DARKEST HOURS ALBUM
The advent of 2010 has been, to put it mildly, a turbulent time in some quarters. It is marked by a rather auspicious fit of reaching the top of the mountain one last time before yet another suicidal meltdown by former Stratovarius leader and songwriter Timo Tolkki, who somehow managed to recapture his former glory in Revolution Renaissance’s 3rd and final installment “Trinity” (which hearkened back very noticeably to the glory of “Episode”), followed by the band’s immediate breakup. Thankfully his former outfit is not marred by such erratic occurrences and is marked by a consistent measure of excellence.
The preview for the up and coming 2nd effort of the newest incarnation of Stratovarius “Darkest Hours” takes the same general road as that of the lead up to “Polaris”, plus a demo song and 2 very well performed live songs from the band’s mid-90s glory days. The character of the sound is detailed with a somewhat groovy and progressive edge, as axe man Kupiainen’s riffing style is a bit more chunky and elaborate than Tolkki’s dogmatic speed metal work. The production of both the title song and the other album track “Infernal Maze” is extremely thick and somewhat mechanical, not all that different from the practices of the current Masterplan output.
Oddly enough, the real goods for most that come upon this single/EP are the live songs and the demo version of “Darkest Hours”. The latter, by virtue of its more humble production actual resembles the old Stratovarius of the 90s that everyone seems to miss, minus the complex riffing and much more virtuosic soloing of course. Both of the live songs are flawlessly executed and utterly spellbinding, but “Black Diamond” just cuts away the rest of the album with its intensity, showcasing the band’s skills in all quarters. Between the fancy keyboard cadenza that Jens Johansson pulls out at the beginning and the tight as hell performance of the song itself, one is led to ponder whether this would be what Dream Theater would sound like if they played power metal.
This is one of those cases where, in spite of this being simply a preview of things to come, the single is probably almost as essential of a purchase as the album that it is preceding. Barring a later compilation release carrying the 3 additional tracks on here, which most core fans will obviously not want to wait for, this, is the only place where these songs can be found and understood for their majesty. If anything in Stratovarius’ past has ever appealed to you, it is a pretty safe bet that this will too.
Originally submitted to (www.metal-observer.com) on December 11, 2010.
Daftar lagu
1. Darkest Hours 04:10
These frantic memories
They bring me down, tormenting peace
The darkness drowns me
I'm restless without sleep
When day breaks, I'm still awake,
I recall my mistakes
I'll be never alone, never again, never alone,
I'll be never alone, never again, never alone...
When all my hope is gone,
I'm waiting for the dawn
I raise my head and find my own way out of the dark
I've left my past behind
I'm reaching for the light
I'm not afraid to live my life - I'll take what is
mine.
I'll make my way through the darkest hours of my days!
Those frozen memories
Laid out for me, all I can see
The night surrounds me
Destroying harmony
What lies beneath, demising me?
I've lost my purity
I'll be never alone, never again, never alone,
I'll be never alone, never again, never alone...
When all my hope is gone,
I'm waiting for the dawn
I raise my head and find my own way out of the dark
I've left my past behind
I'm reaching for the light
I'm not afraid to live my life - I'll take what is
mine.
I'll make my way through the darkest hours of my days!
[Solo]
When all my hope is gone,
I'm waiting for the dawn
I raise my head and find my own way out of the dark
I've left my past behind
I'm reaching for the light
I'm not afraid to live my life - I'll take what is
mine.
2. Infernal Maze 05:34
And woe is all that remains
And I have gone astray
My mind full of theory and states
I'm carrying a seed of insanity
A burden of faded memories
Delusion, destruction,
Salvation
Go on without saying
Hate in this creed
Awareness so numb this time
Underneath the skin
You're still drooling in
And what I've come to find
A state of mind
I need to find
A way to carry it
For my soul will once again be free
But first I need to bare it instead:
Infernal Maze
I'm lost within an internal game
Infernal Maze
The demons are calling out your name
Infernal Maze.
Infernal Maze
These demons, these demons,
Haunting me, Infernal Maze!
Infernal Maze!
Infernal Maze.
3. Darkest Hours (demo) 04:35
4. Against the Wind (live) 04:02
Once again I try to make things work
facing all the power of society
Searching all the answers of the life
I'll never make it on my own
Was I meant to fail everytime
Seems to me thats my destiny
Is this all that's left to me
Confusion and bad memories
But now my time has come
No more running in the dark
I want much more than this
I really want it all
Against the wind we run
to every place under the sun
We've got so much power inside
We will never give up
Against the wind we go
towards the new shore
together we'll forget the sorrow
it's forever gone
5. Black Diamond (live) 07:30
Again I see you standing there watching me.
Your gaze, those eyes are tantalizing openly, inviting me to get close to you,
can't help myself.
There's fascination in the air.
I try to fight this strong sensation but there's no chance to escape
from this temptation.
Feels like I've known you before, repeating phrases,
but I yearn for something more.
I know I can't stay by your side forever,
but I know I won't forget your beauty,
my Black Diamond.
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for any of this material!
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