STRATOVARIUS ? Elysium Track-By-Track

The second STRATOVARIUS studio effort since founding guitarist Timo Tolkki abdicated the name to his bandmates and moved on is out now. A more subdued and introspective noise than Polaris, two of the nine new songs were available on the Darkest Hours pre-release Ep, yet nothing could prepare for the Finns’ mammoth, album ending walk down the prog-metal road. As usual, the Japanese edition will include one additional track, ‘Castaway’.
 

A track-by-track rundown of Polaris reads as follows:

‘Darkest Hours’ – The title track from the aforementioned Ep kicks things off in fairly typical mid-tempo Strats mode, Timo Kotipelto singing his head off and symphonic keyboards courtesy of Jens Johansson prominently in the mix.

‘Under Flaming Skies’ – A little Middle Eastern flare to start, but just as easily dispatched for the clickety-clack of recognizable Strato.

‘Infernal Maze’ – A cappella intro, then sporadic, twinkling keys building to an orchestral crescendo. Just as quickly, it’s gone, in its place, up-tempo melodies.

‘Fairness Justified’ – A more belabored pace.

‘The Game Never Ends’ – A return to more lively pace (3:53, shortest cut), a tale seemingly inspired by recent examples of corporate greed and pollution, ie. BP. Jens keys get a real work out on this one.

‘Lifetime In A Moment’ – Are those (indistinguishable) chanting/droning monks introducing this slower track? Only the odd few seconds of staccato riffing break the monotony.

‘Move The Mountain’ - Acoustically begun, softie with dabs of piano, it has a 70s AOR feel to it (enhanced by those Moog sounding keys).

‘Event Horizon’ – This neo-classical is the speedster of the bunch, bookended by a robotic (Russian?) female voiceover and ultimate countdown. The speaking part would make an excellent stage entrance and the lively number should go over well onstage.

‘Elysium’ - The 18:07 majestic title cut has a little bit of everything! Part subdued prog, acoustics, choir, part ballad, and somehow, never boring.

Overall, nothing as manic as ‘Black Diamond’ nor ‘Hunting High And Low’, but certainly a couple that diehards won’t mind hearing live, especially ‘Event Horizon’.