Nemesis

I was able to listen to the different tracks on YouTube before I actually received the album and I was very impressed. Now that I have the CD, it is sitting nicely next to all of my other Strato albums.Personally, this is a great album and one that sounds like it is supposed to fit right after Elysium. The production is slick and very commercial, but still heavy and there are many remnants of the older Strato formula, even though Timo Tolkki is not on the album. The guitars sound a little more raw though and that really fits with the music they have written. The bass guitar still has sounds similar to what the old bass player used to do. The keyboards are very upfront and as a keyboardist, I like that because there is a dimension that keys bring that actually HELP this sound more metal than simply adding another guitar track. The drums are very good too and sound much like the drums on Dream Theater's 'Images and Words' album, so they are very powerful. The vocals are classic Timo Kotipelto and I think that he has established himself in the past as the "voice" that metal should have and he keeps it going here.I have read other reviews on other sites where they are slamming this album, saying that it is too commercial. As far as I am concerned, everything that Strato has done has a bit of commercialism to it and that is okay. It makes it easier to listen to and if it gets them radio play, then great. This music should be heard. This is a slick package and really has me impressed by their musicianship. My only question is, and it may be totally non-founded because I have never seen them live, how are they gonna pull this production off live? There are so many things going on (the layers of keys and guitars, the vocal choirs, etc...). This is good stuff.....I am blown away.Now for each song:1. Abandon - I really did not like this one too much, but it rocks. It sounds too me like a formulaic type song. Excellent musicianship though. I have been playing keyboards for over 35 years and have released many of my own albums and such and I am blown by their ability to play these types of songs.2. Unbreakable - I like this song A LOT. I love the keyboard intro and how the guitar comes in and how it is so heavy. It is catchy and singable but yet you can bang your head to it. The lyrics are positive and I like that in a heavy song.3. Stand My Ground - The first part of this song reminds me somewhat of 030366 from Fourth Dimension. It is a little weird to hear the processing being so much because they've not have it before but it works. I sense a little difficulty in the transition between the verses to the chorus though, because the processing is not in one the vocals in the chorus.4. Halcyon Days - I am still trying to wrap my mind around this one. This one could easily be in a game or something. Great keyboard programming and great drumming on this one.5. Fantasy - I like this one too. I would think that this is one of the songs that would get radio play. It has all the right things to make it a radio song. The lyrics are positive too and that is cool.6. Out of the Fog - I think that this is one of my favorites on the entire album. I love the metal cadence in the beginning. Their syncopation is top notch and this song would get fist pumps all day long.7. Castles in the Air - This one does not do too much for me. It is written well though and the classical intro/outtro is cool.8. Dragons - This is another one that would garner radio play. Listen to the background guitar work on this one. The rhythm style is awesone and works so well.9. One Must Fall - This song does not rate that high on my like meter. It is a good song, but does not speak to me. It kind of reminds me a little bit of Don't Tread on Me from Metallica and something that Dream Theater would write. The thing that surprised me was the soft transition at abuut 3:11. They stop their thrash type thing and went into a slow synthy thing with a great solo by Jens. I have great respect for his ability to play and write.10. If the Story is Over - I like this one too, especially the beginning. It is tenderly played and sung, not to mention the great whistling part in the song. The only thing that catches me wrong is the transition from the soft to the hard part. It sounds wrong to me and does not quite fit for me, but both parts are good. I think that the transition could have been smoother.11. Nemesis - This is another that just rocks. Try to follow the time signature in the beginning, it will be hard to do. They do so many cool things in this song. I would think that this is another one that would be used as a radio song. This seems like a song with many different examples of what Strato can do all wrapped up into one song. Very cool sampling.So - for those who do not know of Strato and want to listen for the first time, I think that they are going to be blown away. The musicianship is flawless and the production is very slick. This is a good album to get to know the new Strato with. One may think that the previous albums (Polaris and Elysium) that feature the new bassist and guitarist may not be as grand as this album. they may be right in some respects, but it is neat to hear how things have progressed since their addition to the band.If you really want to get to know Strato, you have to listen to all of their stuff (which is a given). Their style changed dramatically early on in their career and they really reached a pinnacle with albums like Visions and Destiny (my fav from that era is Infinite). Listening to the new stuff to the old stuff, there seems to me a little bit more air between the instruments in the older Strato. The music was also a little bit more guitar driven in the older Strato. The new Strato takes what Strato was and filled in the 'air' from before but it does not sound cluttered or too busy. What I really like is how cohesive everything is as a unit. What is also nice is how they have been able to take it up a notch and add so much more and yet still have a Strato type sound.You guys have my respect and support. You are great musicians and put out another great product for us to listen to.

After downloading this from amazon.com first thing in the morning on the day of its release, and listening to it from beginning to end a few times already, I can now honestly say that, even though this album is indeed a bit different from their previous efforts, it still packs the tremendous punch for which Stratovarius have been known.The most obvious difference to the listener upon hearing this album from beginning to end is that Stratovarius are playing around with some mild electronic elements, varying in degree from song to song. Honestly, I DO NOT think for a second that this is a bad thing, as long as it is composed the right way, and Stratovarius prove that they know how to make it sound great along with the guitars and drums. Aside from that, the guitar solos are still as epically amazing as they have always been, and the new drummer more than holds his own with his debut with the band.Overall, this album, like just about everything else Stratovarius have done, is a first-rate masterpiece by a band of first-class musicians. Stratovarius are EASILY one of the best bands in the last 25 years, hands down. They NEVER stop making great music, and this album proves it. So please throw away all those Green Day, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit and NickelHACK CDs, and make a more proper investment in the mighty Stratovarius!Anyways, do yourself a favor and BUY THIS ALBUM!!! \m/\m/

I have almost every Strato CD and to me they always have a few great songs on every CD but also have a bunch of filler. With the departure of Tolki you could definitely hear the sound change and get more complex but I think they were able to still deliver some catchy melodies. Polaris has 2 great songs (Deep Unknown and Higher We Go) but also had some songs I always skip. Elysium was better for sure but not perfect. Nemesis is great from beginning to end.Guitar playing is amazing as expected but his sound is much better, more raw and heavy. Kotipelto's vocals are better and a little less out front in the mix. The most apparent change here is the modern/techno keyboard parts that really work and add rhythm and interest to some of the songs. Halcyon Days and Fantasy are good examples of this. And you have to get the mp3 version to get Fireborn - more crazy keyboards and cool guitar slide and of course another catchy sing along chorus.Probably going to be some debate over this CD and some metal fans might be turned off by the keyboards. But if you like Stratovarius you already are OK with a lot of keyboards in a metal song. This CD has everything you want from Starovarius and is more consistent all the way though than their past releases.

Llegó mucho antes de la fecha prevista 👍🏻

Of course this is not the best album out of the discography but it’s very good and if you’re gonna complete their discography you must have it.Delivery was perfect too.

Me ha parecido un disco esencial en la discoteca de un buen heavy.Extraordinarios. Siempre en la brecha.

Excellent power metal album. Not much to say but get it! Standouts are: Unbreakable, Halcyon Days, Nemesis, Dragons, and Out of The Fog

Gran disco della ormai storica band finlandese Stratovarius.Partito anche il batterista Jorg Michael e rimasti della vecchia guardia solo il tastierista Jens Johansson ed il cantante Timo Kotipelto, gli Stratovarius abbandonano i fronzoli neoclassici e le venature prog tipiche dell'era Timo Tolkki per dedicarsi ad un power-speed di ottima fattura, ma non privo di elementi originali e sperimentazioni.Il disco scorre che è un piacere in tutte le sue 11 tracce (l'edizione deluxe contiene anche 2 bonus tracks piacevoli), senza punti deboli o di stanca ed alterna pezzi molto immediati che ti entrano in testa immediatamente (l'opening Abandon, con un riff molto potente, la trascinante Unbreakable, introdotta da un bel giro di piano di Johansson, con ritmi molto veloci ed un ritornello che ti cattura subito, la solida Stand My Ground, il mid-tempo Fantasy, con il suo ritornello molto solare e positivo, la più lenta Castles in the Air) a pezzi meno immediati, che necessitano di più ascolti perchè hanno linee melodiche molto belle e catchy (come dicono quelli bravi), ma non lineari.Su tutte la splendida Halcyon Days (personalmente il mio pezzo preferito del disco), che è anche il brano più sperimentale , con la sua base di tastiere quasi techno o comunque elettronica, che forse ai puristi farà un po' storcere il naso, ma che si integra perfettamente con le chitarre e con un ritornello che ha una linea melodica splendida (Kotipelto è davvero in gran forma) che, una volta entratavi in testa, non ne uscirà più.Poi c'è la malinconica e dolcissima ballata If the story is over, con una trama intessuta da un arpeggio di chitarra acustica e la meravigliosa voce di Kotipelto che canta una melodia davvero emozionante.Infine, la conclusiva titletrack, sicuramente il brano più articolato e strutturato di tutto l'album, ancora una volta trascinato dall'ottimo lavoro alle tastiere di Johansson.Il tutto impreziosito da una produzione splendida e cristallina.La edizione deluxe contiene un bonus DVD con un video di 80 minuti sul making of (interviste ai membri della band) ed estratti live, oltre a tre video (Unbreakable, Halcyon Days, If The Story Is Over). Da avere assolutamente!