Have you ever had Spam? No, not those pesky e-mails telling you that you’ve inherited millions of dollars from random Nigerian dudes, but the canned luncheon meat. It’s a portmanteau for “spiced ham”, though whether or not its contents are even real meat slices is debatable. There’s something a bit unsettling about eating Spam – it tastes like ham, but something feels a bit “Off” all the same. If you can manage to convince yourself that you’re eating a completely original and legitimate meat product, however, it can be enjoyable. This is a bit like Timo Tolkki’s latest project, Symfonia. The project’s debut album In Paradisum sounds almost EXACTLY like standard Stratovarius on first listen, whether it be melodies, riffs, or even guitar tone and keyboard effects. The sheer number of indisputable similarities is downright weird. Yet if you dig a bit deeper you’ll discover a few unique twists that help In Paradisum to almost stand on its own regardless of its Stratovarius-isms. But to do this, you still have to push the instinctual thought from your mind that you’re listening to a Stratovarius release.

In Paradisum raises several questions from me. Why did Tolkki sign the Stratovarius name over to the rest of the band if he was going to keep making music that is undoubtedly rooted in the band’s style? Was this his plan all along, or did he become jealous of Stratovarius’ success with its comeback album Elysium and decide to make his own resurrection of the band’s classic sound? In all honestly, it’s pretty damn odd that Symfonia exists in this form, especially when considering the high publicized Tolkki vs. Strato conflict. Yet exist it does, and Tolkki has recruited Andre Matos (Angra) on vocals, fellow ex-Strato member Jari Kainulainen on bass, Mikko Harkin (Sonata Arctica) on keyboards, and Uli Kusch (Helloween) on drums. All musicians do an admirable job; this is handsomely performed melodic power metal, filled with solid musicianship. Andre Matos, unfortunately, is barely a shadow of his former self. I cringe whenever he strains to reach a high note, and his vibrato is practically non-existent. His voice is hardly recognizable, and although he fairs well on the not-so-intense tracks, I have to question his validity as a metal vocalist at this point.

For the first half the album, things sound almost strictly like Stratovarius; there’s fast songs, a mid-paced song, and a totally mediocre ballad, and they all might as well have been ripped straight from Infinite. At the same time, however, several melodies convey styles reminiscent of more traditional power metal bands like Keepers II-era Helloween or early Avantasia, which really ups the appeal of these first few songs. But this is still nothing special… at least until the second half of the album comes on. And then things get interesting. Pilgrim Road instantly grabbed my attention with its folky style; the title track In Paradisum makes for a very catchy “long” song at over nine minutes; Rhapsody in Black sports a very cool central riff and chorus; and the closing ballad Don’t Let Me Go is surpringly good, and a track that would’ve fit in well on Angra’s Holy Land album. There are some genuinely memorable moments throughout the album, and In Paradisum truly did away with my expectation that it would be yet another forgettable Timo Tolkki project.

Despite the uniqueness of some of the songs, it still feels like Symfonia is the product of an alternate history where Tolkki stuck with Stratovarius after the self-titled album and turned the band around for the better. As enjoyable as In Paradisum is, I can’t really give it a higher score than I’m awarding it due to the fact that at its core it’s still a Strato album. Some may call this a poor review because I compared Symfonia to Stratovarius in every paragraph, but the truth is that it’s nearly impossible not to. Listen to the album yourself and you’ll instantly hear what I mean. And listen to it you should - In Paradisum is a very solid power metal release packed with memorable songwriting. It may not stand the test of time with the best Stratovarius albums, but it’s a very safe purchase for melodic power metal fans.

Pros: Great songwriting, solid musicianship, album grows better and more varied as it goes along

Cons: Basically a Stratovarius album under a different band name, Andre’s vocals are awful at times