Stratovarius - Dreamspace (1994)

Alright, I've had a couple of weeks break here to "get ready" some albums I have coming up, as well as having to take charge of my Outside School Hours Care job which keeps me busy, wears me out and... eehhh, drives me nuts at times.
So we start 1994 with Stratovarius, and this, the Finnish band's third album, is definitely an improvement over their first two. There is more consistency with the songwriting (particularly on the first half), with some good melodies although, at the same time, it has some rather angst-strewn lyrics from Timo Tolkki, which are well matched by his rather forlorn vocals. He has not got a great voice, but there's something about it that is rather sad and heartfelt.
Best songs include the opening "Chasing Shadows", "Eyes Of The World", "We Are The Future" and "Shattered", the latter being one of the few really fast tracks here. I said the lyrics are rather angsty, but also quite lame at times, with clumsy moments in regards to them fitting with the music.
Overall, Dreamspace is a flawed but worthwhile effort, and a step forward to the sound they would become best known for.

***1/2