Intermission

Second compilation in 3 years for the Finnish supergroup Stratovarious. The previous compilation, 1999's "The Chosen Ones", was a sort of best-of, with fans choosing their favorite songs from the band's discography. "Intermission" is, on paper, a more interesting affair, bringing together 4 new studio recordings, 3 covers (1 previously unreleased), 7 bonus tracks included in various previous releases, and 1 live track.

So how is it? A bit of a mixed bag.

Among the 4 new tracks, "Will My Soul Ever Rest in Peace?" and "Falling into Fantasy" are pretty good. Both songs are in the tradition of Stratovarius classic melodic mid-tempos, full of baroque elements but at the same time very emotional and passionate. They would not have disfigured on their most recent full-length "Infinite". "Falling into Infinity" features a particularly nice keyboard effect on the verse, quite modern sounding for a traditional band like Stratovarious. The other 2 new songs are not as good. "The Curtains Are Falling" is a faster track, almost classic/speed metal (Helloween and Malmsteen come to mind). It isn't bad but the lyrics let the song down: the feel of the track is epic and belligerent, but Kotipelto sings about the hard life of a rockstar having to jump from plane to plane when they are touring. A bit lame and out of place. "Requiem" is a short instrumental that is all atmosphere and no substance. A filler track that adds nothing to the album.

The 3 covers are decent but leave me cold. The Judas Priest cover ("Bloodstone") does not suit the band very well. They feel left halfway between the muscular sound of the original and their own, classically-influenced smooth style. It's the sound of a band that is not in its element. The band naturally sounds more at ease on the two Rainbow covers ("Kill The King" and "I Surrender", the last caught live and previously unreleased). But in both cases the originals remain far superior and more natural. In particular the performance in "Kill The King" (where Timo Tolkki provides lead vocals) feels a bit empty and contrived.

The bonus tracks are also a bit of a mixed bag. There are some strong songs: "Keep The Flame" (a beautiful ballad for piano and voice that brings the best out of Kotipelto, exploiting his wide range) and "Why Are We Here" (another infectious mid-tempo, with a strong vocal melody and riff on the chorus and a nice keyboard solo). Other songs are more average, and vary between fairly bland ballads ("What Can I Say", "Dream With Me") and plodding mid-tempos "When the Night Meets the Day", "Cold Winter Nights"). "It's a Mystery" is a faster track, again ruined by some cringe-worthy lyrics ("In the middle of the jungle, there are ruins of temples build along ago [sic] stone by stone. They were made by the Mayas a tribe that is not so well known").

Finally, we have a decent live version of "Hunting High & Low". This is one of the best songs from latest album "Infinite", so it is always a pleasure to listen to it. However, the live rendition is pretty close to the original so it does not add much to the version on the original album.

Bonus points for the album cover, a collage of symbols and figures from the cover of their previous albums, which is bound to give some nerdy satisfaction to long-time fans of the band.

Who would have thought that the compilation Intermission would turn out being Stratovarius' last great record until Elysium ten years later and end the band's impressive streak of strong records that had been particularly impressive throughout the nineties? Intermission consists of four previously unreleased songs, three rare cover songs, numerous b-sides from previous albums and one live track. The record has even been reedited and this new version additionally includes one more rare cover song as well as two demo versions of songs from Stratovarius' commercially successful record Infinite. Sticking to the original regular release is fine though and while Intermission is only a compilation and has a few flaws, it's highly recommended to Stratovarius fans and those who like melodic and slightly progressive European power metal.

Among the highlights, one has to point out several of the new tracks. Most of these tracks wouldn't have sounded out of place on Infinite and would have beaten most tracks on the upcoming Elements duology. They are worth being listened to without a doubt. First and foremost, opener ''Will My Soul Ever Rest in Peace?'' has an epic and liberating vibe thanks to a soulful vocal performance, harmonious keyboard sounds and guitar solos from the bottom of the heart. The dreamy ''Falling into Fantasy'' oozes with atmosphere carried by superb guitar sounds and another stellar vocal performance. This is another inspired half-ballad of the band. The band really had developed a strength in writing these emotionally profound and slightly progressive ballads back then that were so perfectly executed that they didn't even sound cheesy.

If you like Stratovarius' atmospheric ballads carried by dreamy keyboard layers, inspired guitar melodies and passionate vocals, you will dig this release's middle section. ''What Can I Day'' and ''Dream With Me'' are particularly emotional affairs and show the band's outstanding chemistry back then. It's regrettable that things went very wrong from then on and that Stratovarius only redeemed itself a decade later.

A truly interesting track is the cover version of Rainbow's ''Kill the King'' because it features Timo Tolkki on lead vocals for the first time since the outstanding Dreamspace record. His emotional and skilled vocals still sound amazing and can compete with Timo Kotipelto. It would have been a great idea to let them sing together and develop a band based upon two great vocalists but that obviously never happened.

As mentioned earlier, this release also features a few minor flaws. The live version of ''Hunting High and Low'' is rather disappointing as the keyboards sound as if they had been recorded with a potato. Since all other instruments and vocals sound pretty neat, this song can be considered a weird oddity. The other live track, a cover version of Rainbow's ''I Surrender'' isn't particularly impressive either. Among the new songs, the smooth keyboard instrumental, strangely written by Timo Tolkki and not by Jens Johansson, is the true definition of a filler and Stratovarius' least spectacular instrumental track to date.

Still, Intermission offers many great rare tracks and has a surprisingly coherent flow for a compilation. In hindsight, this release can be considered the end of an era and of an impressive streak of high-quality progressive power metal records that had started with Twilight Time nearly a decade ago. If you can find this release for a reasonable price, you should pick it up.

After releasing a somewhat lackluster album in “Infinite”, the Finnish metal outfit Stratovarius decided to take a brief vacation and offered us a small collection of new songs mixed with some bonus tracks, covers, and that great sound that defined their career throughout the 1990s.

Jorg Michael officially cut ties with Axel Rudi Pell in order to focus on this band full time just before the release of “Infinite”, which was probably a good decision since ARP demanded a last bombastic and technical performance out of him. The rest of the band pulls their share quite well, but I’ve always believed that the drum work was what put these guys over the top, though the bass and keyboard work is also quite excellent. Timo Kotipelto is a good singer, but there are better versions of him out there, particularly Tobias Sammet and Chris Bay. Timo Tolkki is a solid player, but Olaf Lenk and Michael Romeo are much more awe inspiring and write more intricate riffs.

Having said that, this is probably the best compilation of rarities and live tracks I’ve heard out of a band. It listens like a longer version of their studio releases. The obvious winners in the collection of the newer songs are “Will my soul ever rest in piece” and “Curtains are falling”, the former sounding a lot like a William Byrd Renaissance composition with a metal chorus, and latter being one of the better fast tracks this band has ever put out.

Among the covers, we have some rather solid remakes of some classic rock/metal songs. My personal favorite is Timo Tolkki’s rather brilliant remake of Rainbow speed metal classic “Kill the King”. Their version of “Bloodstone” is solid, though Kotipelto’s voice is a bit too gentle sounding when compared with Rob Halford’s original interpretation. “I Surrender”, another famous Rainbow track that was covered a year later by At Vance, is present on here as well in a live version. Although one should take into account that it is not a good idea to compare live and studio versions of a song, I prefer the At Vance version, mostly due to the superior vocal performance by Oliver Hartmann.

The rest of the tracks on here are solid, though there is a bit of sameness amongst the ballads, which tend to sound like varied versions of “Venus in the Morning” or “Years Go By”. “It’s a Mystery” and “Why are we here” are solid rockers that probably would have increased my enjoyment of “Infinite” if they had replaced some of the longer and more repetitive tracks on there, rather than being B-Sides. And the live version of “Hunting High and Low”, one of the best tracks off the last studio release, is equal in quality to that version. The guitar is nice and crunchy, Kotipelto’s voice is at its best, and the drums are thunderous as can be.

In conclusion, this is the kind of compilation that both core fans of Stratovarius and more casual fans of power metal can enjoy. Unless you already have the singles or import versions of their studio albums that preceded this release, every song on here is brand new. I proudly endorse this not only as one of the better Stratovarius releases, but as a great compilation, and this is coming from a person who is highly skeptical of the concept of compilations.

This album marks a waiting period as Stratovarius takes a well-deserved break after five solid albums of merciless ass-kicking in the name of Power Metal greatness.

By the time Intermission rolls around, you can really see how the band has matured into a sound so incredible that they could pretty much do anything they wanted to and you would still cry like a little fucking baby and throw money at whatever circular piece of plastic managed to have Stratovarius's name on it. The amazing consistency of the drums and the solid-as-rock bass line give the perfect foundation for the unbelievably virtuosic guitar and keyboard to blow you away with unbelievable melodies, and topping it all off is the infallible Timo Kotipelto with soaring and crystal-clear vocals. This is heaven, right here.

Now for classics. Only one new classic this time, mostly because the album consists of old favorites and covers, with only a few new songs. The new classic is The Curtains are Falling, which is a fantastic piece of Speed Metal that features great riffage and a really catchy chorus.

There are also two very well-done covers worth mentioning on here: Bloodstone, a solid cover of the famous song by the immortal Judas Priest; and Kill the King, a Rainbow cover that is, to be frank, better than the original (this happens with the same Rainbow album when Gamma Ray does a cover of Long Live Rock 'n' Roll as a bonus track of Powerplant).

The rest is a great combination of old favorites, some new tunes, and a really cool live version of Hunting High & Low. The wait is over for the next CD, but this one is still worth buying for the covers and the great new stuff. Moving on . . .