with all the destruction and epic scale and strange calm that it shows. Knighthood for Jens Johansson, yes sir.

The rest of the band aren't far behind either, though no one else dominates this album the way the keyboardist does. The pace has notably picked up since the disappointing Polaris and the drumming is great on Nemesis, with much more energy and grandeur than ever before, though it can't often be called complex. The bass is there or thereabouts, though doesn't take up a lot of space in the mix, which is surprising for a band with only one guitarist, but whatever, because that guitarist is almost used to his full here. My only complaint is that I would love to see the guitars double up when a solo arrives. Mattias Kupiainen has been a more modern presence than Tolkki since the moment he stepped into Stratovarius and Nemesis sees him really pushed to the fore and encouraged to be heavy for the first time. The opening riff on 'Abandon' is better than anything on the previous 2 albums and the tone is wickedly heavy, while 'Out of the Fog' is far and away the heaviest song I've heard from this band. It rises up slowly on the drums before Kupiainen throws down a dizzily perfect lick and storms off on a segmented riff that refreshes itself beautifully for the verses simply by dropping the drums to half time. Timo Kotipelto is also on fine form on this song, with a climaxing chorus that makes me feel hot and cold all at the same time. His performance isn't quite as dominant as previously, though that may be because more is going on musically; he still shines on several choruses and there's a gorgeous ballad that he smothers with his trademark style.

This album works for one reason more than all these great performances - great songs. There isn't anything that feels extra here and that's a big compliment for an album that reaches an hour in length. Verses seem vital rather than plodding (that opening "I'm waiting for a train..." from 'Abandon' is simply delightful, especially when the riff kicks back in) and choruses step up the intensity, though often slow down, which is in most places the right move. For example, the quick 'Stand My Ground' has a huge, stately chorus that contrasts nicely with the more urgent verses, but when the band crank up the pace on 'Dragons' that chorus really takes your hair off, shreddy riff behind it and all. Even the ballad 'If the Story Is Over' (note it's the ballad, not one of 2 or 3) is very well constructed, with 2 quiet verses and a chorus before steadily building towards the end, plus thoughtful and intelligent lyrics. 'Castles in the Air' and 'One Must Fall' are probably the weakest songs here, the former a little long and the latter with a certain ponderous quality, but both have redeeming factors and are worth repeated listens.

I'm giving this album a slightly higher score than my comments might suggest purely because I think it's such a brave and confident release, which not only risked a lot for Stratovarius, but also showed that power metal can be traditional without becoming incestuous. Even the bands incorporating more modern elements into their sound (Helloween, Gamma Ray, etc.) still sound familiar and classic, so it took enormous balls for a more conventional band (in my opinion) to get rid of all the cobwebs and start afresh. Also, it blows my fucking socks off every time I listen to it. Good job, lads.