Elysium (Stratovarius album)

Elysium
Studio album by Stratovarius
Released January 12, 2011[1]
Recorded 2010 at 5-by-5 Studios in Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki, Finland[1][2]
Genre Power metal, progressive metal
Length 56:35
Label Victor
Producer Matias Kupiainen
Stratovarius chronology
Polaris
(2009)		 Elysium
(2011)
Alternative cover
Collector's edition
Singles from Elysium
  1. "Darkest Hours"
    Released: November 24, 2010
  2. "Infernal Maze"
    Released: November 24, 2010

Elysium is the thirteenth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on January 12, 2011 through Victor Entertainment (Japan) and on January 14, 2011 through Edel Music (worldwide).

Contents

Background

The official track listing was first announced by keyboardist Jens Johansson on the forum of the band's website on November 8, 2010.[3] The album was released on four different formats: a regular CD; a deluxe digipak edition with a bonus CD featuring demos of the entire album; a double-disc collector's edition with two bonus tracks on a seven-inch single; and on vinyl.[4]

"Darkest Hours" was released as a single, along with "Infernal Maze", on November 24, 2010.[5] The Collector's Edition+7" Single contains MP3 demos on the CD with the album and a 7" single with two bonus tracks. The album debuted at number one on the Finnish albums chart and is the first album to do so since Infinite in 2000.[6]

Artwork

Gyula Havancsák's cover art for the album and single appear to have thematic similarities to that of Infinite (2000), with both featuring a scene with contrasting worlds: Elysium shows a picturesque lagoon surrounded by natural beauty, whilst "Darkest Hours" shows an industrial wasteland filled with pollution. Also, the star-shaped spacecraft from Polaris (2009) makes a reappearance.

Track listing

No. Title Lyrics Music Length
1. "Darkest Hours"   Timo Kotipelto, Matias Kupiainen Kupiainen 4:11
2. "Under Flaming Skies"   Kotipelto Kotipelto, Kupiainen 3:52
3. "Infernal Maze"   Kotipelto Kupiainen 5:33
4. "Fairness Justified"   Kotipelto Kupiainen 4:21
5. "The Game Never Ends"   Jens Johansson Johansson 3:54
6. "Lifetime in a Moment"   Lauri Porra Porra 6:39
7. "Move the Mountain"   Johansson Johansson 5:34
8. "Event Horizon"   Kotipelto Kupiainen 4:24
9. "Elysium"   Kupiainen, Kotipelto Kupiainen 18:07
Japanese bonus track
No. Title Lyrics Music Length
10. "Castaway"   Porra Porra 4:40
Collector's Edition 7" single
No. Title Lyrics Music Length
11. "Hallowed"   Porra Porra 5:57
12. "Last Shore"   Porra Porra 5:51

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Lords of Metal (87/100) [7]
SMNnews.com (8/10) [8]
Metal Hammer (5/7) [9]
Thrash Hits (5/6) [10]
Soundi
Sputnikmusic [11]

Personnel

Release history

Region Date Label
Japan January 12, 2011[1] Victor
Worldwide January 14, 2011[1] Edel

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Finnish albums chart[6] 1

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Johansson, Jens (2010-10-21). "New album "Elysium", Jan 12 2011. Single on Nov 26". stratovarius.com. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  2. ^ "Stratovarius to play Wacken, start work on new album in 2010". stratovarius.com. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  3. ^ Johansson, Jens (2010-11-08). ""Darkest Hours" single teaser!". Stratovarius Community Forum. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  4. ^ "STRATOVARIUS: 'Elysium' Collector's Edition Detailed - Nov. 25, 2010". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  5. ^ "Stratovarius : Darkest hours". Record Shop X. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  6. ^ a b " Album Top 50: 03/2011". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
  7. ^ http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=17899&lang=en
  8. ^ http://www.smnnews.com/2011/01/07/stratovarius-elysium/
  9. ^ http://www.metal-hammer.de/Stratovarius_ELYSIUM_Review.html
  10. ^ http://www.thrashhits.com/2011/01/album-stratovarius-elysium/
  11. ^ Stagno, Mike (2011-01-10). "Stratovarius - Elysium (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
Stratovarius
Timo Kotipelto  · Jens Johansson  · Jörg Michael  · Lauri Porra  · Matias Kupiainen
Timo Tolkki  · Jari Kainulainen  · Antti Ikonen  · Tuomo Lassila  · Jyrki Lentonen  · Staffan Stråhlman  · John Vihervä
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
DVDs
Singles
Tours
Related pages