Musicwise, I think " A New Era" is just an O.K. album. The greatness of this album lies in the vocal performances (especially, the ones from Michael Kiske). Songs like "I Did It My Way", "Revolution Renaissance" or "Angel" wouldn't be that cool if it weren't for the vocals. The singers on this album are the ones that make it special. Tobias Sammet, Pasi Rantanen, and most of all, Michael Kiske, give that special ingredient to an album that, if it had been released under the Stratovarius name, it would've been one of their worst albums ever.
Proof of that is the demos version of "A New Era", with the Stratovarius line-up, and Timo Kotipelto on vocals: same music, different lyrics, Kotipelto's vocals: a totally forgettable album. "O.K." riffs, no lightspeed guitar solos, just mediocre licks, no keyboard solos at all, "O.K." drumming, "O.K." bass lines, you know, nothing special. Just a softer, poppier Stratovarius (I gotta say all this stuff is in the final version of the album, too).
So, as I said earlier, the vocals are the most enjoyable stuff of this album, and they're the ones taht made me love it, 'cause I do, so don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is a bad album. I mean, the songs are cool and catchy, and you will spend a nice time listening to this album. The vocalas are great and the production is fantastic, but don't expect an album like "Episode" or "Visions", the ones Tolkki says Revolution Renaissance is paying homage to, 'cause if you do, you'll get very disappointed. As I said, this is just a softer, poppier Stratovarius, but I can live with that, can you?
