Elysium (Stratovarius album)

Elysium
Studio album by
Stratovarius
Released12 January 2011 (2011-01-12)[1]
Recorded2010 at 5 by 5 Audio in Pitäjänmäki
Genre
Length56:29[2]
LabelVictor
ProducerMatias Kupiainen
Stratovarius chronology
Polaris
(2009) 		Elysium
(2011) 		Nemesis
(2013)
Alternative cover
Collector's edition
Singles from Elysium
  1. "Darkest Hours" / "Infernal Maze"
    Released: 26 November 2010[3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Sputnikmusic3/5[5]
Metal Storm8/10[6]

Elysium is the thirteenth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 12 January 2011 through Victor Entertainment (Japan) and on 14 January through Edel AG (worldwide).[1] It is the last Stratovarius album to feature longtime drummer Jörg Michael, who left the band in 2012. Elysium reached No. 1 on the Finnish albums chart, as well as reaching the top 80 in five other countries.[7][8] "Darkest Hours" was released as a single, reaching No. 4 on the Finnish singles chart.[3]

Overview

The official track listing for Elysium was first announced by keyboardist Jens Johansson on the forum of the band's website on 8 November 2010.[9] The album was released on four different formats: a regular CD; a deluxe Digipak edition CD with a bonus disc containing demos of the entire album; a double-disc collector's edition CD with two bonus tracks on a 7" single; and on vinyl.[1] At a length of 18:07, Elysium's title track is by far the longest Stratovarius song to date. The album cover art was created by Gyula Havancsák and features the same star-shaped spacecraft from Polaris (2009).

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Darkest Hours"Timo Kotipelto, Matias KupiainenKupiainen4:11
2."Under Flaming Skies"KotipeltoKotipelto, Kupiainen3:51
3."Infernal Maze"KotipeltoKupiainen5:33
4."Fairness Justified"KotipeltoKupiainen4:20
5."The Game Never Ends"Jens JohanssonJohansson3:53
6."Lifetime in a Moment"Lauri PorraPorra6:38
7."Move the Mountain"JohanssonJohansson5:33
8."Event Horizon"KotipeltoKupiainen4:23
9."Elysium"
  • "Part I"
  • "Part II"
  • "Part III"
Kupiainen, KotipeltoKupiainen18:07
Total length:56:29
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
10."Castaway"PorraPorra4:40
11."Darkest Hours" (demo)Kotipelto, KupiainenKupiainen4:32
12."Against the Wind" (live)Kotipelto, Timo TolkkiTolkki4:02
13."Black Diamond" (live)KotipeltoTolkki7:30
Total length:77:19
Collector's edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
10."Hollowed"PorraPorra5:57
11."Last Shore"PorraPorra5:51
Total length:68:23

Personnel

Stratovarius

Additional credits

  • Risto Kupiainen – keyboard programming, orchestral arrangement (track 3, 10), orchestral programming (tracks 1, 3, 10), choir programming (tracks 4, 9)
  • Perttu Vänskä – orchestral arrangement (tracks 1, 2, 4, 9), orchestral programming (tracks 2, 4, 9), engineering, editing
  • Arzka Sievälä – choir
  • Jani Liimatainen – choir
  • Aleksi Parviainen – choir
  • Tipe Johnson – choir
  • Anssi Stenberg – choir
  • Marko "Hepa" Waara – choir
  • Kalle Keski-Orvola – engineering, editing
  • Santtu Lehtiniemi – engineering (guitar)
  • Mikko Karmila – mixing (tracks 1, 2, 5–7)
  • Svante Försback – mastering

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[10] 80
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 1
French Albums (SNEP)[12] 70
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 38
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[14] 48
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 45
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[16] 47
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[17] 28
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[18] 22

References

  1. ^ a b c "Stratovarius: 'Elysium' Collector's Edition Detailed". Blabbermouth. 2010-11-25. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  2. ^ Elysium (CD release "Icarus 692").
  3. ^ a b "Stratovarius - Darkest Hours (song)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  4. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Elysium - Stratovarius". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  5. ^ Stagno, Mike (2011-01-10). "Stratovarius - Elysium (album review 3)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  6. ^ Doc Godin (2011-01-12). "Stratovarius - Elysium review". Metal Storm. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  7. ^ "Stratovarius - Elysium (album)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  8. ^ "Elysium". Billboard charts. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  9. ^ Johansson, Jens (2010-11-08). ""Darkest Hours" single teaser!". Stratovarius Community Forum. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  10. ^ "Ultratop.be – Stratovarius – Elysium" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  11. ^ "Stratovarius: Elysium" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  12. ^ "Lescharts.com – Stratovarius – Elysium". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Stratovarius – Elysium" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  14. ^ "エリジウム". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  15. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Stratovarius – Elysium". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  16. ^ "Stratovarius Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  17. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  18. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 20, 2024.

See also

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