Stratovarius
Elements Pt. 1 (Nuclear Blast)
by Scott Hefflon
I always think of Stratovarious (and the top end of the power/classic heavy metal genre) as the Top Gun of metal. Like Young Guns music, it’s pretty late ’80s-sounding, with melodic keyboards and driving beats (although admittedly, the cheesy soundtracks didn’t have the double bass thunder these bands use to show they still got a pair after prancing through a ballet, a ballad, and a few mall-strutting rockers), and, like, the “you’ve got the right” rebel anthemry which always strikes me as a little over-simplified. But I’m a total sucker for the “Fly Eagle Free” stuff – like Sonata Arctica, one of my faves, and one I blast in the car on long, highway-tearing late-night runs.
(2323 W. El Segundo Blvd. Hawthorne, CA 90250)