STRATOSPHERE – Fire Flight

Stratosphere is a new Scandinavian Prog/Symphonic Metal act that presents a very classic sound. The band is the brainchild of keyboard virtuoso Jeppe Lund, who has put together a very tight knit group of excellent musicians. Their debut album Fire Flight portrays the grand essence of the 80s Neo-Classical Metal sound along with a hint of 70s Progressive Rock.

There are really two key ingredients driving Stratosphere’s sound. First off, you have famed lead vocalist Goran Edman most widely known for his great vocal work on the classic Yngwie Malmsteen albums Eclipse and Fire And Ice. The other main component is up-and-coming guitar prodigy Jonas Larsen. Although not well known, Larsen is credited with winning the Copenhagen Guitar Battle contest for an astounding two years in a row.

Regarding Edman and his vocal work, it is nothing short of perfection. Edman’s clean-cut, high-pitched vocals are presented with excellent precision. He truly shows the utmost professionalism in every track. The highlight of his work can be heard during the ballad “Enemy Of My Soul”. Edman shows off his full range during this track by hitting some captivating low notes during the opening verse, and then transitions to his signature high tenor during the chorus. He also puts together some great runs toward the end of a song, which is reminiscent of a classic Glenn Hughes vocal performance.

Jonas Larsen, on the other hand, could very well be the pilot of the next generation of great Neo-classical guitarists. Although it is obvious his main influence is Yngwie Malmsteen, there is no lack of talent as he tries to mirror some of Malmsteen’s amazing riffs and solos. This is best heard on the instrumental track “Rendezvous”, which, if you didn’t know what you were listening to could be easily be mistaken for a Malmsteen performance. The solos are simply amazing on this track.

Materially the songwriting unfortunately comes off as somewhat dated and the songs are not fresh by any means. There is a blatant attempt to capture the sound of a classic Malmsteen album or even a post-Dio Rainbow album. Also, the album only contains ten tracks (including two instrumental songs), which give the album a feeling of incompleteness.

There is no question Stratosphere has an abundance of talent. They definitely have much more to offer than their initial presentation of Fire Flight. Hopefully this band can begin to come into its own identity a little more and create a more unique sound. Overall, Stratosphere is a talented band that just needs to make a few adjustments, and then you’ll have a potential classic band on offer for sure.