*Heroes....

[GJ]

Stratovarious, whom I seem to have lumped together (fair in some cases/moments - not so in others I'm sure) with the likes of Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Helloween, Heaven's Gate, Chroming Rose and even Running Wild (very late eigthies and nineties work only of course), for sure never was the early-metalhead staple for an oldie like me. I bought my one and only Stratovarious (how come you can write this and not Hammerfall?) record (Fright Night?) cheap sometime in the late nineties, probably spun it once (I hope so at least - can't remember one damned thing from it) and put it in the shelf. Sorry for keeping out of topic! I blame the dolphins (They´re evil! Evil! Eeeeeeeeeeeeevil!)

[GJ]

Rock of Ages is one of the best anthems ever. I got the album expecting to hear more up-tempo stuff like that and was slightly disappointed, but have since then come to appreciate it for what it is.

Always loved this one. The keys are perfect!

[DaN]

Btw, how do you pronounce them? It's [Sarássin'] not [Sarah-Scene] right?

[Chiroptera]

Sorry for keeping out of topic! I blame the dolphins (They´re evil! Evil! Eeeeeeeeeeeeevil!)

Yeah, that's what I've always said!
"The world is 'bout to be destroyed, no point in gettin' all annoyed.."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG6b3V2MNxQ

[GJ]

Not a clue.

[Sarássin']

Is this supposed to be rhyming with assassin?

[Piotr Sargnagel]

I would have thought "Sara-scen" but then I've never heard anyone say it! But cheers for the info - I'll definitely be checking out their later stuff but with a great deal of initial scepticism so's not to get too disappointed!

[DaN]

Not a clue.

[Sarássin']

Is this supposed to be rhyming with assassin?

Yes. I think that's the right pronounciation.

[The Erlking]

Hey! I even like Dolphin Ride. It reminds me of great JRPG-games on Super Nintendo like Tales Of Phantasia, Chrono Trigger etc.

Also the song Dolphin Tradition on Breeze Least's S/T is awsome so dolphin's can't be completely evil!

[Black Axe]

Not a clue.

[Sarássin']

Is this supposed to be rhyming with assassin?

Yes. I think that's the right pronounciation.

On the track "Jekyll & Hyde" on the Red Sky album there's a piece from Tommy Vance's radio show where it's pronounced as Sara-sun.

[nightsblood]

Yes, it's pronounced Sara-scen (does sound a bit like 'assassin').

Stratovarius were always a disappointing waste of a power metal band. Many of their early songs are flat-out rip-offs of older Rainbow, Queensrryche, and Helooween songs; at least 3 songs on 'Dreamspace' could have invoked copyright infringement lawsuits. The vocals were always hollow and lacked range, and the guitar tone was always awful. Add to that their habit of churning out a new album almost every year and you quickly build up a large pile of unlistenable, generic power metal tripe. I will never understand why they got so popular given all the other, more talented bands active in that genre at the same time (Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Nocturnal Rites, etc)

I think I need a t-shirt that says "DOLPHINS ARE NOT METAL!", maybe have a logo with a small corpse-painted figure wacking a dolphin on the head with a club or something

[nabel]

Timo Tolkki of Stratovarius is an example of a man who just should take his medicines and rest, rest and rest a little bit more.

[Piotr Sargnagel]

I think I need a t-shirt that says "DOLPHINS ARE NOT METAL!", maybe have a logo with a small corpse-painted figure wacking a dolphin on the head with a club or something

[Ernest Thesiger]

I love the smell of thread drift in the morning.

[Piotr Sargnagel]

yeah it's gone way off but no matter, I kinda like the dolphin song too so it's decided - follow up on the rest of these guy's output.

[Helm]

I'd say 'SA ra ken' because it's closer to how we pronounce those peoples in Greek, but if I were pretending to be a native English speaker I guess 'SA ra cen'. Oh no, it's another Celtic Frost/Keltic Frost conundrum!!