One aspect that many people don't take into account when listening to a band is who is actually writing the songs. A change is the primary lyricist can completely change a band's dynamics and almost make amazing vocalists seem unlistenable. Everyone really seemed to worry when it was announced that guitarist, producer and songwriting genius Magnus Karlsson would not be working on the new Allen/Lande album. Many were even further worried when it was unveiled that the eccentric, ex-Stratovarius mastermind Timo Tolkki was announced as his replacement. This was probably deemed a huge concern because Karlsson has been known for producing exceptional work with practically every band he has created music with. Tolkki on the other hand has seemed to be extremely inconsistent in some of the work he has put out since exiting from Stratovarius. Last year he had released the first album of his metal opera trilogy Avalon, which was widely acclaimed as being one of his best albums in recent years, which may have been helped by many of his guest vocalists such as Symphony X frontman Russell Allen. This year however he decided to release the second installment of Avalon and most people hated virtually everything about it, including the production quality as well as the vocalists. It was very difficult to tell just how his contributions to Allen/Lande would work out.
Russell Allen and Jorn Lande are both two of my favorite vocalists and Timo Tolkki happens to be my favorite guitarist, so you could imagine my excitement in listening to Allen/Lande's The Great Divide. The album starts off immediately on the right foot with the very uplifting track “Come Dream With Me”. The intro guitar riff sounds very similar to something Tolkki would have done in his Revolution Renaissance project, which I happened to love. There is not one aspect about this song that I don't think is perfect. The vocal production is amazing and I can actually decipher between the two vocalists, which honestly I had a bit of a problem with on some of their past albums. The guitars are very clear sounding and clean, and it has an extremely uplifting solo. Right off the bat I am more impressed with this than anything off of Avalon's Angels of the Apocalypse album, the last Symphony X album, and most of what Jorn has done recently. From first listen this song will get stuck in your head.
The music greatly intensives by the second track “Down from the Mountain”. It starts with a really distorted yet melodic guitar riff that actually reminds me a bit of some mid-period Stratovarius tracks, but still manages to sound fresh and original. Jorn Lande's vocals start off extremely menacing and I feel like this is the best he's sounded in quite a while. Everything about this song just screams fist pumping anthem. Once again an extremely memorable, yet more aggressive track that includes some of the best soloing out of Tolkki that I've heard in years. One of my favorite things about this song is that the drum production sounds really crisp, almost like Jorg Michael's on the classic Stratovarius albums.
“Solid Ground” is where you begin to notice that Tolkki is on the top of his game in terms of his lyrics. Although there are still a few stereotypical songs on here about dreams and time, the songs still seem very original and not just a rehash of old ideas like he has often been accused of recently. Solid Ground is essentially about taking control of your own life and living it the way you want to live it, even in the face of adversity. Musically it really isn't anything all that intense, but the message to it pretty much stands for itself. The guitar solo however does have a lot of emotion to it and is pulled off very cleanly and meshes seamlessly back into the chorus.
Piano intros are something that Allen/Lande have always been known for and is one of the defining characteristics of most great melodic rock music. Some people have accused “Lady of Winter” of starting off exactly like Savatage's Edge of Thorns with an open distorted note along with the piano, but I honestly don't see the similarities. The song progresses into an absolute masterpiece with even more excellent guitar riffs and menacing yet clean and melodic vocals from both Russell and Jorn. This has grown to be one of my favorite songs on the album. The solo sounds really fresh and not derivative at all, which are something I think many people were anticipating, would happen.
There is actually one track that I would consider a throwback to earlier Stratovarius music. “Dream about Tomorrow” does happen to musically sound a lot like Paradise in terms of the primary riff, but honestly that is where the similarities end. Tolkki has often been accused of trying to relive his glory days in his new music, but it is very understandable to me that some tracks are going to sound like Stratovarius, since he wrote virtually all aspects of their music when he was in the band and has a very distinct guitar tone. I don't feel like this track was an intentional reproduction, because honestly it sounds like a very fresh and original idea to me especially in the guitar solo. He is definitely putting much more of a focus on the soulful side of his guitar playing in this track, which is what drew me to his music many years ago in the first place.
The Great Divide is easily the best album I have heard out of Timo Tolkki in a really long time and is the best vocal performance I've heard from Russell Allen and Jorn Lande in just as long. The songs come out extremely memorable and fresh sounding, the production is very crisp and clean, and I don't feel like any of it is too repetitive or boring. I really hope Tolkki sticks around and works with these guys more in the future; to me it seems like a match made in heaven. This is definitely one of my favorite albums of the year.
Adam Phillips, HMS
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