Well I never thought I would see a 'Stratovarius' line-up with 'Timo Kotipelto', 'Jörg Michael' and 'Timo Tolkki' in it, well it's amazing how a sizeable record deal can repair broken friendships!, in fact by some miraculous fate this is the same line-up that recorded the 'Elements' double shot. Sound wise, this is a lot more straight forward and far less adventurous than with 'Elements' and gone are the long-winded keyboard and orchestral pieces. Personally I think this is a smart move, regrettably though there is still a lack of substance here, the majority of songs reflect the struggles the band has undergone recently, Ok, poignant to the band members, but most make for either dull, sentimental, or pretentious songs. Before 'Stratovarius' die-hards, put me on their hit-list, the individual skills of the band still shine though and there are plenty of quality moments, regrettably in my opinion not enough of the songs gel.

The album opens solidly with two strong rockers the first of which is 'Maniac Dance' a pretty simplistic track by 'Strats' normal standards, but relatively quirky and surprisingly catchy, the staccato rhythm is also impressive as is 'Timo's' guitar solo. Brisker still is the uplifting 'Fight!!!' an energetic cut graced with superb instrumental work and some of 'Timo Kotipelto's' best vocals, lyrically it's perhaps a little light but still a very good cut. Next up is 'Just Carry On' which commences as a crafted rocker, only to descend into self indulgent mid tempo no-mans-land, sure there's some nice touches along the way but the chorus is pretty cringe worthy especially with 'Timo Kotipelto's' vocals. Worse still is 'Back to Madness' a pretentious track that's just all over the place, its starts off melancholy, albeit nicely crafted only to incorporate some strange operatic vocal sections that are totally dire, the closing spoken passage is also particularly unimpressive. Much better is the hot rocking 'Gypsy in Me' and overlooking the dated keyboard intro, develops into a quality track, 'Jens Johansson's' later work is excellent and he is supported by sharp vocals and shredding fret work. The epic 'Zenith of Power' follows and despite totally losing it's way towards the end is a decent piece of work, well penned, superbly performed but lacks a little development with 'Timo Kotipelto' repetitively singing the song title over and over again. The tempo fall for the balladsy 'The Land of Ice and Snow' which has a Scandinavian folk feel about it, this track might appeal more toward their home market, but to my ears is a ghastly track. 'Leave the Tribe' ensues and features 'Timo Kotipelto's' at his most cringe worthy, far too high pitch, overlooking that and the ropy lyrics this is a nicely executed cut. Last up is the anthemic sounding 'United', which starts off very promisingly, but soon descends into a load of self indulgent sentimental nonsense, parts are nicely played, especially 'Timo Tolkki's' solo, but over seven minutes soon grows tiresome- the closing instrumental work also sounds out of place.

They've made a conscious effort to change the sound, of which I give them credit, but all told this is no better than the below par 'Elements' saga.