Stratovarius
Stratovarius
Available: September 6, 2005
Label: Mayan

Stratovarius, the Finnish metal band formed in 1982, hasn’t changed a bit in 20 years, and that’s a good thing. Fans of Dream Theater, Yes, and old school metal (Iron Maiden) probably already know about Stratovarious. Good news for them – the 11th album boasts 9 tracks of prog metal glee.

Overall, it’s a strong album. The best track is “Back to the Madness,” the first true prog song, whereas “Maniac Dance” and “Fight!!!” were more straightforward metal tracks with the mandatory wailing guitar solo. However, “Maniac Dance” is a great song, and would make a great single if any radio station where we live played anything worth listening to.

There’s also “Land of Ice and Snow,” an arctic ballad written like a classic. Break out the lighters, mulletheads.

“United” features one of two keyboard solos on this album (also “Gypsy In Me”) with the guitar echoing the solo, but then ends with an emotionless keyboardy trumpet part that fades out. Boring! Sometimes overproducing gifted musicians ruins it for everyone.

These guys are endowed with some great musical skills, and we wish they could just friggin’ play sometimes. And for an extremely talented group, Stratovarius doesn’t give prog fans nearly enough measures of solos on their albums overall. Guess you have to catch them live to see what they’re holding back.

Check out the label’s Web site for their World Tour dates, including upcoming stops in Mpls, NY, Seattle and L.A.