II ALBUM
The significance of Stratovarius’ formative years in the late 80s and early 90s was one of demonstrable impact, not so much in the eyes of most who now follow European power metal, but more so in the nuances of how the style initially developed. While obviously free of the quirky rock and jazz experiments that plagued Helloween at around this time period, this is a very different version of the band that still had one foot firmly placed at the height of 80s speed/power metal, which was equally as informed by American and British sounds as it was by the neo-classical techniques that was just beginning to cross pollinate via the influence of Malmsteen. Right in the midst of a changing in the guard of mainstream and extreme metal where speed/thrash and archaic heavy metal fell from favor stands “Twilight Time”, an album that is often ignored or passed off as an SRB booster rocket that marked a move towards the current cliché Finnish power metal sound, but doesn’t really embody most of its well known elements.
This is an album that, like its predecessor “Fright Night”, is a bit darker and heavier than the high flying, melodic intrigue that embodies their most renowned album “Visions”. There is a strong helping of Black Sabbath and early 80s Ozzy Osbourne influences that coat the majority of the songs heard on here, particularly in Timo Tolkki’s heavier and slower riff set approach. A slow paced, almost doom metal sounding haunting fest like “The Hills Have Eyes” could be closer likened to a creepy take on early Candlemass, though Tolkki’s vocals are strongly tilted towards a prototypical 80s vocalist in the mold of a Steve Grimmett and John Deverill, though with less banshee screams. Even the occasional acoustic work that chimes in on epic creeper “Madness Strikes At Midnight” and mid-paced rocker “Twilight Time” are more akin to the mania inducing horror fests of early Ozzy and a number of post-NWOBHM American heavy metal bands who were equally as interested in the mystical and the obscure as the more occult oriented thrash metal bands.
While the album is largely a holdover from a time period that most of the artists who influenced it had moved away from, there is a small helping of forward looking speed metal that provides the missing link between the late 90s explosion of bands in the now stereotypical mold, and the late 80s experiments brought forth by Helloween. “Out Of The Shadows” is something of an outlier in that it sounds remarkably upbeat, almost like a less fancy version of “Eagle Fly Free” with a typical Tolkki riff set that would later become standardized on such songs as “Father Time” and “Forever Free”. In similar fashion, “Hands Of Time”, which was the song that introduced me to the band, embodies a number of somewhat darker but still very triumphant sounding anthems, spearheaded by a principle melody that is about as irresistibly catchy as the one regularly heard at sporting events in “The Final Countdown”, but without the incessant level of repetition. This is the song that keeps coming back to mind whenever I hear a number of keyboard happy numbers out of Edguy, Avantasia and Dionysus in the later 90s and 2000s.
How this album should be approached relies very strongly on how attached one is to what is currently understood to be power metal, because it isn’t of that mold. As best as can be ascertained, this is like a sped up, late 80s answer to “Diary Of A Madman” with just a slight glimpse of coming trends in European melodic metal. If sounding comparable to “Visions” is a must for the prospective buyer, this is probably bargain bin fodder, but for someone who has a preference towards USPM and early heavy metal, this is one of a small handful of albums put out by this band that may be worth your time. Those who listen to both, who are probably more prevalent than some would admit, will recognize this as being a solid album that is not quite the best representation of the band’s sound, but is qualitatively better than a number of their later releases with their best known lineup.
Daftar lagu
1. Break the Ice 04:41
Why do you stare at me?
It´s hard to please when you´re
feeling ill at ease
Hey let it go
You have feelings inside let them show
Grim craven mind
Timid all the time
Can´t come out of your shell
It´s hell
Shame on you
There are so many things that you could do
Hey can´t you see?
Love is a stream that endlessly flows in me
Grim craven mind
Timid all the time
Can´t come out of your shell
It´s hell
It´s time to break the ice
2. The Hands of Time 05:36
The time is running
It´s running so fast that you don´t notice
Years are passing by
And you´re growing older
What happened to all your dreams?
Did they become true at all?
We cannot undo the deeds of the years
They leave you on your own
With all your deepest fears
Don´t look for the future
Don´t live in the past
Just take it day by day ´cause life goes fast
The minutes, the hours
The days and the years will fly so
Live still when you have the time
We cannot undo the deeds of the years
They leave you on your own
With all your deepest fears
Wheel of the time
Turns again tonight
Eternally decides our destiny
Wheel of the time
Turns again tonight
Without reason or rhyme
The hands of time
3. Madness Strikes at Midnight 07:20
He´s crawling out from the asylum
Under cover of the night
Insanity of his crazy mind
It´s useless for you now to hide
Walking the streets someone´s in sight
He´s waiting for you in the night
Hiding in the shadows
Hiding in the alleys
He´s ready to kill tonight
So lock your doors and hide
And pray your god ´cause you´re not alone
Years he spent in the cage
They did not help him at all
Now today with the power of his rage
He´s slaughtering people tonight
Walking the streets someone´s in sight
He´s waiting for you in the night
Hiding in the shadows
Hiding in the alleys
He´s ready to kill tonight
So lock your doors and hide
And pray your god ´cause you´re not alone
Madness strikes at midnight
Madness strikes at night
4. Metal Frenzy 02:20 instrumental
5. Twilight Time 05:51
I look into the mirror see my face again
I hear myself preaching
You are getting bold
Growing old
Skin turns cold
You´re to blame
But I will find the way to be myself again
I break the mirror with a noise
Stop preaching me teaching me
leave me be
There´s no way to stop me now
My end is in sight
I reach for the light
Tonight
Twilight time
It´s twilight time
Reaching for a morning light
Twilight time
6. The Hills Have Eyes 06:19
Come with me my child
It´s gonna take a little while
To teach you the knowledge
Of the ancient rhyme
Fly with me tonight
Through the cosmic sea
It´s a mystery
From the thirst for life
You will never keep away
Pleasure of one man
Makes another man a prey
Fly with me tonight
Through the cosmic sea
It´s a mystery
The hills have eyes
mind your step you´ll better be wise
Or you never rise again
The hills have eyes
never forgive nor compromise
You fail in vain
7. Out of the Shadows 04:10
Out to the light from the mist
From the shadows I go
Facing the new world the odd things
The places unknown
Far away I sail away today
Seeing a new face impression the moment
The thought
Unarmed and naked defendless
My mind is caught
Far away it sails away to stay
Out of the shadows we go
There´s no reason to hide anymore
Out of the shadows we go
Into the new horizon
Towards the new shore we go
8. Lead Us into the Light 05:46
Hey you take a look around
Can you feel the change begin?
Soon it will be too late
If you don´t wake up
Outside the winds are blowing
And the people are staring so cold
The look that´s in their eyes
Tells me something´s wrong
Lead us into the light
It´s so strange
We have gone too far
Still knowing what will happen
When we close our eyes
Is this the hell on earth?
And the heaven is out of our sight
Open your eyes and realize
It´s not too late
Lead us into the light
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