There is scarcely any need to recount the history of STRATOVARIUS — all fans of power metal know perfectly well the milestones in the development of the founders of that style in Finland. Let us simply say that the band united virtuoso guitarist Timo Tolkki, drummer Jörg Michael who had played with several dozen bands, the outstanding keyboardist Jens Johansson, vocalist Timo Kotipelto whose voice is difficult to confuse with anyone else's and who became the band's true calling card, and bassist Jari Kainulainen — the only member of the old lineup not present in the current one. It is hard to believe that the band's musicians are together again after the grand scandal at the turn of 2003 and 2004, Tolkki's suicide attempts, and his prolonged treatment. On the other hand, Kotipelto's solo project had been rather pale and uninteresting, while SAXON — which has steadily and stubbornly continued working within NWOBHM for three decades now — clearly did not satisfy Jörg Michael. The musicians made their peace; Tolkki wrote the music and lyrics for the album. Tellingly, what emerged was a heavy album — quite ambiguous, and in my personal view generally of limited interest — but on the other hand, after such a terrible album as Elements Pt. 2, it felt like a balm to the soul.
The concert took place on 23 October at the DK Gorbunova; there was no sellout, but no shortage of people either. The Finns were warmed up by musicians from the moscow band SHADOWHOST. I had not heard such appalling sound in a long time. It was simply terrible — both guitars and the bass merged into a single wall of noise, giving the impression that the band was playing black metal. From my perspective the performance was of little interest, though at the same time the hall's reaction was fairly adequate and even quite friendly.
The SHADOWHOST set ended. The band left the stage; the sound began being tuned for the evening's main event. From the speakers: first AC/DC, then METALLICA replacing them, then for over ten minutes the voice of Ronnie James Dio — "HEAVEN AND HELL" cut off at the midpoint — as numerous scenes from the band's stay in Brazil during their last tour appeared on the large screens. The selection was accompanied by Edward Elgar's famous fantasy — so beloved of rock guitarists — though in an orchestral arrangement. The stage was in complete darkness, and then the first keyboard chords from the opening track of the latest album rang out — "Maniac Dance." And now everything was visible. Stage right (relative to the audience): Jens Johansson, in the fine tradition of the man whose keyboards are positioned so that everyone can see him play — the keyboard essentially perpendicular to the floor, quite a spectacular touch, and more importantly the keyboardist has no right to make a mistake. He must perform his parts with absolute precision. Stage left, deep in the wings, the imposing figure of Timo Tolkki — he spent virtually the entire concert there. On drums, naturally, "Europe's most in-demand drummer" Jörg Michael; Lauri Porra, the band's new bassist, at the front of the stage; and finally the vocal parts began, and slowly, with a slight crouch, the small figure of Kotipelto moved toward the centre — the concert had begun.
Kotipelto announced almost all the songs. Following the "manic dance" came "Speed Of Light" and "The Kiss Of Judas." He then said that a song not featured on the band's North American tour would be performed: "Eagleheart." This wonderful short track from the first part of Elements — with its unforgettable melody — rang out. Another short piece, "Against The Wind," and the grand "Twilight Symphony" followed; midway through the latter, an acoustic guitar was brought out and specially set up for Tolkki, with which he coped no worse than with his regular electric. Then "Fight" and what was essentially a showcase for Lauri Porra — honestly, the bass solo didn't particularly impress me, not especially interesting in itself. Lauri demonstrated that he handles his instrument excellently, but nothing beyond that.
The concert continued. Two ballads sounded — both from the latest album, yet absolutely different from one another. One was accompanied by acoustic guitar and keyboards and was very lyrical, almost tenderly melancholic — I refer of course to "The Land Of Ice And Snow." Then, in sharp contrast, came the extraordinarily pompous and ceremonial "United": during its performance, messages appeared on the screens about how people should live in peace and friendship, figures of those killed in wars throughout the 20th century appeared, and so on. Pacifist lyrics are nothing new in the band's catalogue — Tolkki was revisiting this genuinely significant theme once again. The studio version ends with a brief choral passage; in this setting the hall took the choir's place, with Kotipelto himself conducting. "Father Time" and the celebrated "Hunting High And Low" crowned the main portion of the concert.
But naturally no one rushed to leave — everyone awaited the band's second appearance, which simply had to come; if for no other reason than that Kotipelto had not yet dispensed with all his stored-up jokes. This deserves separate mention — the STRATOVARIUS frontman was genuinely joking throughout the concert, and he particularly enjoyed drawing comparisons with the st. petersburg audience. When asking the crowd to "make some noise" or sing along, he would constantly say things like "Even the st. petersburg audience managed this — you are obliged to do it better," and so on.
After the encore three more songs followed — "Forever," arguably the band's most celebrated and beautiful acoustic ballad from the album Episode. As may already be apparent, special emphasis was placed on that album. Perhaps this was some kind of political decision — to play primarily material from the albums when relations between the members were at their best — though I was considerably disappointed by the near-total absence of songs from Infinity and Destiny. From the former, HHAL was performed; from the latter, the ten-minute monumental title track, which came second after the break.
The concert concluded with another dose of humour. Kotipelto announced they would perform "Black Diamond," but had grave doubts that Mr. Johansson would be able to play it, having drunk too much beer. At which point the band's keyboardist demonstratively took a few more swigs and began improvising in a jazz style, until Kotipelto tapped one of the upper keys and gesticulated to Jens to kindly begin the song. Well — the song was brilliantly performed.
For the finale, Kotipelto set himself the task of teaching everyone to count from one to four in German. He also briefly introduced the band members, poking fun in various languages. After Jörg growled something incoherent into the microphone, Kotipelto immediately explained that he had simply said goodbye in German. Unanimous laughter.
The concert was now truly over. The sound during the support act had caused considerable disappointment and some anxious thoughts, but the Finns' performance was flawless — the sound was perfect in every respect: guitar, bass, keyboards, and vocals all perfectly audible and harmoniously balanced, with the drums not dissolving into mush either. The concert left an enormous quantity of positive emotions; the only thing that disappointed — too short a set, with the performance lasting about one hour and 15–20 minutes. Well — we shall await the next visit by the legendary Finnish power metal masters.
Special thanks for the accreditation provided.
Report by Alan
Setlist:
Intro Maniac Dance Speed Of Light The Kiss Of Judas Eagleheart Against The Wind Twilight Symphony Fight Bass Solo The Land Of Ice And Snow United Father Time Hunting High And Low — encore — Forever Destiny Black Diamond