2009 marks a period of transition for prog metallists Stratovarius, as longtime guitarist Timo Tolkki has bid the band sweet adieu, while two new members -- guitarist Matias Kupianen and bassist Lauri Porra -- have signed on.
But with vocalist Timo Kotipelto at the helm (are Stratovarius the only rock band in the universe to ever have two chaps named "Timo" in the same band?), the signature Stratovarius sound and approach are very much still intact, as evidenced by their 12th studio album overall, Polaris.
In other words, there are oodles of tricky musical bits, Geoff Tate-meets-Bruce Dickinson-like vocals, bombastic production, and all the elements that longtime Stratovarius connoisseurs demand in a new album by their Finnish heroes.
This approach is exemplified on such tracks as the album opening "Deep Unknown," while tracks such as "King of Nothing" combine the aforementioned musical approach with some pretty darn fierce metal (especially the song's opening).
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deep UnknownKotipelto, Kupiainen | Stratovarius | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 2 | Falling StarPorra | Stratovarius | Play | 04:33 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 3 | King of NothingJohansson | Stratovarius | Play | 06:43 | 15 MB | 48 MB |
| 4 | BlindJohansson | Stratovarius | Play | 05:28 | 12 MB | 39 MB |
| 5 | Winter SkiesJohansson | Stratovarius | Play | 05:50 | 13 MB | 37 MB |
| 6 | Forever is TodayPorra | Stratovarius | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 35 MB |
| 7 | Higher We GoKotipelto, Kupiainen | Stratovarius | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 8 | Somehow PreciousKotipelto, Kupiainen | Stratovarius | Play | 05:37 | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| 9 | When Mountains FallPorra | Stratovarius | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 10 | Emancipation Suite Part I_ Dusk | Stratovarius | Play | 06:57 | 15 MB | 50 MB |
| 11 | Emancipation Suite Part II_ Dawn | Stratovarius | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 12 | Deep Unknown [Mikko Raita Vinyl Mix] (Bonus Track) | Stratovarius | Play | 04:45 | 10 MB | 34 MB |
| 59 mins | 136 MB | |||||
| 59 mins | 420 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Svante Forsbäck | Mastering |
| 2 | Heikki Hamalainen | Strings |
| 3 | Gyula Havancsák | Cover Art |
| 4 | Johansson | Composer |
| 5 | Jens Johansson | Audio Engineer, Engineer, Group Member, Keyboards, Vocals (Background) |
| 6 | Tipe Johnson | Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Ville Juurikkala | Photography |
| 8 | Tony Kakko | Vocals (Background) |
| 9 | Mikko Karmila | Mixing |
| 10 | Kotipelto | Composer |
| 11 | Timo Kotipelto | Group Member, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 12 | Kupiainen | Composer |
| 13 | Matias Kupiainen | Bass Engineer, Engineer, Group Member, Guitar, Guitar Engineer, Guitars, Vocal Recording, Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Matias Kupianen | Audio Engineer |
| 15 | Pessi Levanto | Arranger, String Arrangements |
| 16 | Kari Lindstedt | Strings |
| 17 | Jörg Michael | Drums, Group Member |
| 18 | Alexi Parviainen | Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Porra | Composer |
| 20 | Lauri Porra | Bass, Bass Instrument, Group Member, Vocals (Background) |
| 21 | Mikko Raita | Mixing |
| 22 | Seppo Rautasuo | Strings |
| 23 | Stratovarius | Audio Production, Primary Artist |
| 24 | Tommi Vainikainen | String Engineer |
| 25 | Perttu Vänskä | Arranger, Programming |
| 26 | Heikki Vehmanen | Strings |
| 27 | Hepa Waara | Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |