| Elysium | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]()  | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 12 January 2011[1] | |||
| Recorded | 2010 at 5 by 5 Audio in Pitäjänmäki | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 56:29[2] | |||
| Label | Victor | |||
| Producer | Matias Kupiainen | |||
| Stratovarius chronology | ||||
  | ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
![]() Collector's edition  | ||||
| Singles from Elysium | ||||
  | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating | 
| AllMusic | |
| Sputnikmusic | 3/5[5] | 
| Metal Storm | 8/10[6] | 
Elysium is the thirteenth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 12 January 2011 through Victor Entertainment (Japan) and on 14 January through Edel AG (worldwide).[1] It is the last Stratovarius album to feature longtime drummer Jörg Michael, who left the band in 2012. Elysium reached No. 1 on the Finnish albums chart, as well as reaching the top 80 in five other countries.[7][8] "Darkest Hours" was released as a single, reaching No. 4 on the Finnish singles chart.[3]
Overview
The official track listing for Elysium was first announced by keyboardist Jens Johansson on the forum of the band's website on 8 November 2010.[9] The album was released on four different formats: a regular CD; a deluxe Digipak edition CD with a bonus disc containing demos of the entire album; a double-disc collector's edition CD with two bonus tracks on a 7" single; and on vinyl.[1] At a length of 18:07, Elysium's title track is by far the longest Stratovarius song to date. The album cover art was created by Gyula Havancsák and features the same star-shaped spacecraft from Polaris (2009).
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Darkest Hours" | Timo Kotipelto, Matias Kupiainen | Kupiainen | 4:11 | 
| 2. | "Under Flaming Skies" | Kotipelto | Kotipelto, Kupiainen | 3:51 | 
| 3. | "Infernal Maze" | Kotipelto | Kupiainen | 5:33 | 
| 4. | "Fairness Justified" | Kotipelto | Kupiainen | 4:20 | 
| 5. | "The Game Never Ends" | Jens Johansson | Johansson | 3:53 | 
| 6. | "Lifetime in a Moment" | Lauri Porra | Porra | 6:38 | 
| 7. | "Move the Mountain" | Johansson | Johansson | 5:33 | 
| 8. | "Event Horizon" | Kotipelto | Kupiainen | 4:23 | 
| 9. | "Elysium"
  | Kupiainen, Kotipelto | Kupiainen | 18:07 | 
| Total length: | 56:29 | |||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Castaway" | Porra | Porra | 4:40 | 
| 11. | "Darkest Hours" (demo) | Kotipelto, Kupiainen | Kupiainen | 4:32 | 
| 12. | "Against the Wind" (live) | Kotipelto, Timo Tolkki | Tolkki | 4:02 | 
| 13. | "Black Diamond" (live) | Kotipelto | Tolkki | 7:30 | 
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Hollowed" | Porra | Porra | 5:57 | 
| 11. | "Last Shore" | Porra | Porra | 5:51 | 
Personnel
Stratovarius
- Timo Kotipelto – lead vocals
 - Matias Kupiainen – guitar, keyboard programming, engineering, mixing (tracks 3, 4, 8, 9), production
 - Jens Johansson – keyboard
 - Jörg Michael – drums
 - Lauri Porra – bass, keyboard programming
 
Additional credits
- Risto Kupiainen – keyboard programming, orchestral arrangement (track 3, 10), orchestral programming (tracks 1, 3, 10), choir programming (tracks 4, 9)
 - Perttu Vänskä – orchestral arrangement (tracks 1, 2, 4, 9), orchestral programming (tracks 2, 4, 9), engineering, editing
 - Arzka Sievälä – choir
 - Jani Liimatainen – choir
 - Aleksi Parviainen – choir
 - Tipe Johnson – choir
 - Anssi Stenberg – choir
 - Marko "Hepa" Waara – choir
 - Kalle Keski-Orvola – engineering, editing
 - Santtu Lehtiniemi – engineering (guitar)
 - Mikko Karmila – mixing (tracks 1, 2, 5–7)
 - Svante Försback – mastering
 
Chart performance
Album
| Year | Chart | Position | 
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Finnish albums chart | 1[7] | 
| German albums chart | 38[7] | |
| Swiss albums chart | 45[7] | |
| Billboard Heatseekers | 47[8] | |
| French albums chart | 70[7] | |
| Belgian albums chart | 80[7] | 
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart | Position | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Darkest Hours" | Finnish singles chart | 4[3] | 
References
- 1 2 3 "Stratovarius: 'Elysium' Collector's Edition Detailed". Blabbermouth. 2010-11-25. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
 - ↑ Elysium (CD release "Icarus 692").
 - 1 2 3 "Stratovarius - Darkest Hours (song)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
 - ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Elysium - Stratovarius". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
 - ↑ Stagno, Mike (2011-01-10). "Stratovarius - Elysium (album review 3)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
 - ↑ Doc Godin (2011-01-12). "Stratovarius - Elysium review". Metal Storm. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Stratovarius - Elysium (album)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
 - 1 2 "Elysium". Billboard charts. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
 - ↑ Johansson, Jens (2010-11-08). ""Darkest Hours" single teaser!". Stratovarius Community Forum. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
 
External links
- Elysium at stratovarius.com
 

