Elements 1

Few CDs, if any, have such a large percentage of songs on it that I love. You know that feeling? How many of your CDs do you spend most of your time listening to just waiting for your 2 favorite songs? I do that a lot. Not on this CD (or any of Stratovarius's CD for that manner). The album is about 62 minutes long, also.It is important for you to know that I own 12 Stratovarius CDs (Fright Night, T.T., D., Fourth Dimension, E., V., Visions of Europe, D., I., Intermission, Elements 1, and Elements 2), the DVD Infinite Visions, and a shirt for this band. Only one other band do I own more than 3 albums by. And that band is Nightwish. Needless to say, I enjoy Stratovarius a LOT. About 45 of my about 400 favorite songs are by Stratovarius - far more than by any other band. Off this album, those songs include Find Your Own Voice, Fantasia (fav. of the album), Papillon, Stratofortress, Elements, and A Drop in the Ocean. Get that? 2/3 of the songs! Sorry - I don't find Eagleheart that great. Its also the least Strato-like song I think they've ever recorded, musically.What most people hate about this album is what I love - orchestration, Timo's wailing, 2 epics, and the instrumental Stratofortress. What I don't like is the no double-bass songs. Well... at least `not enough' of them. I know we're never gonna get another Father Time since the band's no more, but it would have been nice to have another song to be similar to that. It seems that the really fast songs were only on their older albums.The funny thing with this album is the atmosphere. The cover art really does make you feel like you're in the sky! Just give Elements or A Drop in the Ocean one listen and try to tell me different. The solos on Stratofortress also give that feeling. The whole album does, but it's the strongest at the end of the album.The albums "real" opener is Soul of a Vengabond, which I am not too fond of at the time. Find Your Own Voice is the closest to older Stratovarius you'll hear on the album. Fantasia's a lot like Mother Gaia and The Power of One in the sense that its like "what would our world be like if there were no wars or religion?" Learning to Fly is semi-filler to me, but Papillon is one heck of a powerful song. Its wicked slow, but in-your-face loud. Lots of wailing in that song, and in the title track. I recently looked at the lyrics to Elements (the song) closely - it looks like its simply a guy (Timo) asking "why are humans so selfish?" and such, and the answer he gets is 8 elements in 2 sets: wind, water, fire, earth, and then fear, anger, sorrow, joy. That song should give you chills, even though its not quite as good as it could have been. I've read that A Drop in the Ocean is Celestial Dream, Part II (from Infinite), but I'm not sure about that. They're both drumless ballads, but I don't see the relationship.Seriously - for any fan of euro metal of any kind (or if you like Rammstein for the orchestration), you just gotta give this album a (2nd, in some situations) try. As a whole, this is my favorite Stratovarius album. Visions, Fourth Dimension, and Infinite are in a close 2nd. Then probably Twilight Time and Destiny. Episode and Elements 2 are next, and I don't wanna go further than that.I hope I helped you in deciding whether to or not purchase this (wonderful) album. If I helped, please say so! I have a lot of other reviews (and now, I have my own list here on amazon!), so read them when you get a chance. Type in "Tunnelvision" and you should get to the list.

I must say that this is a spectacular album. I wasn't expecting to like it THIS MUCH! It thought it would be a good Strato album (which makes it amazing compared to modern music today). I will not say this is their best but It's close so far...This is about tied with Elysium (see my review for Elysium to get an idea of how much I like it). And one reviewer said he like "Timo's Wailing" on this album. What wailing?! He just has a higher range than any of us could ever dream of having! He's by no means wailing!Music:Eagleheart- I seriously love this song with a passion. It is so uplifting and it makes me wanna touch the sky. GREAT melody and I love the chorus. It's not as good as Hunting High and Low, tho because it's too short!Soul of a Vagabond- Another favorite. The opening guitar is heavy and then it evolves into one of those slow, hypnotizing songs that you have to fight not to like...and the chorus of this is very interesting: "In silence, I scream, But no one listens to me, Absolution, Salvation, My sins won't leave me be, The first cry, The last breath, We are born to die..." A very interesting chorus indeed. I think this is a very high point in the album.Find Your Own Voice- Great song. Fast and has a good message. I like it, but Learning to Fly is in a similar style and much, much better!Fantasia- First of only 2 songs on the album that I don't like as much. I think it might grow on me, but for now, I think it's just an average Strato song.Learning to Fly- GREAT MELODY, Awesome chorus, and Amazing song in general. I think this shoulda been released as a single as well.Papillon- Great song, the chorus isn't as great as the verse but never the less, a good song.Stratofortress- An instrumental. This is the other song I find not up to par with the rest. I like it kinda but it isn't a favorite. One of my family members said it sounds like Tom and Jerry chasing each other on mega speed!Elements- Nothing I can say will be good enough to fully describe this song...A Drop in the Ocean- A slow acoustic song. Good ending to a Great album.Verdict: If you liked Infinite, then get it. If you have Elements Pt 2, then get this one. If you are a Stratovarius fan, Kamelot fan, or Power Metal fan, then BUY IT. That is all. Thank you for viewing this review. Please Exit carefully, the "buy" button is near the top of the page and the "This Review was Helpful" button is below.

I don't think this is the best I've heard from Stratovarius, but it is quite good. Standout tracks are the Eagleheart (this is in the style of classic Stratovarius metal anthem), Learning to Fly, Stratofortress, and Elements. Timo Tolkki does a fantastic job on guitar here. Unfortunately, Timo Kotipelti is not quite up to par. He's a very talented singer, but he's really trying to hit notes so high that they just can't sound right even in key. It really hurts the ears in some places in that regard. The addition of the orchestra is a plus on this album. This album also takes more of a progressive turn than their older stuff, using less of the same old steady beat power metal. One other thing worth mentioning is that it seems that a lot of this music is aimed at being a stab against concepts of religion and God. I won't get into the specifics; read the lyrics if you need to know. While this doesn't bother me at all, readers who are strongly religious may want to take this into consideration.

A masterpiece of Melodic Metal. This may be Timmo Tolkki's best work. There is a diversity of sound on this album, hard driving songs, breath taking beautiful ballads and an kind of operatic quality that is both classical like but intimate and accessible. Elements Part 1 is beautiful music that also rocks! Timmo's incredibly fast but unique and melodic guitar solos are alone a reason to purchase this album. I believe that this is Stratovarious' best album.

Every metalhead should have it. I recommend it, almost all the songs are magnificent.

Uno de los mejores discos de la banda. El cd llegó rápido y en perfectas condiciones

Très bien

ELEMENTS IS A WONDERFUL ALBUM WITH VARIOUSNESS AND FURY. SOMETIMES PROGRESSIVE SOMETIMES SPEEDY WITH AMAZING VOICE FROM THE MAGICIAN OF NOTES TIMO KOTIPELTO FINLAND MAESTRO

価格に見合った状態・内容でした。到着までが長く感じられましたが、とても良い商品で満足しております。ありがとうございました。

Disco che rispecchia in pieno il sound e lo stile degli Stratovarius, ma che pecca di quel che di speciale rispetto ai capolavori come Visions ed Infinite!Contiene comunque pezzi davvero straordinari come Eagleheart (un classico ormai), Soul of a Vagabond (pezzo davvero notevole) e la titletrack Elements ricca di arrangiamenti stupendi!Disco che vale la pena avere in coppia con la pt. II da completare così un'opera notevole, nel complesso unendoli insieme, ma che singolarmente è priva di quel che di speciale.