In so many ways this albums represents what I would call a perfect Power Metal album, many of these songs became classics in no time and they haven't lost any of their shine.
Timo Tolkki, Jari Kainulainen, Jens Johansson, Jörg Michael and Timo
Kotipelto are names that spell out quality; the technical performance on this clear-sighted vision goes beyond anything quite good, it's mind-blowing to say the least.
The album starts out in impressing style.
The Kiss Of Judas has that gloomy haunting atmosphere and
Black Diamond is a shining pearl of a speedy Power Metal track with one of the most striking drum breaks. The melody lines in these songs are simply huge and extremely memorable, they just go straight into your head and stays there.
The albums two ballads are top quality too if you ask me:
Before The Winter has the coolest mystic atmosphere coming form Jens' stunning keys and its extremely slow rhythm base works amazingly, in all fairness it does become at bit stretched at the end though.
Coming Home invites you in for a warm and rich track with a fantastic structure; mellow acoustic guitars, melodic piano parts and a slow driving guitar solo all being important ingredients.
These two ballads are both quite dark in nature and yet they have a certain positive and harmonious emission, a sophisticated contrast that makes the songs even more interesting.
Following the
Stratovarius tradition an instrumental piece has also found its way onto the record and
Holy Light is clearly one of Tolkki's best. An ultra fast cut with impressive lead guitar passages and thrilling bass parts.
Paradise is another huge anthem where Timo displays some really strong vocal lines. A simpler song than the majority on the disc but that only strengthens the albums diversity and that chorus line is just so damn catchy.
And just as the album could very well have ended we are treated with a 10-minute epic in
Visions (Southern Cross). One of the things that impresses me the most about this album is the incredible and sophisticated bass performance from Jari, this song presenting his abilities in a fine manner, and then it's also only a big plus that the bass has been given a central position in the excellent and transparent production. This ending track has some fantastic passages and the flirtation with a more or less progressive construction only makes it even more enduring.
It's really hard to find anything not working out successfully on this album so I'll just skip that part; all songs are great in their own way making up a very diverse flow. The lyrical standard is also quite high; the classic
Stratovarius topics of love, longing and living free taking central roles.
Another element that is truly remarkable is the quality and fine balance between guitar and keyboard passages. The split solos are highly exciting and the background keys create some unbelievable all embracing moods.
It doesn't get any more melodic than this.
Written by
Tommy Monday, October 4, 2004
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