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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
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│ + Kotipelto - Coldness (Jap. Ed.) + │
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│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Sep-25-2014 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2004 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........11 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.kotipelto.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Kotipelto Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Coldness (Jap. Ed.) Label : Avalon ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ I remember one of my favorite albums of the ║ │
│║ mid-nineties was the ever popular The Downward ║ │
│║ Spiral by the leader of the alternative ║ │
│║ industrial scene at that time, Nine Inch Nails. ║ │
│║ As of late, said title comes to mind again ║ │
│║ regarding the drama that has manifested within ║ │
│║ the Stratovarius family circle. Perhaps it could ║ │
│║ serve as a befitting catch phrase/subtitle for a ║ │
│║ tele-biography, if there ever was one, sewing ║ │
│║ the similar thread of VH1: Behind The Music, ║ │
│║ only Stratovarius: The Downward Spiral. My, what ║ │
│║ a tangled web has been woven within the band's ║ │
│║ ranks over the past year or so. For those of you ║ │
│║ who are not in the know, here's a brief recap of ║ │
│║ the action: ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Now it's no mystery that Stratovarius have been ║ │
│║ on some sort of creative decline for quite ║ │
│║ awhile. Many of their most recent efforts have ║ │
│║ failed to deliver the magic that the earlier ║ │
│║ works possessed. Moreover, there is an extensive ║ │
│║ list of events that could very well spell the ║ │
│║ bands demise; 1) Violent feuding between ║ │
│║ vocalist Timo Kotipelto and drummer J÷rg Michael ║ │
│║ led to Kotipelto's removal from the band, 2) An ║ │
│║ attempt on guitarist Timo Tolkki's life (with a ║ │
│║ box cutter of all things) was presumed to be the ║ │
│║ doing of the former singer, and 3) A lawsuit was ║ │
│║ issued against the band by their label, Nuclear ║ │
│║ Blast, for refusing to return a substantial ║ │
│║ amount of currency that was granted to them for ║ │
│║ the production of an upcoming release that was ║ │
│║ to feature their lineup at the time of the ║ │
│║ transaction. To fill the position of missing ║ │
│║ vocalist, the remaining members of Stratovarius ║ │
│║ opted to exercise the Arch Enemy angle and bring ║ │
│║ in a female voice to lead the way. How will this ║ │
│║ metal (soap) opera unfold in the months to come? ║ │
│║ Stay tuned... ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Anyway, amid all of this madness was the ║ │
│║ writing, recording, and finally the launch of ║ │
│║ Kotipelto's second solo effort, Coldness. Being ║ │
│║ a great admirer of his first outing Waiting For ║ │
│║ The Dawn, this was a highly anticipated addition ║ │
│║ for my collection. With the same lineup backing ║ │
│║ him up as the previous disc, including Mike ║ │
│║ Romeo (Symphony X) and Juhani Malmberg ║ │
│║ (Tunnelvision) in the shredding department, ║ │
│║ Janne Warmen (Children Of Bodom) on keys, Mirka ║ │
│║ Rantanen (Thunderstone) beating the skins, and ║ │
│║ Jari Kainulainen (Stratovarius) handling the low ║ │
│║ end duties, Coldness was bound to be one hell of ║ │
│║ a sophomore release. Lord, was I ever so wrong. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ I don't have even the slightest comprehension of ║ │
│║ how so much can go awry from one album to the ║ │
│║ next. One can only attribute this sub-par ║ │
│║ disappointment to Kotipelto's problems with his ║ │
│║ former bandmates; but this reasoning only ║ │
│║ accounts for his own flawed performance. What's ║ │
│║ the excuse of his band for not even nearing the ║ │
│║ brilliance of Waiting For The Dawn? In defense ║ │
│║ of these exceptional musicians I will project a ║ │
│║ possible theory: Perchance, due to their ║ │
│║ frontman's stress level he was difficult to ║ │
│║ collaborate with, and therefore they rushed the ║ │
│║ album to get out of dodge. Unfortunately, this ║ │
│║ makes sense. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Waiting For The Dawn was masterful and skillful ║ │
│║ in every aspect, so much that it brought back ║ │
│║ vivid memories of classic Stratovarius albums ║ │
│║ like Episode and Visions. This new disc is ║ │
│║ stale, unfocussed, and utterly uninspiring, ║ │
│║ paralleling latter day Strato records to a tee. ║ │
│║ Coldness doesn't really harbor any mind-blowing ║ │
│║ or memorable riffs or drumming, however, the ║ │
│║ lead interplay between Romeo and Warmen is ║ │
│║ spine-tingling as usual. This factor alone ║ │
│║ helped the album retain a somewhat high ║ │
│║ musicianship score, where it would have ║ │
│║ otherwise found its way into the garbage. With ║ │
│║ Century Media providing the studio budget, ║ │
│║ you're almost always guaranteed a decent ║ │
│║ production, and the same can be said here. Other ║ │
│║ than that, there is really nothing notable to ║ │
│║ mention regarding this flop. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Wow, and now you're expecting me to point out a ║ │
│║ few highlights from Coldness, huh? 'Twas quite a ║ │
│║ taxing chore, but I am confident enough in ║ │
│║ recommending two tracks that resemble anything ║ │
│║ desirable to anyone. "Seeds Of Sorrow" kicks ║ │
│║ this disaster off sort of strong, leading us to ║ │
│║ believe that this might actually be a good ║ │
│║ record, but it only worsens until the final cut ║ │
│║ "Here We Are", which finishes up in uniform ║ │
│║ fashion. At this point you are relieved that the ║ │
│║ disc is over. Short of ripping Kotipelto to ║ │
│║ shreds, I honestly don't know what else can be ║ │
│║ said, so I will end my review on this note - If ║ │
│║ you're a fan of the newer Stratovarius material, ║ │
│║ then Coldness may suit your fancy, but it's ║ │
│║ doubtful. Fans of quality power metal, like ║ │
│║ Waiting For The Dawn and Episode should steer ║ │
│║ clear. Only seriously confused Kotipelto ║ │
│║ admirers need apply. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Seeds Of Sorrow [04:09] │
│ 02 - Reasons [03:47] │
│ 03 - Around [05:24] │
│ 04 - Can You Hear The Sound [03:22] │
│ 05 - Snowbound [04:34] │
│ 06 - Journey Back [03:40] │
│ 07 - Evening┤s Fall [03:56] │
│ 08 - Coldness Of My Mind [03:37] │
│ 09 - Take Me Away [03:32] │
│ 10 - Here We Are [06:32] │
│ 11 - Beyond Dreams (Bonus Track) [03:36] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [46:09 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
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