Part of the soap-opera fallout of the Stratovarius implosion was that frontman Timo Kotipelto was released by band-leader Timo Tolkki after 10 years of service. But in a cock-a-snoot reaction, he put together his second album Coldness in a matter of months. At the inception of the album Timo was experiencing the collapse of Stratovarius as well as some personal problems, so the lyrics tend to be bleak and somewhat depressive compared with the up-beat power metal we're used to hearing from his expressive, incredibly wide-ranging voice.
Timo surrounded himself with a top-notch group of musicians from bands like Thunderstone, Stratovarius and Tunnel Vision, and the stars among the cast were Michael Romeo of Symphony X, and Janne Warman from Children Of Bodom.
Romeo and Warman are given plenty of room for solos, and the song writing is fairly varied. In large measure the music revolves around Kotipelto's singing and Romeo's guitar. Several songs are driven by an insistent double bass and simple staccato riffs, but it is when the band breaks that mold that you can hear the dual guitars, the rich keyboards, and the almost-progressive song structures. Romeo's guitar work is, of course, stellar.
Comparisons with Stratovarius are inevitable. The music is a bit simpler, deeper, and certainly does not share Stratovarius's expensive choirs or orchestras. It is a bit thinner, played with more minor-key chord progressions, and courtesy of the genesis of this record, there is a sadder note to it. The result is clearly not another incarnation of Stratovarius.
So while one Timo struggled with his inner demons, the other Timo nestled in a cottage by a frozen lake in northern Finland and turned his disappointments into a strong body of metal that just could represent the launch of a second career.
Click here to see our interview with Kotipelto
Track Listing:
Seeds of Sorrow (4:09)
Reasons (3:46)
Around (5:24)
Can You Hear The Sound (3:19)
Snowbound (4:34)
Journey Back (3:37)
Evening´s Fall (3:56)
Coldness Of My Mind (3:34)
Take Me Away (3:31)
Here We Are (6:22)
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