Kotipelto
Waiting For A Dawn

Miss k [http://strefa.rockmetal.art.pl/ankieta/miss-k.jpg] did not replace Kotipelto on vocals, and Tolkki's black eye, kindly offered by the fans, eventually disappeared.
Yet, what seemed to be a happy ending did not meet the expectations of those who anxiously followed the band's internal battle.
We celebrated when the official verdict stated that Stratovarius would remain the same, but the last album, the one from 2005, was a real letdown for many.
Tell me it was the guitarist's health, compromised by mystical/religious visions, but I, like many before me, went from loving Strato to avoiding them.
So why listen to and review Waiting For A Dawn, a solo album by singer Kotipelto?
Well... as much as it may seem inaccurate, anachronistic, and banal, I consider this record to be like a well-released Strato album, and I believe it has all the suitable characteristics, especially in the technical-instrumental field, to retune the band towards higher peaks than those they are currently experiencing.
And again, tell me that the worst enemy of a power metal band is being too repetitive, but if we can now consider these Finns as a power icon in the musical historical journey, it's thanks to albums like "Vision" where they gave their best.
In other words, rather than presenting a dull and barren stretched version of classical-melodic fusion, they would have been more appreciated if they had produced something representing the true Stratovarius recipe that made them famous: speed+technique+hyperactivity+melodic keyboard and guitar solos+lots of easily composed and singable metallic melody.
In a nutshell, this 2002 Kotipelto album, released during the making of Elements, as I already mentioned, it feels like listening to a good Stratovarius album.

Everything is based on Kotipelto's vocal timbre, which is put in the foreground, and as the tracks play, it seems like the voice becomes a fundamental musical instrument standing out among others, but accompanying it are not Tolkki & co, but: Roland Grapow from Helloween, Michael Romeo from Symphony on guitar, Gas from HIM on drums, Janne Wirman from Warmen\Children Of Bodom on keyboards. In short, a really nice technical cast, even though much more was expected from such a mix.
But the album is more than sufficient, interesting from one point of view: for its riffs and solos, the music does not continuously dive into the usual outbursts and mystical decorations but instead eagerly ventures into classic eighties sounds like Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath while always maintaining an aspect that is part of Kotipelto's nature: that of melody, even in slightly darker contexts.
The artwork, as you can see, is in perfect Egyptian style; the music doesn’t connect to these kinds of sounds, but the lyrics do and tell fantastic stories, quotes, and legends set in this historical period that greatly fascinates Kotipelto.

It's useless to try to label the CD with strange terms, like "melodic speed progressive etc etc," the album sounds of pure melodic Heavy Metal, with no attempts to manifest technical experiments or new genre ideas; this is an album where Kotipelto tries to do something entirely his own, given that in Stratovarius he always had to answer to Tolkki who, besides being the guitarist and frontman, carried the burden of founder and producer.
The whole musical style of the album is thoroughly "pompous", starting with an intro lasting a few seconds, in perfect oriental style keyboards drawing a mystical and magical atmosphere reminiscent of Egypt, then follows "Travel Through Time" in my opinion the most beautiful song on the CD, very fast and powerful with easily memorable vocal lines, typically Stratovarius in nature and very beautiful in riffs and solos.
The following "Beginning" , which talks about the creation of the world by the Sun God, is a very nice rock piece filled with robust guitars and fluid orchestral keyboards, but it has an overly "nursery rhyme-like" and naive chorus.
"Lord of Eternity", referencing Anubis, the god of the dead, is a well-executed piece, very operatic, also bearing typical Stratovarius characteristics, very fast with a typically epic chorus.
The most typically power is "Knowledge and Wisdom", mediocre and also focused on speed and the singability of the chorus, but with interesting riffs and solos.
"Battle of the Gods" is very beautiful, with doom influences; this one is not as fast as the others, but the atmosphere where the eternal clash between Horus and Seth takes place is well-crafted.
It is typical of Kotipelto to focus on a sentimental song, and on this album, it corresponds to "Beauty has Come", dedicated to the queen Nefertiti, conceived entirely in classical guitar and piano, featuring beautiful melodic lines and is a pleasure to listen to.
"Chosen by Re" narrates the deeds of Pharaoh Ramses, the longest song, lasting seven minutes, starting rather operatically and maintaining an epic essence throughout, with interesting tempo changes, oriental-style riffs, and atmospheric choruses.
The title track, like Vizier, is a song that is easy to listen to without much hassle, but similarly, nothing exceptionally good or special can be derived from listening to it. However, the last special track is very interesting, highly melodic, and beautiful, with fantastic Hammond riffs and solos.

It is only fair that fans of Stratovarius know that in their discography, the highest percentage of work is credited to frontman Tolkki, and thus, it is fair that those interested in Kotipelto's persona have the opportunity to listen to something truly his own, like this single.
In general, I can say the album flows quite well, and the sounds are not bad at all, but just as listening to a "Guitar Hero" album can get a bit tiring for me, the same goes for this CD where the spotlight is on T. Kotipelto's voice.