Hell Yes! - This band is really cool, their style is unique and genuine. I really like this cd a lot.
A good Stratovarius album - A good Stratovarius album, if that s what s your thing. And by this stage of their career you should know if it s your thing. And hard to argue when there is great stuff like moving ballads (Million Miles Away) that had a cool video to accompany it and rockers like the darn excellent Hunting High & Low. Sure, it all gets a bit silly in places with the whole melodic rock peddling of keyboard laced pomp, which for this listener tends to dilute the enjoyment of this particular band.While reviewing this album I should also point out that the tour for this disc makes up a lot of the footage used on their first home video and certainly that s a release that any fan of the band should get. In some ways I think of this as the last proper studio album of Stratovarius rise to power, for after this the Elements would close in for a couple of albums and take the wind out of their sails (and sales too presumably).
Repititous and Gets Really Dull - Let me start off by saying that this is the only Stratovarious album I have listened to, and that I started off liking the album. I really like the instruments used, and I personally think the drummer knows his stuff. There are also a few good, catchy songs on the album, such as Hunting High and Low and Millenium. And the cover art is of course gorgeous, though that really has nothing to do with the music. However, there are quite a few flaws.To start off, I do not like the singer. To me, he has a rather squeaky and poor voice, and while he does well in the first two songs, I truly start to get sick of him in the rest of the album. I m afraid I truly cannot elaborate on this, as I can t really describe what it is about his voice, besides that it is too high-pitched, and sounds especially bad when he tries to hit higher notes.However, I can explain my problem with the songs. There are two problems with repitition: lyrics, and the way the song is played. The songs are basically about the exact same thing, in fact, they are painfully obvious. Furthermore, the lyrics are nearly exactly the same. They haven t even tried to change the phrases. Melinnium contains We have got to change our ways/ THere is no way to go back anymore, then Mother Gaia has There s no second chance/ We should have learned by now/ But it s not to late too change the course, and then Phoenix has I got to change the way I live/ Can t go on this way. Worse, the song Infinity has It s not too late to change the course, gee, that sounds familiar.Actually, Melinnium and Infinity are set up in the exact same way, chorus and all. Basically every song has the same message, with no attempt to make it sound poetic or at least hide it. It also sounds the same, there is little to no variation with the instruments and how they are used. Only Mother Gaia is different from the others, and even then there is rather aggravating repitition within the sound. Overall, the album would have been best with one song, it would ve told the entire story anyway.That said, there s another problem with this album, and it again deals with the lyrics. They simply don t have any good quality to them. They are rather cheesy, plainly tell the point of the song, and overall make it so I don t have to think whatsoever about the song. Just listen once and I know what the entire thing is about. I prefer songs that have metaphorical lyrics and a distinct melody to them, basically, I prefer songs that are like really complicated poetry. Stratovarious has no such songs, which disappoints me greatly.Overall, combined with the poor lyrics and repititious melodies, Infinite gets old really quickly. While I did like it for a few months (unlike other albums, where I can t even get through the entire thing), it has quickly gotten old, and I highly doubt if I ll listen to it again, unless I m highly bored. I give it three stars purely because it holds some quality at least at some point.I hope this review helped you. Thank you for reading!
Strato Rules - Strato is one of the best power bands ever and Timo kotipelto s voice is awesome and there is no doubt about it.
AWFUL - THESE GUY S ARE THE BIGGEST WEENY S. THEY ARE SO HAPPY SOUNDING. I CAN T STAND THE SINGER S VOICE.