Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 05/08/2007
The Scandinavian countries are well known for
death metal and
black metal, but Scandinavia also gave us plenty of
power metal revival and
progressive metal recordings in the '90s and 2000s. In Finland, singer
Timo Kotipelto is among the Scandinavians who has played a major role in that scene, first as the lead singer of
Stratovarius (a band he joined in 1994, although
Stratovarius' original lineup was formed in 1982), then as leader of his self-named band
Kotipelto.
Serenity has one foot in
power metal and the other in the poppier side of
progressive rock: think of this disc as
Iron Maiden and
Judas Priest by way of
Dream Theater by way of
Journey and
Kansas. When
Timo Kotipelto hits the high notes, it is hard to miss the influence of
Priest's
Rob Halford, and while he doesn't have the gruffness of
Maiden frontman
Bruce Dickinson, the writing on tracks like
"Angels Will Cry," "Last Defender," and
"Once Upon a Time" certainly brings to mind
Maiden's writing.
Serenity, however, often projects a
pop glossiness that recalls the more middle of the road
arena rock bands of the late '70s and early '80s.
Serenity is never poppy in a
hair band kind of way, but is frequently poppy in a way that brings to mind a band like
Survivor. Take
"Sleep Well," for example, that track has a catchy hook that would have made it a logical contender for
AOR airplay during the
Reagan years. Had this 2007 release been available back in 1983,
"Sleep Well" would have been right at home on an
AOR play list alongside the non-
metal arena rock of
Survivor's
"Eye of the Tiger" and the melodic
power metal of
Dio's
"Rainbow in the Dark." This totally derivative CD never pretends to be the least bit groundbreaking, although it is a generally decent effort that will appeal to those who appreciate '80s
metal but don't consider themselves
metal purists.
~Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
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