Typical yet slightly rawer Stratovarius sound comes here full force on the excellent opener - little guitar action in the beginning, a fast verse, and an ultra melodic chorus. Think 'Against the Wind' (off the next album), though not quite as refined. An excellent opener nonetheless.

This one's a definite highlight, no doubt about it. Thick and nasty riff action starts things off, and Tolkki provides some pseudo-mechanic vocals before the mid-tempo (accompanied by normal vocals) takes over. The chorus is...different, to say the least - very vast and epic, and very strong; nice solo gives way to the finale...awesome track of how our government is turning into the 4th Reich (a questionable statement, but this IS the disturbed mind of Timo Tolkki here :-), this is a very dark and foreboding number, and also the second best song on the disc. On a side note, this would have been perfect music to accompany the very weak, albeit strong-storied computer game, ZPC, released around 2 years ago, which had an incredibly cool, post-apocalyptic, Nazi-esque premise, set hundreds of years into the future...

On the overall, it's a pretty good mid-tempo ballad, but it's not worth a hair on the ass of the type of slow songs the band has shelled out on the past 3 discs...nice stuff though, and Tolkki delivers a worthy vocal performance.

A fast-tempo track about...what the name of the song suggests. The chorus totally blends into the verse, which isn't exactly a good thing, since an ultra-melodic chorus is the trademark of a good Strato. number, and it's sorely missing here. Nice and positive song otherwise.

Hmmm...yeah. Some really strange shit here. Some sort Middle-Eastern keyboard stylings open the song up, and lead to a nice and pretty fast verse - no problems there. The chorus (which for some reason reminds me of some stuff off of KISS's Tales of the Elder disc) though, always annoys the hell out of me, sounding like something off a Disney cartoon soundtrack (no offense to KISS there...). The solo more than makes up for this though - epic, guitar/keyboard combo. Good, solid song, but watch out for that chorus!!

It's pretty pointless to describe the music because the entire song is a total, unabashed ripoff of two back-to-back Helloween tracks, and if you know how those two sound, you'll know how this one sounds - remember a certain little album called Keeper of the 7 Keys pt. 2? You do, really? Yay! Now, how about Save Us and March of Time, two ultra-fast, super-melodic songs? You remember that too? Sweet...what Stratovarius does is mix the two songs, and steal the post-solo section of March of Time, thus making it into this track we see right here. Yes, and the lyrics are just like Save Us...nevertheless, as unoriginal as the song is, it's ultra-sonic speed and melody make it an inevitable highlight.

A VERY good ballad, despite the somewhat plodding nature of the verse. Not as intricate or emotionally draining as some of the followup material, this is nevertheless an excellent song with a very heartfelt chorus.

Certainly, the Stratovarius song of the ages, this jam-packed epic screams nothing but greatness from it's starting second, to it's incredible fade-away...Not only is this the most progressive track on the album...no, it's much more - a sheer, bulldozing mix of melody, paranoia, and the insane riffage one would expect from any band EXCEPT for Stratovarius. An absolutely impeccable journey through the disturbed mind of Tolkki, the music almost constantly and flawlessly shifts from one style to another - great bass/keys combo start the masterpiece off, and lead into the suspenseful mid-tempo beginning, a mystic slowdown at the middle, and oh yes - the ending is an ultra heavy riff monster which concludes the track with a feeling of total and utter hopelessness. Tolkki's vocal performance is totally out of the world throughout, making it a real puzzle as to the why's and what for's of Kotipelto's current residence in the group; deep and powerful through and through, with an immense and epic scream at the end - "...no hope left I want to DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!..."; incredible stuff!! Lyrics are based on the shattered soul's means of escape - an imaginary zone in his mind, which comes crashing down without reason or cause - quite disturbing, albeit dramatic and emotionally drenching. No point in saying any more - if this doesn't convince you to find any possible means of hearing this one out, well...bottom line is that this has to be experiences to fully understand the sheer power the music/lyrics have over the listener. The band's shining star of perfection (in another words, their best song)...

A very 80's-style, Priest-meets-Strato. type mid-tempo track about how fucked up the music industry is - typical verse, a slightly bizarre chorus, and a fast, guitar-heavy solo. Although the song is solid throughout, and Tolkki delivers some Halford-esque work in places, this is nothing mind-blowing. Good, solid track, if nothing else...

Ahhh...now this we could do without. A Pink Floyd meets Stratovarius kinda thing, with some ultra shitty sections ruining what could have otherwise been a nice, kinda dark little track - nice, crunchy guitars and such. Unfortunately that's not to be, since we have a really really...questionable 'chorus' which involves some random acoustic strumming, and a weird scream kinda thing. I'm guessing this is supposed to somehow convey the emotion of a paralyzed person or something, but it fails miserably at doing so, and can not be classified as anything other than noise. The non-chorus sections aren't too bad though...

A really short and atmospheric keyboard medley...maybe an intro to track 12.

A GREAT mid-tempo track featuring an extensive use of backing keyboards, a memorable chorus, and an excellent mid-80's Priest style solo. Lassila wrote the lyrics here which deal with drugs (symbolized by the song title). A definite highlight, albeit not the thing you'd normally expect from the band.

Some more 80's style metal comes through full force here, and the song kicks some serious ass!! Fast and intense throughout, with a great little high pitched section in the second verse. The chorus is very rough and raw - a bit unnatural for the band, but it's very good here...lyrics seem to be about gambling. Awesome track!!