Revolution Renaissance
New Era

After the disbandment of Stratovarius (and, in truth, I personally no longer saw the point of continuing with the band given the identical albums produced over the past ten years, except for the last self-titled one), Timo Tolkki, the undisputed leader of the band, had a classic stroke of genius. That is: who the hell cares if I no longer have the band? I'll create a project and make my own damn power metal album, essentially all that clichéd power metal with which I've literally bored people over my 20-plus-year career. Instead of that troublemaker Timo 2 (who, in truth, is doing just fine with his solo projects), we'll recruit some notable names, and I'll kill an infinite number of birds with the same stone.

In the package, we will find, therefore, illustrious names such as Tobias Sammet (Edguy), Michael "I will never sing on a Metal record again, may God strike me down if I'm not telling the truth" Kiske, and Pasi Rantanen (Thunderstorm), who, behind the microphone, honestly do their job more than excellently. So, as a lure, they work more than well.

Let's now move on to a more than thorough analysis of the songs, without embarking on a boring track-by-track. It's worth noting that from the opener, you can feel the air of power-heavy, the uninspired one from the defunct Stratovarius (the last ones, the pompous and symphonic ones, let's get this clear), more devoted to the musical genre of the musicians involved, that is an excellent melodic metal, fast and hard, aggressive and technical (always reminiscent of the old Stratovarius, from the "Visions" era).

Perhaps Tolkki, before getting his hands on the songs, imagined "how might this little song sound sung by Tobias?" And there's a "Heroes" that wouldn't be out of place on an Edguy album. The same goes for the other collaborations: "We are Magic" is perhaps one of the peaks of the album, which really mimics "Paradise" from the golden times of "Visions," with Pasi Rantanen's good throat not set on the high pitches like those of Kotipelto, but more on the coordinates of a harder heavy metal with aggressive tones, with notable power-metal bursts. Then there's the good Kiske who, in truth, remains the "number one," delighting us with his enchanting voice in two ballads, the first, "Angel," very close to "Before The Winter," the second, "Keep The Flame Alive," instead, more oriented towards the second "Keeper..." reminiscent of Helloween, that is "A Tale That Wasn't Right," which made us dream so much, without this not involving itself in more debt-heavy hard rock moments (like the excellent "I Did In My Way").

Excellent album? Actually, neither yes nor no. The exact answer is MAYBE. This is because at the core, the specter of Stratovarius (particularly "Visions") is felt immensely, and many compositions feel familiar (the riffs, the solos, the arrangements). However, the album benefits from excellent production, which raises the judgment significantly.

However, the step up in quality is represented by the total omnipresence of keyboards that crammed Stratovarius' works, here relegated to a supporting role. Finally, the good Tolkki, despite suffering from schizophrenia and obesity, has understood how to conceive good music: without self-plagiarizing. And, whether it's the perpetual weight gain, the fact of refusing to have a damn liposuction, or even being stuffed full of lipids everywhere, be it whatever you want, but here our guitar man puts his all into showing us the family jewels: technique, speed, tenacity, guts and belly, belly, lots and lots of belly (but how the hell does he manage to play those wonderful solos with those sausage-like fingers?).

The epic and martial "Revolution Renaissance," sung by a dazzling Kiske, concludes the album; it's a great song, truly inspiring and inspirational.

In conclusion, we are not facing the new miracle of the year (also because there are tons of similar albums).

However, if you truly love and have lived your life on a diet of bread and power metal, this album can be part of your collection.

Recommended.