Stratovarius - Survive (2022)

Consistently releasing well-crafted and engaging albums, Stratovarius is finally back, after 7 years, with the brilliant “Survive”. Featuring a more bombastic and more dynamic Power Metal style, this release delivers nearly one hour of high-octane signature Stratovarius music with tons of epic vocal arrangements and killer guitar leads paired with intense melodic passages. Well worth the wait, this release will certainly be enjoyed by fans of the band and will gain them some new ones as well.

Opening with the album title track, we are quickly treated to blazing guitars and lush atmospheric arrangements. The band sounds quite fresh and dynamic, around their traditional Power Metal core led by Timo Kotipelto’s gifted vocals. As “Demand”, “Broken”, and “Firefly” roll around, we continue to hear the band’s enveloping sound perfectly balancing virtuosity, in both keyboards and guitars, with catchiness, as these songs are quite epic and engaging.

As one of our favorite tracks, “Frozen In Time” has a darker edge, with a slower pace and crafty tempo changes. However, it is the high-intensity of pieces like “World on Fire” and “Glory Days” that keeps fans chanting along and headbanging to the band’s signature style. Tracks like “Breakaway” have Matias Kupiainen unleashing killer solos, alongside Rolf Pilve’s crafty drum patterns, alongside the throbbing bass guitar line of Lauri Porra.

The dramatic symphonic arrangements of “Before the Fall” and the acoustic opening and slower tempo of “Voice of Thunder”, are some of the elements that keep the band’s sound fresh and their songs quite engaging. As a whole, “Survive” is a killer return from one of our favorite bands in the genre. Stratovarius has managed to deliver on all fronts, while pushing forward with their sound and keeping fans happy with this release, so don’t doubt in buying yourself a copy of it.

Label: earMusic

Release: September 23rd, 2022

Genre: Power/Symphonic Metal

Country: Finland