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]

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.[4][5] "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.[6] 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).

Critical reception

The album was met with positive reviews Paul Elliot writing for Louder Sound wrote “for connoisseurs of histrionic heavy metal, it doesn’t get much better than this.”[7]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Sputnikmusic3/5[9]
Metal Storm8/10[10]
Metal Temple Magazine7/10[11]
Louder Sound

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
Collector's edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
10."Hollowed"PorraPorra5:57
11."Last Shore"PorraPorra5:51
Total length:68:23
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

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)[12] 80
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 1
French Albums (SNEP)[14] 70
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 38
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[16] 48
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 45
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[18] 47
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[19] 28
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[20] 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. ^ "Stratovarius - Elysium (album)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  5. ^ "Elysium". Billboard charts. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  6. ^ Johansson, Jens (2010-11-08). ""Darkest Hours" single teaser!". Stratovarius Community Forum. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  7. ^ "Stratovarius:Elysium". Louder. 2011-02-03. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  8. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Elysium - Stratovarius". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  9. ^ Stagno, Mike (2011-01-10). "Stratovarius - Elysium (album review 3)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  10. ^ Doc Godin (2011-01-12). "Stratovarius - Elysium review". Metal Storm. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  11. ^ https://metal-temple.com/review/stratovarius-elysium/
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Stratovarius – Elysium" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  13. ^ "Stratovarius: Elysium" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  14. ^ "Lescharts.com – Stratovarius – Elysium". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  15. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Stratovarius – Elysium" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  16. ^ "エリジウム". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  17. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Stratovarius – Elysium". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  18. ^ "Stratovarius Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  19. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  20. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 20, 2024.

See also

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