Stratovarius
Visions

THE REVIEW

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.