EPISODE ALBUM
Stratovarius are subject to a lot of clashing opinions in the metal scene, but if there's one thing that just can't be denied, it's the majesty of their middle streak from The Fourth Dimension to Destiny. All of these albums had extreme high points, hitting a creative zenith that the Power Metal scene has struggled to eclipse (and mostly failed) ever since. It's a lot like Virgin Steele's mid-period, actually, with every album having vastly different strengths and doing different things well, and if you asked me which one of these four albums was the best, I would definitely point you to this one.
Episode is a masterful construction of stunning variety and shimmering Power Metal gold, and the surprising thing about it is just how hard it is to get into. Most Power Metal is relatively catchy and easy to like, even the heavier and more pugilistic stuff, so it's quite an oddity to find something this esoteric and layered that doesn't cross over into the Prog realm. Oh, sure, Kamelot started doing that a few years after this, but this came from a time when most European Power Metal bands were just focusing on shallow hooks and catchy speed metal riffs, and it really stands out from that perspective. This album has much more depth than you'd expect, with some songs being fast speed-blazers and some of them being heavy, doomy stompers, with a few ballads thrown in between.
The songwriting is just ace, unfolding with multiple listens into the calculated, kingly masterpiece that it is. "Father Time" opens with a clock ticking (imagine that!), and then it rips its own guts out into a myriad of fast riffing and a chorus so high-pitched that it might attract dogs to your window if you play it loud enough. "Will the Sun Rise?" is the best fast song on here, with a huge, complex chorus with a better riff and a nice build-up - Koltipelto has this awesome inflection when he's singing this sort of stuff; his vocal melodies were really unmatched in Power Metal back then. I don't think anyone else has quite captured this art of making verse and pre-choruses sound so damn good, not in the way he does. "Speed of Light" has a cool chorus, but it's honestly not as remarkable as the first two speedsters preceding it. "Tomorrow" is also cool, with a triumphant chorus and a lead-in melody that was so cool that Sonata Arctica stole it for "San Sebastian." "Stratosphere" is their best instrumental, with lots of depth and time changes, going from speedy and trilling to slow and atmospheric.
Stratovarius does atmosphere really well here, with a thick production and a sort of mystical aura around a lot of the songs here that makes them sound like they came from the lost city of Atlantis, or some equally mysterious land. It's very cool, and the band would never again utilize it to the same level as they do here. Just listen to the eerie build-up of "Seasons of Change," for example, with its subtle melodies and delicate keyboards, exploding into a haunting mid-paced number in its last minutes. Or how about the towering "Babylon," with its Egyptian flavored melodies and long, elaborate leads. "Night Time Eclipse" rules, too, stacking up melodies and riffs like an entrepreneur (or just an expert at the game Monopoly, whichever), and generally being as atmospheric and regal as Power Metal can get. "Forever" is the best ballad the band ever wrote, pristine and soft, not going on too long and being genuinely heartfelt. Even the bonus track "When the Night Meets the Day" is good!
So this album rules, with a lot of innovation that the genre hadn't seen since the glory days of Queensryche and Crimson Glory in the 80s and a songwriting talent great enough to shatter a supernova. This is Stratovarius' best album by far, with even the weaker songs having merit to them and generally being extremely well written. They wouldn't have that luxury in the future as their sound streamlined into a more smooth, generic Power Metal groove, but that's another review. Episode is just superlative, and you should get it if you have any interest in Power Metal at all.
Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com
Daftar lagu
1. Father Time 05:02
Walking down the path that leads me to my memories
Pacing all the way without a care in my stride
Where are the friends of my yesterday
have they moved on with they lives
Can we still laugh and joke about things like before
There´s no need to hide the past that I have left behind
It´s a good resource somewhere for me to find
Why am I waiting for someone to reach out
it should be all up to them
keeping in touch ain´t that easy but I´ll have to try
Where have all the years gone
that´s what I am asking now
What have I learnt so far
tell me Father Time - tell me now
Now I understand I´ll take from time what I need
And I store it inside it´s there for me to find
I can´t deny that the years will pass by
but it won´t bother me
Coz now I will set out to realize my dream
Where have all the years gone
that´s what I am asking now
What have I learnt so far
tell me Father Time - tell me now
2. Will the Sun Rise? 05:06
Throwing my dreams out of my mind
casting them into the sky
canceling tasks I´ve delayed for so long
now it´s do or die
I can´t be seen I can´t be heard
but I am here and I am wondering
Will the sun rise tomorrow
will it light up my sky
can I wake up with no sorrow awaiting
Will the sun rise tomorrow
will I still see the dawn
and not worry ´bout the future anymore
At the end of each day I promise myself
I´d better start to live
coz sooner or later I´ll find out
there´s so much I can give
I can´t be seen I can´t be heard
but I am here and I am wondering
Will the sun rise tomorrow
will it light up my sky
can I wake up with no sorrow awaiting
will the sun rise tomorrow
will I still see the dawn
and not worry ´bout the future anymore
3. Eternity 06:56
When clouds are covering the sky
I can´t help thinking what´s behind
In a fading evening
I can feel strange thoughts in my mind
What if we aren´t alone here
there´s a clone of everyone somewhere
that duplicates all that we do
not like me not like you but our other ego
there ain´t no wars or crises
only joy and compromises
time has stood still
why don´t you take me there
wanna feel some infinity
why don´t we just dare
coz after all remains ... Eternity
A landscape with no trees
and a mist arising from the distance
an illusion just for me
or a proper reward and a chance
there ain´t no wars or crises
only joy and compromises
time has stood still
why don´t you take me there
wanna feel some infinity
why don´t we just dare
coz after all remains ... Eternity
4. Episode 02:01 instrumental
5. Speed of Light 03:03
Today is just an other day
of my life too short to live
I should have somekind of meaning
a destiny to believe in
before I go to sleep
I find some pictures of a time
when everything was still so fine
although the years have passed by
I will give it all I have inside...everything
I´m away lost in my thoughts
everyday my life goes by
at the speed of light
6. Uncertainty 05:59
Learning by trying it´s hard to deny it
while paying for what I used to know
Dreams are deceiving untill I´m achieving
the goals I haven´t set too low
Waiting for a new day
to wipe away
the Uncertainty that flows around me
once again to stay
So many choices but so few answers
my time slips away while thinking too much
Whom to believe in they´re all just repeating
the same old lies so nice to clutch
Waiting for a new day
to wipe away
the Uncertainty that flows around me
once again to stay
7. Season of Change 06:57
Season of change life feels so strange
Look into my eyes do you see the truth
I´m lost and alone feelings unknown
Come to me stronger than before
On winds of time my soul will fly
The angels are knocking at my door
Oh now I need to be free
From all this hatred I feel inside
Let it be my dreams
Let it be my thoughs
All those things in my heart
One too many days
One too many years
I wasted for nothing
I never realized
The truth is inside
Of every man for all to see
Listen to me now
I´m so close to you
Never felt like this before
The carousel is spinning fast
better enjoy while it lasts
Every moment is like gold
you´ll remember when you´re old
And the meaning of this life
is to live and is to die
Make the best out of your dreams
they´re the world where you are free
All the sorrow and the pain
will be washed away by rain
An eternal joy will come
it can be found by everyone
Though the end is drawing near
I´m not feeling any fear
I have found the truth inside
after all the tears I´ve cried
Season of Change...
8. Stratosphere 04:52 instrumental
9. Babylon 07:09
A new day is rising in ancient Babylon
Revealing mysteries to see
and the endless caravan
never ending it´s journey
with the wings of the wind I will fly
I can hear you calling me
I am blind but I see
Babylon
your memory haunts me forever
won´t leave me be
Babylon
your glory´s stronger than ever
for all to see
Centuries have passed by
but your memory still lives on
In the minds of those who see
Under the summer moon
there comes a sight
that stays with me forever
I can hear you calling me
I am blind but I see
Babylon your memory haunts me forver
won´t leave me be
Babylon
your glory´s stronger that ever
for all to see
And underneath the starlit sky
I feel so strong I´ll never die
I´m on this road to Eternity
My soul will live forever - I´m free
10. Tomorrow 04:52
I´m staring out the window
wondering will I soon know
the answers to the questions within
where should I begin
I'm delusioned by a clear crystal night
While trying to find some insight
the solution is close at hand yet still so far away
I'll turn the tables 'round and find another way
I'll leave all this behind and move on today
I will take things as they come
look out for number one
and I'll be back tomorrow
Feeling strong and brave inside
my head up high with pride
yes I'll be back tomorrow
I'm facing my nightmares again
determined that I won´t bend
now the answers are coming to me
I'm learning how to believe
I know now that this is the way
I've found my red-letter day
I've been there out on a limb
but now I've finally come in
I've turned the tables 'round and found another way
I've left it all behind for a better day
I will take things as they come
look out for number one
and I'll be back tomorrow
Feeling strong and brave inside
my head up high with pride
yes I'll be back tomorrow
11. Night Time Eclipse 07:58
If I could stay awake for awhile
it would be another morning
don´t wanna fall asleep now when
everything seems so far and beyond
Walking down a familiar road
but the darkness is misleading me
I know I should feel fear inside
but still the shadows is where I wanna be
Just an ordinary day stealing all the hope away
wanting me to be the one who has dreams made of clay
My fading confused mind
creating phrases unknown
I know I should´t stay awake
if I fall asleep they just might find me
Now all is so clear
I can finally proceed
My fading confused mind
creating phrases unknown
Waiting for the dawn
soon to arrive
so few options that I have
and I can use
Life´s circumstances
can be so cruel
If I take a chance I just might
make the wrong move
12. Forever 03:06
I stand alone in the darkness
the winter of my life came so fast
memories go back to my childhood
to days I still recall
Oh how happy I was then
there was no sorrow there was no pain
walking through the green fields
sunshine in my eyes
I´m still there everywhere
I´m the dust in the wind
I´m the star in the northern sky
I never stayed anywhere
I´m the wind in the trees
would you wait for me forever ?
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