KOTIPELTO – Waiting For The Dawn

While we all awaits the next Stratovarius record, Timo Kotipelto waits for the dawn. I don’t like the dawn, I’d rather sleep through it, but as I write this, I also wait for the dawn. So okay, maybe we’re both a bit nocturnal at times. Seriously, this record is more in the hands of the Stratovarius fans that were disappointed with Tolkki’s latest solo release. It’s not at all Stratovarius, but it is more rock/metal, and it shows Kotipelto’s inspiration from the seventies. The drummer doesn’t sound like a German Energizer Bunny (no offense, Jorg!), and the music is more mid-tempo than the much mentioned band starting with a S. Far from Timo’s best work vocally, he sounds a bit tense at times. I like his high pitch in S…, but I would have liked to hear him use more from his great register this time around.

The songs are mostly good, a few fall through, but “The Movement of The Nile” and “Chosen By Re” are real killers. Not that the “…Nile” kills, it’s the track that stands out most on the record. This is a mellow piece with an incredibly beautiful melody, that makes you push repeat again and again. If you’ve got the time for it, I don’t, that’s why I write my reviews close to dawn, you may have great pleasure in digging dip into the conceptual story behind the record, about a man from ancient Egypt and his reflections on life, or something like that… All in all, this is a nice solo effort, and I won’t be surprised if it’s the first of more to come. But I wouldn’t quit my day job…