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The history of Metal has always been characterized by unexpectedly gifting its followers with works beyond any human conception. The Black Sabbath did this with their eponymous album, with Paranoid... the Motorhead with Ace of Spades, Overkill... the Metallica, who in the now distant '86 gifted history with an album for which the only fitting adjective is "destructive": Master Of Puppets, the quintessential metal album.
Although in a very different realm, this also happened in 1997, thanks to 5 guys from Scandinavia, the mother of so many promising bands: Stratovarius, who awakened (true) metal from a troubled period with "Visions," a milestone of power metal.
It all begins with The Kiss Of Judas, a song in the group's full style, with a very sustained rhythm and great solos in its central part, and a start like a slap in the face: an excellent vocal performance by Timo Kotipelto. A thrilling harpsichord sequence now brings to mind the baroque courts of the 1700s, where harpsichordists reigned supreme, and where melodies are breathed alongside the great pomp of the rulers: it is the beginning of Black Diamond, the second track of the album, in which Timo Kotipelto once again delights us with his high notes, and Timo Tolkki and Jens Johansson, about halfway through the track, launch into one of their duets, absolutely disarming for anyone who might remotely try to imitate them. In the canons and in the perfect style of Stratovarius is the next Forever Free which alternates faster and more rhythmic moments with the classic melody typical of the group. Even here the choruses create a great atmosphere, thanks to the overlap of chorus with Kotipelto's voice. Slow and sweet (perhaps too much) is instead the fourth Before the Winter whose lyrics reconnect also to the ninth Coming Home, both entirely written by Tolkki and both speaking of a love story and the eventual return home to the beloved. We now arrive at Legions, where the reference to the band's fans, “Legions Of Twilight,” is clear. Fast and aggressive track, embellished with the classic choruses of the refrains. After traveling suspended in the void by the surreal atmospheres of The Abyss Of Your Eyes, we face a true technical devastation: Holy Light. The last instrumental written by the band that encapsulates all the genius of Timo Tolkki, his great skill, the invaluable melodic propensity, accompanied impeccably by Jens Johansson; Jari Kainulainen also gives an excellent performance. The album closes with Paradise, a masterpiece and the cornerstone of the Scandinavian band's concerts, an anthem to nature and the destructive madness of man, and Coming Home, a worthy heir to Forever, where the Tolkki-Kotipelto duo once again works to bring out from within all the atmosphere, the palpable melancholy that makes this song absolutely stunning. The initial guitar melody draws the listener away from everything and projects them into the song's dimension, continuing with the usual, grand choruses with overlapping vocals, giving everything a touch of extreme beauty. But the fitting conclusion arrives with the title track, Visions, which speaks about the centuries of Nostradamus to which the album cover is inspired by. It presents a very varied lyric, which contains some spoken parts where passages from the centuries are read, accompanied by music that follows the step, continuing to change throughout the piece, with a fast and frantic first part that tapers into a progressively calmer second. It reaches a majestic finale, a single immense choir that is emotional for its grandeur, in line with the magic of the entire album.
Together with Episode, it's the best album of the group, which reaches artistic maturity and becomes a point of reference for anyone wanting to start delving into this kind of music. It cannot be missing from the collection of a good metalhead.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Black Diamond (05:40)
Again I see you standing there watching me
your gaze, those eyes are tantalising openly
inviting me to get close to you
can't help myself
there's fascination in the air.
I try to fight this strong sensation
but there's no chance to escape
from this temptation.
Feels like I've known you before,
repeating phrases,
but I yearn for something more.
I know
I can't stay by your side
forever,
but I know
I won't forget your beauty,
my Black Diamond.
(instrumental)
I know
I can't stay by your side
forever,
but I know
I won't forget your beauty,
my Black Diamond.
(2x)
02 The Kiss of Judas (05:49)
I hear footsteps closing in
I recognize them from my early days.
The times are different the image remains the same
repeating back flashes remembering the name
Approaching visions of things
I can't recall, a familiar smile awakes the pain
Unkept promises, the night awaits, the act of confidence
The kiss of Judas I feel the lips on my cheek
The kiss of Judas hold me once again
In your privage chamber, you're all alone.
The well earned silver pieces falling to the floor
The flame of the candle casting movement to the wall
Your eyes filled with guilt keeps staring at the door
Approaching visions of things I can't recall
A familiar smile awakes the pain
Unkept promises, the night awaits, the act of confidence
The kiss of Judas I feel the lips on my cheek
The kiss of Judas hold me once again (3x)
05 Legions (05:43)
Far in the core of the earth, first it was given birth.
We heard the call the message was so clear.
The tracks were laid for the future to come.
Sons and daughters of the Rising Sun, the armies in Europe here we come.
We run like the wind we play from the heart, now we are here together we sing.
Faster than light, higher than the sky, tonight we're together again.
Never give up and give in, stronger than steel we're the legions of the twilight.
We survived the hard times, never accepted the lies, you run like the wind you sing from the heart.
Now that we're here together we'll sing.
Faster than light, higher than the sky, tonight we're together again.
Never give up and give in, stronger than steel we're the legions of the twilight.
When we have to go back home again, we'll keep the mem'ries we gained inside our hearts.
Faster than light, higher than the sky, tonight we're together again.
Never give up and give in, stronger than steel we're the legions of the twilight.
Raise your hands for us!
08 Paradise (04:27)
Late at night I find myself again
Wondering and watching TV
I can't believe what is on the screen
Something that I wouldn't dare to see
Many rare species will perish soon
And we will be short on food
Why do we have to be so selfish
We've got to change our attitude
I know that I am not
The only one that's worried
Why don't we all wake up, and realize?
Like the birds in the sky
We're flying so high
Without making any kind of sacrifice
We've got so little time to undo this crime
Or we'll lose our paradise
It seems to me that there's no sense at all
Nobody cares it's always the same
Mother nature's crying out in pain
we are the one's to blame
09 Coming Home (05:36)
I wake up in the morning
So far away from home,
Trying to make it through the day.
Many miles are between us,
I'm sending my love from this payphone.
Through the storms we've wandered,
Many mountains we have climbed,
But all the bad times are behind.
The road is free - I'm coming home.
Without you I am like a ship without it's sails,
Calling the wind to save me.
I'd climb the highest mountain,
I'd cross the seven seas
Just to see your smile again.
All the trust that was built along
The years is coming back to stay I know.
Just look ahead the road is free - I'm coming home.
With every step I'm closer to home,
When I'm back you won't be alone.
Soon I'll see the familiar door before my eyes and you
10 Visions (Southern Cross) (10:19)
I have seen the future of mankind
The wisdom of my prophecies you'll find
Follow the truth and be careful
Are we the last?
Hundred years has passed what have we done
Inconceivable damage under the sun
I think it's too late to change the man
We are the last
The world keeps turning while
People yearn for more
Mother nature is crying for change
The time will come when we
All must pay for what we have done
Are you prepared for that?
As we are reaching the end
Of the century there's
Message we can send
Be strong and bold and never
Lose your mind cause we are the last
The world keeps turning while
People yearn for more
Mother nature is crying for change
The time will come when we
All must pay for what we have done
Are you prepared for that?
Signs of the end I see
Let them hear my voice
In every corner of the world Take heed of the warnings that I give
I have seen the Southern Cross forming in the sky
"There shall be heard in the air the noise of weapons
and in the same year the divines shall be enemies.
They shall unjustly put down the holy laws and by thunder and war,
true believers shall die"
- Nostradamus: Century I V: 43-
"For forty years the rainbow shall not appear
For forty years it shall be seen every day
The parched earth shall wax drier every day
And a great flood when it shall appear"
- Nostradamus: Century I: 17
After us the road goes on forever
Many changes lie along the path
That's the price we pay for our selfishness
We are headed for the end
"From the skies shall come the powerful kind
Before and after the Mars reigns at will
Not far from the great age of Millenium
Buried ones shall come out of their graves"
- Nostradamus: Century X: 72, 74
When the comet tears out the sky
You and I must die
After all this the time will
Come for the chosen ones
To rise from their graves to be free again
The beast is gone forever
There's no more pain
Instead so many things for us to attain
The sun is shining brightly after the rain
The land is green and full of life again
The sorrows wiped away now
It's time to smile
And learn from the past
Together we will try
Twenty years of reign of the
Moon having past
Seven thousand years another
Shall hold his monarchy
When the sun shall resume his days past
Then is fulfilled and ends my prophecy
- Nostradamus: Century I: 48
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