Shredding: Stratovarius

17. Intermission (2001)

I know it’s not a studio album, but it contains enough original songs for me to judge it as such, same with Intermission 2. There are about 3 songs on this I like and then the rest is either mid tempo crap or ballads, and we all know Stratovarius is bad at ballads. This is the only Stratovarius “album” I don’t ever see myself sitting all the way through again. 

16. Stratovarius (2005)

Is it bad or just average? I think it’s closer to average than bad, but it’s a near thing. Fight and Carry On are great, so are Back to Madness and Land of Ice and Snow, but the rest is just mid tempo slog. There’s a reason it’s on the bottom of most lists. Also it needs to be said, Land of Ice and Snow is legit my second favorite ballad of the Tolkki albums (the first one being Winter). 

15. Elements pt. 2 (2003)

It’s got some great cuts, but you can tell Tolkki was running out of ideas. Alpha and Omega, Know the Difference and Dreamweaver are good enough on their own to make the album worthwhile, but it’s definitely a subpar Stratovarius album.

14. Dreamspace (1994)

It’s kind of long and bloated. There are a bunch of good ideas on here that go nowhere and for how many songs are on this that’s a lot of half ideas. However I appreciate the hooks and I can see the hints of what will be. My favorite songs: Magic Carpet Ride & Dreamspace

13. Fright Night (1989)

This album was a shock to me when I revisited it. I’m a little older, a little wiser and a little more accustomed to old school mix and production. What struck me was the energy this album exudes, they don’t sound like they’re playing their debut album. In fact chronologically if you swapped Dreamspace with Fright Night that would make a lot more sense to me. Future Shock, False Messiah and Fright Night are all excellent songs that I see myself adding into regular rotation in the near future. 

12. Elements 1 (2003)

Tolkki’s songwriting really began it’s deterioration here, but this album still gives us some great material. Learning to Fly, Find Your Own Voice, and Stratofortress are all excellent songs. Oh and Soul of a Vagabond is one of the best slow March tempo songs they’ve ever made. The real flaws here are in the balladry (what a shock) and the epics. Fantasia is okay, but it has weird pacing issues and honestly it needed more connective tissue. 

11. Twilight Time (1992)

This has always been my favorite of the Tolkki vocals, era of Stratovarius. It’s got a good combination of classic heavy metal and some hints of what would come. Unlike Dreamspace though I think this album is a little more complete, and more consistent. Dreamspace sounds to me like a bunch of good ideas thrown together. Twilight Time is shorter, and more concise overall. The more time I spend with the early albums the more I appreciate Tolkki’s vocals. He’s not amazing or anything, but especially in the late 80s early 90s metal scene his voice fits in perfectly. 

10. Destiny (1998)

Overrated thy name is Destiny. Everyone remembers this album so fondly because of the bookend epics, which I won’t deny are awesome. Not to mention, No Turning Back, Cold Winter Nights, and Playing with Fire. However this album has one (or rather three) really big flaw. Three ballads? Really Tolkki? I actually kind of like Venus in the Morning, but the other two are garbage in my opinion. It’s still a good album, but the ballads just kill the energy. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRMvAN_H4Yc

9. Eternal (2015)

I do really enjoy this album, but I can’t help but be bothered by something. This album definitely has filler, and I think they’re starting to hit a wall creatively, at least with this style. I like that they went away from Nemesis and back to a more classic sound, I really do, after so many people hated Nemesis (Still pretty sure more loved it) they needed to embrace that classic sound and Eternal (the song) perfectly does that. Feeding the Fire is cool and proggy, Man in the Mirror is just awesome and The Lost Saga is beautiful, but outside of those four, what else is worth revisiting? Rise Above it and Lost Without a Trace are good enough, but I never find myself desiring to listen to those songs, unless I’m listening to the whole album. That’s why overall Eternal was a disappointment for me, but I don’t hold it against them because the three albums before this one are amazing and I’ll tell you what. No Stratovarius album gets a 5/5 from me, none of them are perfect, but if you took the best songs from Elysium and this album and put them together, that would be not only their best album, but a PERFECT album. 

8. Polaris (2009)

This was the first new Stratovarius album to come out when I was a fan and Deep Unknown (the only single out at the time) was one of the first Stratovarius songs I heard, so my nostalgia for this album is pretty strong regardless. This album was a shot of pure adrenaline for Stratovarius. Where Elements was slow and plodding, and the self titled album, was slow and plodding; Polaris is quick, energetic and a little experimental. In my opinion the only thing that holds this album back is the lackluster Emancipation Pt. 2. Part 1 is great and emotionally evocative, but I felt like part 2 didn’t really fulfill the promise made by part 1. 

7. Intermission II (2016)

In the Kupiainen era of Stratovarius a common theme has emerged. The bonus tracks are often as good or better than most of the material on the album’s and finally here we have all of the bonus material in one CD. The Elysium bonus tracks I am especially fond of, but Giants and Second Sight are great too. Not to mention Fireborn and Hunter. All put together, I think this “compilation” is better than most of the band’s discography. 

6. Infinite (2000)

This is a power metal classic and nothing I say could ever change that. Mother Gaia kinda sucks, but otherwise you’ve got a nearly perfect album. More importantly Freedom, Glory of the World, Infinity and Celestial Dream are all among the greatest compositions of Stratovarius. 

5. Fourth Dimension (1995)

The leap in quality from their first three albums to this one is really quite remarkable, all of the potential and promise of their first three albums, coupled with Kotipelto being a much stronger vocalist than Tolkki coalesced to make an awesome album. Let’s be real, to most people this is where Stratovarius actually began, I like the first three albums, especially Twilight Time, but this almost feels like a different band. This is the first real Stratovarius album and it sets the formula for what they would sound like pretty much from here on out. 

4. Elysium (2011)

As great as Timo Tolkki was, Mattias Kupiainen is better. Polaris was a fresh new take on their sound and after the self titled album, Polaris almost sounds like a different band. It’s really difficult for me to critique this album because the bonus tracks are some of the best material on the album. Hallowed, Castaway, Last Shore and Lifetime in a Moment are all written by Lauri Porra. Of course they ended up choosing Lifetime in a Moment to actually make it on the album.In my opinion Lifetime is the worst of those four. Castaway and Last Shore are my favorites and I can’t help but think if they had included those songs and cut out Fairness Justified and Lifetime this album would be even better than it already is. 

3. Episode (1996)

Looking at this album as a whole it holds up to our collective expectations for an album of this pedigree. The real question for me ends up being Visions or Episode? This is a difficult debate that has been raging in my mind for any years and I think in the end I’m tempted to give the slight edge to Visions. Episode is a HUGE album, literally and figuratively and unfortunately the biggest flaw I found in it is the pacing. The back and forth from slow songs to “speed of light” songs was giving me whiplash this time around. It’s a really minor complaint, and I only mention it because that’s what sets this and Visions apart. Nightside Eclipse, Father of Time, Will the Sun Rise, Tomorrow, Speed of Light and Eternity: all pillars of Stratovarius’ discography.

2. Visions (1997)

Visions is not a perfect album, nor is it the most power metal album the band ever wrote. Yet it ends up being the perfect balance of metal influence in 1997. Songs like The Abyss of Your Eyes, Judas Kiss, and Legions are all unique mid tempo romps that really stand out in their discography (Especially Abyss of Your Eyes). I could talk more about Paradise, Forever Free and Black Diamond, but those are just classic power metal tracks and a lot less interesting to dissect. Visions, need I say more? This is the song that set the standard for epics in Stratovarius’ discography and I like to think has been a huge source for inspiration and a standard to be reached over the years. 

1. Nemesis (2013)

Finally we arrive at my favorite Stratovarius album: After Elysium they clearly wanted to get away from the traditional Stratovarius sound, they wanted something new and different and this is what we got. They bring in groovy elements, they actually use seventh chords! I almost never hear it in power metal. Here you’ve got whatever non metal influences these musicians are bringing in twisted, and mixed with power metal. It makes for one of the most unique sounding albums I’ve ever heard. Most of my friends are musicians and they’re all jazz, prog and Ska people. I’m always trying to find metal music that they will appreciate, and I specifically showed my best friend Castles in the Air and Nemesis and he actually loved them, I was shocked, but that’s when I realized why this album is so good, it’s not just power metal, this is truly a progressive effort the evolves the sound of a band that has been around since the 80s while still maintaining what makes them Stratovarius.