Kotipelto - Serenity
Candlelight USA - CDL355 - May 8th, 2007
By Ryan Starr
Those of us in the power metal scene should recognize this name. For those who don’t, Timo Kotipelto is the singer for
Stratovarius.
Serenity is the latest album from his solo project.
Kotipelto has a lot of the same qualities
Stratovarius has. Catchy and uplifting riffs and Timo’s soaring vocals are staples in both projects. But what sets this album apart from
Stratovarius is the classic 80’s style that’s put into the songs. While it has a modern feel to it, you can here stylistic throwbacks everywhere in the album. Evidently,
Motley Crue and
Poison influenced more musicians than we realize. But make no mistake, this is not glam. These influences are subtle, but without them,
Kotipelto would be a
Stratovarius clone without Tolkki’s signature shredding style. But enough about
Stratovarius,
Kotipelto can stand on its own two feet.
Serenity offers 45 minutes of solid melodic power metal. Timo’s vocals, while not his best performance, are quite good. But I do think he tried to stretch his talents a bit too far. In the song
‘After the Rain’ he tries to go a little too high, and the song suffers for it. At the 1:20 mark he tries to go way out of his normal range, but doesn’t have the power to push it out in his natural voice, so he goes into a falsetto, and it just doesn’t work. He does this a few more times throughout the song, and it just ruins the epic feeling portrayed by the rest of the band. Throughout the rest of the album you can also catch some bad notes. But 95% of the singing is solid.
One thing I really like about this album is the throwback attitude. The organ parts, paired with great lead work featured in
‘Mr. Know-it-all’ created for a high energy 80’s feel. And this energy is found through most of the songs. But of course we can’t forget to throw in a couple ballads.
‘After the Rain’ and
‘Last Defender’ cover the softer side of this rockin’ album. I’ve never been a big fan of ballads, but these tracks came out pretty good.
‘Last Defender’ has quite an epic feel to it, thanks to guitarist Tuomas Wäinölä. His work really makes this album great.
Serenity, while it has some vocal flaws, is a great album. I’m certainly glad I got the chance to check it out, and I encourage you all to do the same.
Official Kotipelto Website
Official Candlelight Website
