Stratovarius - Elysium (2011)

Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band that's been around since 1984, and they're one of the most popular and influencial bands in the power metal genre. I can honestly say I was greatly looking forward to this album, but I can't help feeling disappointed with it. It's not completely a loss though, as I'll explain in a bit.

1. Darkest Hours [4:10]
2. Under Flaming Skies [3:51]
3. Infernal Maze [5:32]
4. Fairness Justified [4:20]
5. The Game Never Ends [3:53]
6. Lifetime In A Moment [6:38]
7. Move The Mountain [5:33]
8. Event Horizon [4:23]
9. Elysium [18:06]

Elysium as an album is a treat to the ears on some tracks, but for some reason I always take a while to adjust to Timo Kotipelto's vocals. Some of the tracks on this album just sound too generic for me to enjoy thoroughly, but luckily Stratovarius still has some tricks up their sleeves, like the 18 minute album namesake, Elysium. Being the longest song Stratovarius has put on a studio album yet, this song is a strong mix of power and progressive metal, and easily the highlight of the album. So many great solos to be found here, and the vocals really stand out here compared to the rest of the album.

That being said, there are some catchy riffs and vocals to be found in Lifetime In A Moment, as well as Fairness Justified. Like I mentioned above however, there are some tracks that are simply too generic to enjoy throughly, like Under Flaming Skies, or too laid back, like Move The Mountain. Now, I almost universally enjoy variety in my metal albums, but it has to be done right - Timo Kotipelto's vocals just don't go well with a slow tempo song, and the solos don't fit well in there either. I'm looking at you synthesizer.

Overall, a sturdy album by Stratovarius - not solid, but 'sturdy'. I highly recommend the track Elysium, while Lifetime In A Moment and Event Horizon are worth a listen. If you like what you're hearing, I'd say give Fairness Justified and The Game Never Ends a try too, but I would avoid the rest of the album personally.

Final Score:
73/100

Architects - The Here And Now (2011)

Wow. Holy shit wow. I've never listened to this band prior this album, but they're spectacular to say the least. This is Architects' 4th studio album, which is amazing considering they only released their first album Nightmares in 2006.

1. Day In Day Out [3:10]
2. Learn To Live [4:01]
3. Delete, Rewind [3:08]
4. Btn [3:57]
5. An Open Letter To Myself [3:16]
6. The Blues [3:16]
7. Red Eyes [4:17]
8. Stay Young Forever [3:02]
9. Heartburn [3:37]
10. Year In Year Out/Up And Away [7:27]

I barely even know where to begin - the vocals on The Here And Now are fantastic (both the clean and the growling),with Sam Carter singing very flexible. On Delete,Rewind for example, there's plenty of death growls and clean vocals intermingling, while Heartburn is sung similar to a light-hearted ballad. The drumming is very solid, and guitarists Tom Searly and Tim Hillier-Brook keep things interesting without going overboard on the technical-side of things.

As I said above, there is a great amount of variety in this album, with hardcore songs such as Day In, Day Out and Stay Young Forever being balance out by the more mellow An Open Letter To Myself and Heartburn. That being said, I don't particularly care for An Open Letter To Myself, but I always welcome variety in an album. Speaking of which, if you got the Century Media digipak, than the bonus track Day In Day Out (Big Chocolate Remix) is easily the most deviant song on this album; being 100% electronica/house. It's an interesting listen, but without the title stating it's a remix, I wouldn't have even known it's a remix of Day In, Day Out.

All in all, a very solid album. My only real complaint is that wasn't long enough (only 39:13) - some songs like Learn to Live and Delete, Rewind deserved to be lengthened by additional verses in my mind. All in all, Learn to Live, Delete,Rewind, Heartburn and Year In Year Out/Up And Away are all tracks I'll be listening to again and again in the future.

Final Score:
90/100

Kamelot - Poetry for the Poisoned (2010)

Kamelot is a symphonic power metal band with 9 studio albums under their belt. Poetry for the Poisoned is a step up from Ghost Opera (2007), but in my mind lacks the grandiose and majesty of Karma (2001), Epica (2003) and The Black Halo (2005). That's not to say it's bad though; I consider it better than your "average" symphonic metal album release, but it doesn't reach the full potential that Kamelot has offered in the past.

1. The Great Pandemonium [4:22]
2. If Tomorrow Came [3:55]
3. Dear Editor [1:18]
4. The Zodiac [4:00]
5. Hunter's Season [5:33]
6. House On A Hill [4:15]
7. Necropolis [4:17]
8. My Train Of Thoughts [4:07]
9. Seal Of Woven Years [5:11]
10. Pt. I. Incubus [2:56]
11. Pt. II. So Long [3:24]
12. Pt. III. All Is Over [1:03]
13. Pt. IV Dissection [1:58]
14. Once Upon A Time [3:46]

15. Thespian Drama (Bonus Track) [3:46]

Poetry starts off heavy with The Great Pandemonium, which is most reminiscent of March Of Mephisto; the track that kicked off their 2005 album. If Tomorrow Came feels like your quintessential Kamelot song, with Roy Khan's soaring vocals, Thomas Youngblood's guitar solos and Casey Grillo's skillful drumming. I can't defend their choice to include that low synth throughout the song, which in my mind doesn't fit with everything else they've got going on.

Other exceptional Kamelot-esque songs are Hunter's Season, House On A Hill, My Train Of Thoughts, and Pt. I & II. The lowest point of this album is Dear Editor (all dialogue, similar to what's found in Epica or The Black Halo, only this is mildly disturbing and takes away from, rather than adds anything to, the album). Songs like The Zodiac and Seal Of Woven Years have a generic feel to them, but are still worth a listen to if you're a fan.

Considering the amount of time and effort that was placed in this album, I was expecting (hoping) for another concept album. Poetry for the Poisoned certainly has it's ups and downs, but there's a greater deal more high points on this album than low.

Final Score:
82/100

Calendar of Metal Album Releases - 2011

This is an unofficial preview of this year's album releases in the world of metal. Most are verified by the bands themselves, but a few are speculative. Keep in mind this list is incomplete; it will be updated continuously as new information surfaces throughout the year.

Released	Band	Album Name	Genre
January
12	Stratovarius	Elyusium	Power/Progressive Metal
14	Belphagor	Blood Magick Necromance	Black/Death Metal
18	Times of Grace	The Hymn of a Broken Man	Heavy Metal/Metalcore
24	Sirenia	The Enigma of Life	Gothic/Symphonic Metal
	Architects	The Here and Now	Metalcore/Progressive Metal
26	Battlelore	Doombound	Power/Folk/Melodic Death Metal
	Power Quest	Blood Alliance	Power Metal
Feburary
1	Lazarus A.D.	Black Rivers Flow	Thrash/Groove Metal
8	Crowbar	Sever the Wicked Hand	Sludge Metal
15	Deicide	To Hell with God	Death Metal
	Emmure	Speaker of the Dead	Deathcore/Metalcore
22	Evergrey	Glorious Collision	Progressive Metal
24	Turisas	Stand Up And Fight	Folk/Power/Symphonic Metal
25	Doomsword	The Eternal Battle	Heavy Metal/Epic Metal
	Mercenary	Metamorphosis	Melodic Death Metal/Power
	Deadlock	Bizarro World	Melodic Death Metal
	Serenity	Death & Legacy	Power/Prog/Symphonic Metal
	Visions of Atlantis	Delta	Power/Symphonic Metal
March
1	Scale the Summit	The Collective	Progressive/Instrumental Metal
2	Children of Bodom	Relentless Reckless Forever	Melodic Death Metal/Symphonic
8	The Human Abstract	Digital Veil	Prog/Neo-classical/Metalcore
11	Sylosis	Edge of the Earth	Thrash/Metalcore/Death Metal
18	Avantasia	The Flying Opera (DVD)	Power/Symphonic Metal
22	Protest The Hero	Scurrilous	Progressive/Metalcore/Mathcore
25	Within Temptation	The Unforgiving	Symphonic/Gothic Metal
29	Cavalera Conspiracy	Blunt Force Trauma	Groove/Thrash/Death Metal
April
5	Voivod	Warriors of Ice (Live)	Heavy/Progressive/Thrash Metal
12	Between The Buried And Me	The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues (EP)	Metalcore/Death Metal
13	Norther	Circle Regenerated	Melodic Death/Power Metal
22	Leaves’ Eyes	Meredead	Gothic Metal/Symphonic Metal
May
2	Daedalus	Motherland	Progressive Metal
17	Anaal Nathrakh	Passion	Black Metal/Death Metal
20	HammerFall	Infected	Power Metal
	Pagan’s Mind	Heavenly Ecstasy	Progressive Metal
27	Amorphis	Beginning of Times	Melodic Death Metal/Folk Metal
31	Gamma Ray	Skeletons & Majesties	Power Metal/Speed Metal
June
­3	Falconer	Armod	Power Metal/Folk Metal
7	Arch Enemy	Khaos Legion	Melodic Death Metal
15	In Flames	Sounds of a Playground Fading	Melodic Death Metal/Alternative
17	Rhapsody of Fire	From Chaos to Eternity	Symphonic Power Metal
	Symphony X	Iconoclast	Progressive/Symphonic Metal
20	Devin Townsend	Deconstruction	Prog/Industrial/Thrash Metal
	Devin Townsend	Ghost	Prog/Industrial/Thrash Metal
23	August Burns Red	Leveler	Metalcore
24	Sepultura	Kairos	Thrash/Groove/Alternative Metal
28	Queensryche	Dedicated To Chaos	Progressive/Heavy Metal
July
5	Unearth	Darkness in the Light	Metalcore
August
9	Trivium	In Waves	Metalcore/Thrash Metal
16	Chimaira	The Age of Hell	Metalcore
23	Black Tide	Post Mortem	Heavy/Speed Metal
September
12	Anthrax	Worship Music	Heavy Metal/Thrash Metal
13	Anubis Gate	Anubis Gate	Progressive Metal
	Dream Theater	A Dramatic Turn Of Events	Progressive Metal
	The Devil Wears Prada	Dead Throne	Metalcore
20	Opeth	Heritage	Progressive Death Metal
26	Myrath	Tales of the Sands	Progressive/ Folk Metal
	Pain of Salvation	Road Salt Two	Progressive Metal
27	Machine Head	Unto the Locust	Groove Metal/Thrash Metal
	Mastodon	The Hunter	Sludge/Progressive Metal
October
11	Five Finger Death Punch	American Capitalist	Heavy/Groove/Thrash Metal
17	Iced Earth	Dystopia	Power Metal
November
1	Megadeth	TH1RT3EN	Heavy Metal/Thrash Metal
Later in 2011
	Andromeda	Untitled	Progressive Metal
	Circus Maximus	Untitled	Progressive Metal
	Cradle of Filth	Midnight In The Labyrinth	Extreme Metal
	Godflesh	Untitled	Industrial Metal/Post-metal
	Into Eternity	Untitled	Prog/Melodic Death Metal
	Judas Priest	Untitled	Heavy Metal
	Korn	Untitled	Nu Metal/Heavy/Industrial Metal
	Marilyn Manson	Untitled	Industrial Metal
	Nocternal Rites	Untitled	Power Metal
	Pyramaze	Untitled	Power/Progressive Metal
	Rammstein	Untitled	Heavy Metal
	Rush	Clockwork Angels	Progressive Rock/Heavy Metal
	Saint Vitus	Untitled	Doom Metal
	Swallow The Sun	Untitled	Melodic Death Metal
	Testament	The Dark Roots of Earth	Thrash/Heavy/Death Metal
	Tool	Untitled	Alternative/Progressive Metal
	Vesperian Sorrow	Stormwinds of Ages	Symphonic/Black Metal
	X Japan	Untitled	Power/Speed Metal