Stratovarius - Fright Night (1989)^{Release ID: 6146}

Like so many other early power metal bands from the 80's, it took Stratovarius a few attempts to truly find their sound, leaving this, their debut, as nothing more than a by-the-numbers speed metal album.

Credit where credit's due, band leader Timo Tolkki shows some incredible skill on the guitar with his fast-paced neoclassical runs and galloping riffs, and to handle the lead vocals on top of that is quite impressive. Sadly, the song-writing itself isn't really anything inspiring and the vocals certainly aren't kind to the ears either. A+ for effort though! I can barely play and sing 'Wonderwall' without messing up!

Lacking the keyboard-driven compositions of later releases, 'Fright Night' is really "just there". It's nothing to shout home about, and really doesn't feel like the same Stratovarius that would one day go on to conquer the genre. Still, it's a good effort that shows a band in their early stages who have yet to fully develop their own style.

Highlights include 'Future Shock', 'Witch Hunt' and 'False Messiah', although I wouldn't be upset if these were excluded from future compilations, all are about as memorable as the album itself.