Intermission

The new CD from Stratovarius isn't a new album per say. It contains 3 new songs, a instrumental track, a few covers, some live songs and bonus tracks (from special editions or Japanese releases). Nevertheless the CD is fill with 15 tracks and certainly belong in any Strato fan's collection. The news songs are really of excellent quality, I was anticipating easy songs and I was surprised in good, their production is similar to what the band delivered in the Infinite album, in other words : perfect. The 3 songs are really cool, with a slight preference for Will My Soul Ever Rest In Peace (ballad) and the excellent The Curtains Are Falling which reminds me Hunting High & Low. The second track Falling Into Fantasy is a very good ballad reminding me a lot 4000 Rainy Nights from the Destiny album. The first part of the CD (new stuff) ends with an instrument track called Requiem. Nothing thrilling about that track really as its a simple outro to separate the new material from the rest. After that comes the turn of covers (Studio & Live). Some are nice, like I Surrender, other less interesting like Bloodstone, but it must be the song that I don't like in the first place, not the cover itself. Then comes the third and last part of the CD that reunites bonus tracks. In these I particularly enjoy : It's A Mystery, Cold Winter Nights. The album ends the best possible way with the live version of the excellent Hunting High & Low. This is the last time we hear something from Stratovarius until (early) 2003 as they decided to go on a break for a while. Of course this intermission doesn't compete with the last exceptional albums that the band delivered (Vision, Destiny, Infinite), but still it contains very good material and 3 very good news songs which, for me, make it worth to buy the record on their own. Probably not for everyone, but still I think the fans will be very satisfied with this release of a band that have stayed true to their roots since the beginning and that I have continuously improved over the years to deliver excellent albums in the last years. Long live Stratovarius, we'll be waiting your return with impatience.