BW&BK; scribe Carl Begai has checked in with a brief look at the REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE album, New Era, the brainchild of ex-STRATOVARIUS guitarist/songwriter Timo Tolkki.

“Make no mistake, New Era is the Stratovarius album that should have been, but it’ll be very interesting to see how diehard fans react to Revolution Renaissance in the wake of all the ugly details coming to light with regards to Stratovarius’ demise ( Kotipelto/Michael/Johansson/Porra vs Tolkki ). Something smells fishy given how quickly New Era surfaced following guitarist Timo Tolkki’s overblown rock opera Saana – Warrior Of Light (on the same label he’d threatened to sue for breach of contract) and the announcement he’d deep-sixed his Strato-mates, but in the end Revolution Renaissance will live or die based on fan reaction to Tolkki surrounding himself with new players. Musically, New Era is miles ahead of the self-titled Stratovarius fiasco from a couple years back, hitting that predictable yet comfortable Tolkki up-tempo/anthem/neo-shred/ballad groove, right down to the production (you’d swear Joerg Michael is playing drums). Truth be told, the songs are good but not nearly as adventurous as Episode and Visions album-loving fans would like. Vocal duties are divided between EDGUY / AVANTASIA singer Tobias Sammet, ex-HELLOWEEN vocal whore Michael “I don’t like metal at all, really, I don’t, honest” Kiske and ex-THUNDERSTONE throat Pasi Rantanen, and while they all do a fine job it clearly could and should have been Kotipelto behind the mic. Something is missing. Stratovarius fans historically have a low tolerance level for bullshit, so if the music is strong enough to blur the lines of controversy Revolution Renaissance will succeed. If the sense of betrayal currently on the air doesn’t fade once New Era is released this will be Tolkki’s swansong.”

The tracklist is as follows: "Heroes' **, 'I Dd It My Way' *, 'We Are Magic' ***, 'Angel' *, 'Eden Is Burning' ***, 'Glorious And Divine' **, 'Born Upon The Cross' ***, 'Keep The Flame Alive' *, 'Last Night On Earth' *, 'Revolution Renaissance' *.

* featuring Michael Kiske

** featuring Tobias Sammet

*** featuring Pasi Rantanen