Episode

Episode is a masterpiece on which Stratovarius beautifully pulls high-speed twin leads, magnificent keyboards and a steady rhythm section into one large flow. From this album, Jens Johansson joined on keyboards and Jörg Michael on drums, completing the band’s golden lineup. The high neoclassical technique is used not merely to flamboyantly decorate the songs but to powerfully amplify the lift of the melody. A record on which the band’s direction clearly took shape. The briskness of the dashing songs is exceptional, from the overwhelming speed of the classic opener “Father Time” to the thrill of the ultra-fast “Speed of Light.” It connects naturally with epic, grand passages using strings and solemn chorus, as in “Will the Sun Rise?,” “Eternity” and “Season of Change.” Its power lies in uniting, at an extremely high level, the briskness of dashing power metal and symphonic, grand drama. The lineup and direction leading directly to the band’s brilliant golden era were clearly established on this work. A monumental record that became an important peak of Nordic melodic power metal.