I really liked Kotipelto's solo work as something different from Stratovarius. Sure it isn't groundbreaking or super-heavy power metal, but it certainly was metal and very entertaining. I especially liked hearing him do different things with his voice than always the high-pitched vocals that Tolkki wrote most often. Sure, I liked them too, but Kotipelto can do a lot more and I would really like to see him get hooked up with a side project, like an Advantasia/Space One sort of thing, or do vocals with another band, even if only as a guest (Thunderstone? That would be interesting.) I feel he's been pigeon-holed a bit by having the majority of his exposure being the voice of Stratovarius. I think if more people heard what he could do, he's get more offers for work, do more great music and also sell more of his solo work. The fact that it is compared mostly to Strato's stuff and heard by mostly heavy/power metal fans it does not get the recognition it deserves.
Anyway, you can read our review of
Serenity here. You can request songs from it on our internet radio station and you can find a couple full songs on
his Myspace page as well as some pretty good videos.
BEC did an interview with Timo when the album was released and he talked a great deal about what went into it. The interview was played on the radio twice, but you can read
the transcript here.
