6/10
A welcome stab at the power metal crown from Stratovarius, a band that’s had its share of bad times for much of the last decade, whether the bloated Infinite (2000), the expansive (and bloated) Elements (2003), a two-album release that had enough killer material to fill a fairly short EP, and the almost unmentionable 2005 self-titled outing that seemingly all members of the band have abandoned like rats abandon a sinking ship. Polaris rights some past wrongs––namely keyboardist Jens Johansson’s role in this band finally makes sense; he seems to have found one of those rare albums that’s equal to his formidable talents; vocalist Timo Kotipelto is in fine form and new guitarist Matias Kupiainen adds cocksure riffs and solos in exactly the right spots.
Problem is, the energy heard in “Deep Unknown” and “Falling Star” fades by the third track, the moody “King of Nothing.” The individual performances don’t suffer from that point forward but the album’s pacing and its promise do. By “Winter Skies,” the fifth track, one begins to wonder if you can call anything that displays such a lack of intestinal fortitude “power” metal. It’s not a total wimp out but it sure inspires somnolence more than heavy metal solidarity. Luckily “Forever Is Today” steps in to save everything––albeit momentarily as we go back to sleep just a few tracks later with the daftly titled “Somehow Precious” (appropriate for a song about your grandmother’s poodle but not manly enough for metal).
The more rockin’ “Emancipation Suite” could have been cut in half and the closer “When Mountains Fall” is almost unnecessary. By the halfway mark one begins to wonder if the boys could have cut the sobbing tunes in favor of some comically fast-paced rockers that would further cement Stratovarius’ comeback rather than compromising it. There’s still fight in this band but you can’t help but wonder how much.––––––––––––––––––––––Jedd Beaudoin
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