Many distinctive rock bands reach a point where the individual sound they have pioneered starts to lose its appeal. Pantera unintentionally became a parody of their favoured barroom brawl metal sound, while In Flames simply forgot how to be good. For Stratovarius the decline was inevitable; their polished, symphonic power metal style had remained constant since the mid-90s and most of their albums sound the same. The new millennium brought ‘Elements,’ envisioned as an epic two-part concept album released in two halves a year apart in the style of Helloween’s ‘Keeper of the Seven Keys,’ or more recently, System of a Down’s ‘Mesmerize’/‘Hypnotize.’ A lofty idea ...  Read the complete review