STRATOVARIUS
''NEMESIS''
FEBRUARY 25 2013
57:44
1/Abandon
Timo Kotipelto / Matias Kupiainen/4:51
2/Unbreakable
Timo Kotipelto / Matias Kupiainen/4:36
3/Stand My Ground
Timo Kotipelto / Matias Kupiainen/4:14
4/Halcyon Days
Timo Kotipelto / Matias Kupiainen/5:31
5/Fantasy
Lauri Porra/4:19
6/Out of the Fog
Timo Kotipelto / Matias Kupiainen / Jani Liimatainen/6:58
7/Castles in the Air
Jens Johansson/6:02
8/Dragons
Jens Johansson/4:04
9/One Must Fall
Matias Kupiainen/4:30
10/If the Story Is Over
Timo Kotipelto / Jani Liimatainen/6:06
11/Nemesis
Timo Kotipelto / Matias Kupiainen/6:33
Koop Arponen/Vocals (Background)
Anna-Maija Jalkanen/Vocals (Background)
Jens Johansson/Keyboards
Tipe Johnson/Vocals (Background)
Joakim Jokela/Guest Artist, Whistle
Susanna Koski/Vocals (Background)
Timo Kotipelto/Vocals
Matias Kupiainen/Guitar/
James Lascelles/Vocals (Background)
Alexa Leroux/Vocals (Background)
Jani Liimatainen/Guest Artist, Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals (Background)
Anna Maria Parkkinen/Vocals (Background)
Rolf Pilve/Drums
Lauri Porra/Bass
The Shark Finns/Vocals (Background)
Ari "Homopomo" Sievälä/Vocals (Background)
Dane Stefaniuk/Vocals (Background)
Hepa Waara/Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by James Christopher Monger
Nemesis, the 14th studio album from venerable Finnish power metal outfit Stratovarius, covers a lot of familiar ground. Flush with bold, sweeping choruses backed by keyboard choirs, strings, and arpeggiated synths (the latter ride higher in the mix than usual), flashy yet nimble guitar leads, fierce, melodic breakdowns, and spirited lyrics that rally the listener to overcome non-specific adversities, the first outing to feature new drummer Rolf Pilve (Jörg Michael left the group amicably for personal reasons soon after the release of 2011's Elysium), doesn't disappoint. Nemesis, as is the case with all Stratovarius albums, was crafted in a world where subtlety has not yet come into existence, allowing for cover art that depicts a nude, buxom angel with a broadsword descending from a fiery sky filled with mushroom clouds (and a single, sad spaceship that must have wandered in from some abandoned Somewhere in Time-era Iron Maiden jacket) upon a metropolis in ruins. Luckily (for those with a taste for symphonic power metal excess in the vein of Rhapsody of Fire, Blind Guardian, and Helloween), Nemesis delivers musically what it does visually, offering up 11 well-honed slabs of propulsive, stadium-ready, non-specific adversity anthems that skillfully toe the line between radio-ready -- in a sort of Muse-meets-Dragonforce way ("Abandon," "Unbreakable," "Halcyon Days") -- and too epic for prime time ("Out of the Fog," "If the Story Is Over," "Nemesis"), resulting in another riveting, ludicrous, ornate, hammy, and explosive set from one of the genre's finest practitioners.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Huey
Although Helsinki, Finland heavy metal band Stratovarius were formed in 1982 by drummer Tuomo Lassila, the group did not record its debut album, Fright Night, until 1989. Released in 1992, Twilight Time established a fan base in Japan, becoming the biggest-selling import of that year; Stratovarius consolidated their Japanese popularity with an extensive tour of the country behind 1994's Dreamspace. Following 1995's Fourth Dimension, the lineup shifted to include vocalist Timo Kotipelto, guitarist Timo Tolkki, bassist Jari Kainulainen, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen keyboardist Jens Johanssen, and drummer Jorg Michael. This lineup added a choir and orchestra for 1996's Episode in 1996 and 1997's Visions, the latter of which was released in the U.S. early in 1998. American reissues of most of Stratovarius' previous output followed over the course of the year, and in the spring of 2000 the group issued Infinite. Intermission appeared the following summer. The band released the two-part Elements in 2003 and continued its metallic output during the remainder of the decade with such albums as 2005's eponymous Stratovarius and 2009's Polaris (the latter issued following the departure of guitarist Timo Tolkki and arrival of new members guitarist Matias Kupianen and bassist Lauri Porra). 2011's Elysium, the last outing with the group for longtime drummer Michael, spent nine weeks at the number one spot on the Finnish albums charts. It was followed by the band's 14th studio album, Nemesis, in 2013.
''NEMESIS''
FEBRUARY 25 2013
57:44
1/Abandon
Timo Kotipelto / Matias Kupiainen/4:51
2/Unbreakable
Timo Kotipelto / Matias Kupiainen/4:36
3/Stand My Ground
Timo Kotipelto / Matias Kupiainen/4:14
4/Halcyon Days
Timo Kotipelto / Matias Kupiainen/5:31
5/Fantasy
Lauri Porra/4:19
6/Out of the Fog
Timo Kotipelto / Matias Kupiainen / Jani Liimatainen/6:58
7/Castles in the Air
Jens Johansson/6:02
8/Dragons
Jens Johansson/4:04
9/One Must Fall
Matias Kupiainen/4:30
10/If the Story Is Over
Timo Kotipelto / Jani Liimatainen/6:06
11/Nemesis
Timo Kotipelto / Matias Kupiainen/6:33
Koop Arponen/Vocals (Background)
Anna-Maija Jalkanen/Vocals (Background)
Jens Johansson/Keyboards
Tipe Johnson/Vocals (Background)
Joakim Jokela/Guest Artist, Whistle
Susanna Koski/Vocals (Background)
Timo Kotipelto/Vocals
Matias Kupiainen/Guitar/
James Lascelles/Vocals (Background)
Alexa Leroux/Vocals (Background)
Jani Liimatainen/Guest Artist, Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals (Background)
Anna Maria Parkkinen/Vocals (Background)
Rolf Pilve/Drums
Lauri Porra/Bass
The Shark Finns/Vocals (Background)
Ari "Homopomo" Sievälä/Vocals (Background)
Dane Stefaniuk/Vocals (Background)
Hepa Waara/Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by James Christopher Monger
Nemesis, the 14th studio album from venerable Finnish power metal outfit Stratovarius, covers a lot of familiar ground. Flush with bold, sweeping choruses backed by keyboard choirs, strings, and arpeggiated synths (the latter ride higher in the mix than usual), flashy yet nimble guitar leads, fierce, melodic breakdowns, and spirited lyrics that rally the listener to overcome non-specific adversities, the first outing to feature new drummer Rolf Pilve (Jörg Michael left the group amicably for personal reasons soon after the release of 2011's Elysium), doesn't disappoint. Nemesis, as is the case with all Stratovarius albums, was crafted in a world where subtlety has not yet come into existence, allowing for cover art that depicts a nude, buxom angel with a broadsword descending from a fiery sky filled with mushroom clouds (and a single, sad spaceship that must have wandered in from some abandoned Somewhere in Time-era Iron Maiden jacket) upon a metropolis in ruins. Luckily (for those with a taste for symphonic power metal excess in the vein of Rhapsody of Fire, Blind Guardian, and Helloween), Nemesis delivers musically what it does visually, offering up 11 well-honed slabs of propulsive, stadium-ready, non-specific adversity anthems that skillfully toe the line between radio-ready -- in a sort of Muse-meets-Dragonforce way ("Abandon," "Unbreakable," "Halcyon Days") -- and too epic for prime time ("Out of the Fog," "If the Story Is Over," "Nemesis"), resulting in another riveting, ludicrous, ornate, hammy, and explosive set from one of the genre's finest practitioners.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Huey
Although Helsinki, Finland heavy metal band Stratovarius were formed in 1982 by drummer Tuomo Lassila, the group did not record its debut album, Fright Night, until 1989. Released in 1992, Twilight Time established a fan base in Japan, becoming the biggest-selling import of that year; Stratovarius consolidated their Japanese popularity with an extensive tour of the country behind 1994's Dreamspace. Following 1995's Fourth Dimension, the lineup shifted to include vocalist Timo Kotipelto, guitarist Timo Tolkki, bassist Jari Kainulainen, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen keyboardist Jens Johanssen, and drummer Jorg Michael. This lineup added a choir and orchestra for 1996's Episode in 1996 and 1997's Visions, the latter of which was released in the U.S. early in 1998. American reissues of most of Stratovarius' previous output followed over the course of the year, and in the spring of 2000 the group issued Infinite. Intermission appeared the following summer. The band released the two-part Elements in 2003 and continued its metallic output during the remainder of the decade with such albums as 2005's eponymous Stratovarius and 2009's Polaris (the latter issued following the departure of guitarist Timo Tolkki and arrival of new members guitarist Matias Kupianen and bassist Lauri Porra). 2011's Elysium, the last outing with the group for longtime drummer Michael, spent nine weeks at the number one spot on the Finnish albums charts. It was followed by the band's 14th studio album, Nemesis, in 2013.
