Not everyone though was on board with this, and following the tour drummer Tuomo Lassila and keyboardist Antti Ikonen were fired. In an interview in 2008, ironically on his own decision to leave Stratovarius, Timo Tolkki said they were let go: "due to a non-dedication to the band's activities. They both were not at all into heavy metal, and I don't think they ever thought that the band could become so successful. They didn't like the direction the music was heading." In their place, the band hired two musicians who were instrumental in helping to lift Stratovarius to the heights of the power metal scene that they eventually occupied. On drums they brought in Jorg Michael, the original drummer from the band Rage, and on keyboards they hired former Yngwie Malmsteen member Jens Johannsen, someone who knew how to write, play and record in the style that Stratovarius was looking to move into. This then became the band’s lineup for the next 14 years, and was the backbone of the success that came, all of which began with the creation and release of their first album together, the album titled “Episode”.
The album begins with what I would term a very atypical power metal song in “Father Time”. Everything about this track screams ‘power metal’. If you were to look up power metal in the dictionary, then “Father Time” could well be what you find there. The powerful double time kick drum from Michael, the understated bass riff that plays along in the rhythm stand, the mirroring of guitar and keys up to the solo slot where they offer us the duelled section, and Kotipelto’s high soaring vocals that reach for the heavens and carry the dream of the track, all at the fast tempo that is driven by the rhythm section. It is a terrific opening track, perfectly composed and preformed, with Tolkki’s guitar riff holding the fort as well. “Will the Sun Rise?” chimes in after this to continue the upbeat vibe that the album has begun with. The melodic factors of the band come into play once again, and the interplay between guitar and keyboards even more pronounced. The double kick drumming again drives the motion of the track.
“Eternity” offers a change in this, the tempo dropping back with a darker more atmospheric atmosphere about the song. It mixes many elements within the song – a real traditional heavy metal sound through the first third of the song, before offering an addition of symphonic elements through the middle of the track while retaining the overall heavy vibe of the song. Tolkki’s guitar riffing on this track is dominating along with Kotipelto’s vocal. At almost seven minutes in length, it offers another side of the band and their writing capabilities. The incorporation of the choir backing vocals brings the increased dramatic atmosphere to the fore. This is followed by the shorter instrumental title track “Episode” which features the Sibelius String Orchestra, which in essence offers itself as a thematic bridge between the opening of the album into its next section.
That comes with “Speed of Light” which bursts right back into the fray at speed and terrific dual riffing from the guitar and keys again onto top of the double time drums and terrific bassline from Jari Kainulainen. There is a real Yngwie Malmsteen feel about Tolkki’s guitaring on this track, but it also incorporates a Blind Guardian and Gamma Ray sound when it comes to the dramatic speed of the track and the way the guitar riff and solo are put together. It remains one of my favourite Stratovarius songs. “Uncertainty” drops out of this warp speed playing, and changes focus again. Parts of this song, most especially Kotipelto’s vocals into and including the chorus, remind me of peak-era Dokken. The tempo, guitar riff and melody of the vocal lines all draw an inspiration from them in my opinion. It’s a very different track from the majority of the others here on this album, and yet it doesn’t sound out of place. The combination of the emotional vocals and the power of the emoting draw a pleasing parallel to a different era. “Season of Change” goes one further, dropping even further back in tempo and including sparse instrumentation through the opening clause of the song. It builds to the middle section where Tolkki and Johannsen trade solo pieces in a more atmospheric atonement, before cycling back to the quieter mood of the opening of the track. It rises and falls throughout, again utilising the orchestra and choir to create the tension and dramatic pause of the song. The build of the emotional and melodic stages of the track gives it an epic quality that stands apart from the other songs here on the album.
“Stratosphere” is the second instrumental of the album, one that again invokes a Malmsteen like quality to its structure, which results in it not only showcasing the terrific skills of the musicians of the band but also bringing the album back to an energetic footing. And; it then segues nicely into “Babylon”, that has appropriately Eastern sounding guitar and synth tones and melodies, as Timo crushes his vocal lines throughout. Seriously, this is Rainbow Rising era Dio and Blackmore stuff on this song. Take a listen and tell me it isn’t Blackmore, Dio, Bain, Carey and Powell sounding, on everything. The slow timed heavy hit drums, the dreamy bass line, the keys and synths, the guitar, and even the vocals. And the choir and string orchestra again and that depth to the song that makes it so fascinating to listen to. Another beauty here.
“Tomorrow” jumps back into the more typical power metal universe that Stratovarius generally resides in. We’re back here with uplifting vocals and faster tempo of the rhythm that is sourced by guitar and keyboard to create the music we all are far more used to. This then segues again almost seamlessly into “Night Time Eclipse”, the longest song here at a tick under eight minutes in length. This song offers itself up as the epic of the album, setting itself on a deliberate tempo, one that sticks to its parameters and holds its course, while Kotipelto sticks to the limits of his range to emote his way through the song. I get what they were trying to create with this song, and no doubt many fans of the band think it works just fine, but given the excellence that has been produced prior to this, and coming so close to the end of the album, it felt as though the band missed a trick here with something more impactful, more outstanding. Though, once we reach the concluding track, “Forever”, perhaps that can be forgiven, because this... is a very unfortunate way to bring the album to its conclusion. The band has gone the entire length of the album without a power ballad, and then we reach the final song... and it’s a ballad. It is a short, unwavering, quietly composed orchestral piece, one that is saved almost entirely by Kotipelto’s vocals, but the desire to finish the album in this way – to me at least – is slightly misplaced.
In the early 2000’s, I became very interested in discovering the platitudes of the European power metal scene, and the bands that made it appear so popular. Through my early discovery of Helloween in the late 1980’s I had followed the offshoots of that band, including Gamma Ray, Primal Fear and Iron Savior, and through my mutual enjoyment of their music, I reached a point where I decided that if THIS stuff was so good, what more was out there that i hadn’t even listened to yet? And so, through research on the internet and through magazines like Kerrang! And Metal Hammer, and the ability to track down music through the file sharing phenomenon, I began to find new bands and discover their albums. Stratovarius was one of those bands, and one of the first albums of theirs that I heard was “Episode”. And I guess what I discovered at this point of the band’s career and at my own initial stages of discovery was mutually acceptable. There was a change in the music from those other four bands I mentioned, as they were all twin guitar based rather than guitar and keyboards based, but the similarity to Yngwie Malmsteen in their focus gave me the entry point I needed.
Timo Tolkki on guitar and Jens Johanssen on keyboards here are a perfect combination for this style of heavy metal. They complement each other perfectly, in the same way that a twin guitar band needs that to happen. The keys and guitar duo of course gives this the sound that power metal is based around, and their ability to both play along together and then separate and duel each other is brilliantly brought together here. Their partnership was tremendously important for this band going forward, but especially on this album. And listening to this album gave me the impetus to track down other albums of the band both before and after this.
I don’t always look to Stratovarius as an option to listen to when I have a few moments. The trouble with now owning so many albums from so many artists, as well as the ability to stream so many others, means that some get lost in the queue. It would be fair to say that Stratovarius is one of those bands. Which, if you remember, is one of the reasons I began this blog and then podcast. To give all of those albums out there that I don’t always think to listen to an opportunity to be played once again. Which is exactly what I have done with “Episode” this week, along with a few other albums that are in the same boat. And this has proven to a great trip back down memory lane, to a time when I was just starting to discover power metal and other bands like Sonata Arctica and HammerFall and others. And for the most part I think this album has stood up really well. As this formation’s first release, it has all of the strengths that would see them produce the best albums of the bands catalogue – as does it also contain the couple of weaknesses that perhaps held them back a bit in my estimation. What I do think is that this combines the desire to retain a traditional heavy metal sounds with the ability to incorporate a more orchestral background to the music, and while future albums would progress more in the keys and synth dominance with the still heavy riffing from Tolkki, this gives us more of the balanced sound of the two together, which for me is a preferred finishing point.
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