review by: Roberto Martinelli

Element's Pt. I is easily Stratovarius' strongest overall album since 1996' Visions. Sure, there are some horrendously alarming parts on the record, the kind that Timo Tolkki's solo record Hymn to Life was rife with, but Stratovarius have shown that they CAN go in a direction instead of rehashing and recycling their old ideas and riffs and make something a little different while at the same time retaining their delicious cotton candy flavor.

As with the expectedly catchy opener ("Eagleheart"), the record provides something palatable in each of its songs, from the fast "Find Your Own Voice" and "Learning to Fly" to the slow and drippy "Papillon," which features some exquisite singing by both Koltipelto and a guest child vocalist. Timo Koltipelto's vocals have technically never sounded better on any Stratovarius record before this one.

Like I said, it is clearly a Stratovarius record: you've got the fast songs, the album-ending soft ballad, and the instrumental track. But we're seeing now the direction that this oft-copied band is going in, namely the longer, more "theatrical" and themed songs. A quick glance at the song times shows that only one tune with vocals is under five minutes, and some are at or over the 10-minute mark. While these longer songs were a complete flop in the previous record (I've been doing a good job skipping "Mother Gaia" whenever I put on Infinite), they work for the most part here, aside from the not really successful operatic chorus to the title track and an isolated, atrocious bit on "Fantasia." It's not Avantasia, and thankfully so, but it's beginning to head in that direction. Imagine "Vision (Southern Cross)" explored more, and the less than entirely great songs on Eternity done much better, and then add in some newer tricks like unusual bass parts, drum fills and synth tones and there you go.

Make no mistake, Stratovarius is children's metal. But that's strangely what makes me love it. Just as I adore Nargaroth, I get all excited about Stratovarius. It's impossible to figure out.