Kotipelto on his own
Written: Mar 26 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: "Reason", "Can You Here the Sound"
Cons: Not too big a departure from the Stratovarius sound.
The Bottom Line: A quality solo album from the voice of Stratovarius.
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| Mordred's Full Review: Coldness by Kotipelto |
When Timo Kotipelto went into the studios back in September of 2003 to start recording his second solo album, few could have realized how perfect his timing was. Of course Timo might have had some indication of exactly what was going to befall his former band, power metal icons Stratovarius, but even he probably didn't realize how bad things would get.
Around that time, Stratovarius founder and lead guitarist, Timmo Tolkki, started to completely self-destruct. It starting with the firing of Kotipelto and drummer Jorg Michael but continued by hiring an unknown female replacement who was not well accepted by fans, insulting the remaining members, playing a one-off show with the last lineup, where he was reportedly too drunk to even play, posting of nonsensical gibberish on the band's website, a knifing by an unknown assailant in Spain, talk of suicide and finally his ultimate hospitalization for over a month month. It now appears that Tolkki has gotten the help he needed but Kotipelto's solo release came at the perfect time to help distance himself from all the other nonsense.
Fortunately Kotipelto's album Coldness is a solid offering from one of the most respected voices working in the European metal scene today. Those not familiar with the Stratovarius catalog would find it nearly impossible to separate the tracks on Coldness from any of Stratovarius' recent albums.
Timo does a good job of surrounding himself with great musicians, which is what makes this album so good. Jari Kainulainen from Stratovarius joins Timo on the bass and helps to reinforce that Stratovarius feel. Janne Wirman (Children of Bodom) fills in on keyboards while Mirka Rantanen handles drums. Michael Romeo of Symphony X takes care of most of the lead guitar work on the album and Juhani Malmberg handles the other three tracks.
The album's first single is "Reason" which is a pretty representative cut. It's a mid-tempo track with a strong melody and a soaring chorus that plays to Kotipelto's strengths as a vocalist. Clocking in at under four minutes and with a catchy vocal line, it seems that this was a track destined for radio... at least European radio anyway. In fact most of the songs on this album hover around the four minute mark and those expecting longer, epic cuts may be a little disappointed. There's certainly nothing wrong with short and to the point, and it is a little refreshing to note that Kotipelto doesn't feel the need to include anything overbearingly long.
Getting a guitar hero like Romeo is a major coup for Kotipelto and his addition really pays off. Tracks like "Coldness of My Mind", "Seeds of Sorrow" and the aforementioned "Reasons" really benefit from his style of soloing. The majority of Mike's work is spent on rhythm, something he's already proved he can handle equally well in his own band. Romeo plays on seven of the ten tracks here and I think you can tell the difference between him and Malmburg. Malmburg certainly isn't a bad guitarist, but Romeo just adds a little something extra to everything he touches.
I do think that being in Stratovarius has really improved Kotipelto's song writing immensely. Tolkki's musical style normally worked pretty well and Kotipelto uses it to good effect. "Can You Hear the Sound" is a perfect example of this. It's a breakneck melodic romp with a very solid rhythm section and a very singable vocal line that reminds me of Visions-era Stratovarius and will play extremely well in a live setting. If Timo releases another single in Europe, this ought to be it.
I must confess that it's hard to separate the solo artist from his former band but he certainly shouldn't be blamed for that. This is certainly a quality album and I wish him the best of luck.
Recommended:
Yes
Great Music to Play While: With Family
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Epinions.com ID:
Mordred
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Member: Kevin
Location: Austin, TX
Reviews written: 162
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