Stratovarius is one of the most influential, successful and enduring power metal bands in the world; one of the top names thanks to their distinguished mix of fast progressive metal and a melodic approach to melodies.What started in 1985 under the name Black Water and left a trail of 16 studio albums and ten Top 5 chart positions in their native country Finland (and more than 40 top chart positions all around the globe), found after a few bumpy steps and stones in the band's line-up its peak in Stratovarius' recent studio works Elysium, Nemesis and Eternal. All milestones in sound, creativity and song writing.Now, it is time to collect the best of those milestones in Stratovarius' greatest and longest Best Of.It happens rarely nowadays, especially in metal, that a band creates one magic song after the other. Stratovarius are one of the few exceptions. 29 of those exceptions (and there could have been more!) can be found on Stratovarius' longest and greatest Best Of. All hand-picked by the band and adding up to 2 ½ hours of pure Stratovarius bliss, the songs give metal fans and those to be a great selection on the band's impressive work, including classics such as Black Diamond, Hunting High And Low and Speed Of Light as well as more recent material such as the most streamed song in the band's history Unbreakable and Shine In The Dark from their recent studio album Eternal. All songs are remastered by the band's long-time companion Mika Jussila of Finnvox Studios.Jens Johansson adds It's been 20 years since the Episode album, we're all getting older but this stuff sounds as fresh as ever. Could it be that Stratovarius has discovered the fountain of Eternal Youth!? You may feel younger, but we can't actually (legally) promise you'll be younger after listening to this best-of album, but we can guarantee one thing: when you put it through your speakers, it will play Until the End of Days!!To me it's a testament to the fact that paying attention to song writing and production was expensive, but so worth it. The songs, the sound and the performances really have stood the test of time.As a special treat, the Best Of includes the brand new song Until The End Of Days from the current band line up consisting of Timo Kotipelto, Jens Johansson, Mattias Kupainen, Lauri Porra and Rolf Pilve.
J**N
Excellent value for your money here
Excellent value for your money here. What you get is a solid overview of Stratovarius' entire career, from a few early classics (Wings of Tomorrow, Break the Ice) through the genre-defining classic period (Black Diamond, Paradise, Destiny), and into the present Tolkki-less incarnation of the band (Halcyon Days, My Eternal Dream). Individual albums are favoured less than an overall picture, which makes for a less coherent collection than I would have picked had I been selecting the tracklist, but what it lacks in flow, it makes up for in scope. The fact that there is a respectable live disc tacked on as a bonus really makes this a no brainer.So four stars from me. I'd have liked to see more representation for the two Elements albums, but thats a personal preference if anything. Docking a star for haphazard flow, but enthusiastically adding four for the overall package. Not to mention the new track, Until the End of Days, just rocks. Recommended for both fans and causal listeners.
R**E
Cracked, but worth it!
I've really fall in love with the power metal band and honestly this is great for fans and people who are just getting interested in it. With over 40 songs people will definitely get their fix of Stratovarius! However, whoever the distributor is or the delivery service they need to take care of the package more often, mine came straight out the pack cracked and breaking apart the CDs still works so I'll still give it for this 4 out of 5 stars
J**Y
An epic compilation....but don't buy it from Amazon....Buy it from DiscountEntertainment on Amazon.
The greatest hits of Stratovarius (excluding Nemesis and The Lost Saga). The only issue is the CD itself. Amazon says that it's the digipack....but it's actually the jewel box. Also, the insert book that comes with it is for Visions Of Europe LIVE.😅Very disappointing. The one sold by DE is exactly as described; a three CD digipak with the correct booklet.
C**L
NOT DIGIPACK
Album is great, missing some of the key Stratovarius tracks, but the real issue here is that it is the crappier Double Jewel Box version not the Digipack as list in the description.
A**R
[MP3 Review] Where is my 'Until The End of Days'?
I want to give this collection five stars, but there is a giant problem here (for the MP3 Album at least):Track 1 is My Eternal DreamTrack 2 is Halcyon DaysThis means, Until The End of Days is outright missing, and you get Halcyon Days twice.Beyond this issue, it'd more call this a 'Sampler' than a 'Best Of', as they have a lot of great material not on here.As a MP3 purchase, this compilation contains tracks that you cant otherwise get through legitimate means.
M**6
Stratovarius Best of
Great music from a great band
Y**A
Great!
Excellent CD. Arrived very quickly way before arrival date. Excellent seller!
M**H
Great mix of their powermetal
Gread CD, Great mix of their powermetal. Love the group. The Waken 2015 Bonus tracks have average sound quality but the package is really fairly priced for the 3 CDs you get. Thumbs up
2**Y
Power metal At its best
Absolutely fantastic band and this is there best work if you buy just 1 power metal this year make it this one you wont be disappointed. the cd packaging is also of a v high quality with some fantastic photos of the band and nice artwork. comes with a small booklet also with pictures and artwork.
A**R
Cd
Great CD and excellent service
D**N
Delivery on time
To play
C**.
Stratovarius solo eso
Nada que decir es mi banda favorita y mostraron en 3 discos sus mejores canciones es un must have si eres fan de strato y si no para que conoscas a esta banda de metal , canción del disco hunting high and low!
M**S
CD
Turbolieferung.Absolut empfehlenswert.
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