558. Stratovarius / Infinite. 2000. 2.5/5

I’m still not sure whether this album signalled the conclusion of what I would consider to be the Stratovarius golden age, or if that happened on one of the previous releases. In any respect, having had the album on rotation for the past couple of days it has been increasingly difficult to listen to it on a constant basis. The major reason behind this is that, once you get through the opening two songs the album seems rather bland and tame, without something to jump out and grab you with intent.

The album starts off OK with “Hunting High and Low” and “Millenium” very much in the typical vein of this band’s songs. However, the accursed power metal ballad rears its ugly head here with “Mother Gaia”, which I’m afraid is a truly terrible song, and reminds me of what I despise most about power metal. I must admit that I don’t understand having such a song so early in an album, as it completely changes the tone and stops the momentum. From this point on, it is very hard to save what follows, but “Phoenix” makes a valiant effort to do so. “Glory of the World” is also a much better up-tempo song. The songs are full of Jorg Michael’s double kick drums and Jens Johansson’s keyboards, which perhaps both dominate just a little too much. The songs here are at their best when it is the guitaring that dominates, and not the keyboards. The solo’s in “A Million Light Years Away” is a case in point – they sound great, but once the keyboards take back over the song loses its strength.

If you are in the right mood for this album it is still (for the most part) a good listen. Timo’s vocals are still spot on, and if the mix between guitars and keyboards was switched so that the keys were more in the background instead of basically dominating, then this could have been a terrific album. Instead, it is another average release that doesn’t make you gag, but leave’s you just a little disappointed in the end result.