Stratovarius - Episode

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Music reviews of Episode

Music Review: Decent, but lacking in variety
Rating: 3 Stars

In the wake of the early 90s grunge movement, any form of oldschool 80s metal such as thrash or glam metal had been wiped out in the eyes of the US popular music industry. However, just as grunge rock was beginning to take over in the US, over in Europe a movement known as power metal was starting to rise and is still flourishing to this day. Stratovarius was one of the many bands to emerge, a second generation power metal act continuing on in the style that first generation power metal bands Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force and Helloween were laying as the original groundwork.

Stratovarius's lineup evolved quite a bit from its original incarnation as Timo Tolki is the only bandmember who's been around since the beginning. There's also Koltipelto on vocals, Jorge on drums, Jari on bass, and Jens Johanssen (previously in Malmsteen and Dio) on keyboards. Episode marks the beginning of Stratovarius's 2nd era, when the music took on an orchestra-like operatic quality combined with blistering fast metal riffs. How does this album fare? It's pretty good, but there are several flaws which prevent it from being great. Let's take a look:

PROS

-The album starts out very promising with the first two tracks 'Father Time' and 'Will The Sun Rise?'. Both songs have become classics in their back catalogue and are two of the band's greatest tracks.
-Of the slower tracks, 'Eternity' and 'Babylon' are excellent epic rockers, the latter track displaying excellent musicianship and backed with an outstanding orchestra.
-The guitar playing by Timo is very well done, not groundbreaking, but he does the job. The solos are very dexteritous and the riffs are precise.
-Jens's keyboard solos are arguably at his best on this album. Just listen for them in the songs 'Will The Sun Rise?' and 'Tomorrow' and you'll see what I mean.
-Koltipelto's vocals take a bit getting used to, but he sings very well most of the time. He displays a wide range on this album.
-There is an outstanding bonus track 'When The Night Meets The Day' at the end of the album. It's an amazing ballad and it's FAR better than any other ballad on this album. Why it was originally cut is beyond me, but I'm glad it's now included.

CONS

-Stratovarius is a cool band and I really like them, but after a while their style gets a little tiresome. I hate to say this because they show talent in their playing ability, but like another reviewer put, about halfway into the disc you realize that most of the songs sound identical to one another. This becomes a problem which not only disrupts this album, but it transcends to future albums as well.
-Also, this album in particular only has two song types: slow rockers/ballads and speed metal songs. That's it. No mid-paced rockers to break up the monotony.
-Normally I really like instrumentals because most bands use them to focus on quality cooperative musicianship, but Stratovarius's instrumentals become frustrating to listen to because they never really go anywhere. Jens's harpsichord soloing is great, but that's about it as far as the good goes.
-One thing that annoys me about Koltipelto's vocals: HIS ENGLISH IS SOMETIMES FLAWED. Most of the time you can understand what he's saying, but at some points his Finnish accent sets in and ruins an otherwise decent section.

BOTTOM LINE

Episode is good for the bigger Stratovarius fans, but I don't recommend starting here if you're just getting acquainted with the band. This was my first Strat album and I would've never continued buying albums had I not been curious as to what the band could really do. I give it 3 stars because although the music is good, it's lacking in variety and direction. The three albums Visions (1997), Destiny (1998), and Twilight Time (1992) are much more noteworthy high points in this band's history. BUY THIS ALBUM ONLY IF YOU'RE ALREADY A BIG STRATOVARIUS FAN.

Description of Episode

Hard Rock & Metal CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop
• Rock