Destiny

Destiny is a work on which Stratovarius, using fast guitar, glittering, flamboyant keyboards and a soaring, powerful vocal, draws grand power metal. Inheriting the success of the previous Visions, it pushes an epic bent further. Rather than merely dashing, the songs carefully stack quiet tension and dramatic drama within long developments. A record powerfully conveying the fullness of the band’s golden era. From the drama of the grand over-ten-minute title track “Destiny” and the dashing hit “S.O.S.” to the lyrical “4000 Rainy Nights,” every song boasts high polish, while cuts like “No Turning Back” and “Playing with Fire” convey the work’s fullness. Widely opened melody and precise, technical playing bind extremely naturally. Its appeal is that briskness and a symphonic, grand scale give the whole work a fresh openness. In its home Finland, it achieved great commercial success too, reaching number one on the chart. Letting you fully savor the appeal of Nordic melodic power metal, it is a fulfilling golden-era masterpiece.