Diogenes What do you get when you combine the vocal excellence of Angra, the drumming of Helloween, and the guitar work and creative genius of 90's Stratovarius? You would think the answer to this question would be something like, "A fooking amazing power metal assault, album of the year 5 stars!!!" The answer should NOT, ABSOLUTELY NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES be "Another Stratovarius ripoff". But alas, it is. And it hurts.

Symfonia is a so-called "supergroup" with all the big names: Andre Matos on vocals, Mikko Harkin on keyboards, Uli Kusch on drums, Jari Kainulainen on bass, and of course, Timo Tolkki on guitars. Now, I say so-called because this isn't really a supergroup at all. Yes, everyone in the lineup has had great success in their careers, but one listen to In Paradisum reveals exactly what many had been fearing: Another Tolkki side project with nothing new or interesting to offer. After Revolution Renaissance flopped, I hoped that a more complete lineup with veteran musicians (and SONGWRITERS) would give Timo a kick in the creative behind. However, after hearing leaked versions of a couple new songs (don’t act like you don’t do this…), I realized that this is the exact same crap Stratovarius fans have had to deal with since the new millennium. I shouldn’t even have to explain what that is, but this review wouldn’t be worth much if I didn’t, so…

Track one is Fields of Avalon, and five seconds into the album it’s already painfully obvious who’s in charge here. The opening riff sounds very familiar…Glory of the World, perhaps? And that riff sounds like the one from Will the Sun Rise, so there’s a third-generation riff being used right off the bat. I could list all of the recycled ideas here, but this review would be pushing 2000 words if I did. Don’t believe me? Listen to Come By the Hills and tell me that doesn’t sound at least vaguely familiar. I Walk in Neon has basically the same harpsichord intro as SOS. Simply put, it’s shocking how much Tolkki has ripped off himself on this album. If you thought Elements was bad in that regard, you haven’t heard anything yet. Song structures (verse-chorus), the same. Drumming, standard double bass patterns, again (you don’t need a drummer such a Kusch for such simple rhythm work). Even the riffs that haven’t been copied from somewhere in the 90’s Stratovarius catalog sound repeated. It goes on and on…Hell, the only songs that don’t seem to be rehashed are the ballads, and those are filler at best.

Here’s why all of this is a major problem-this is important! Remember that this is supposed to be a SUPERGROUP. The musicians are well above average. Andre Matos has written his own music, and it’s not half bad. Don’t believe for a second that the other guys don’t have some ideas of their own, either. With all of the carbon copies of older Euro power metal bands running around, there isn’t much in the way of pushing new territory…but shouldn’t a group of musicians such as these at least TRY? Hear me when I say that there is ZERO creativity on this album. None. Zilch. Keep in mind that I generally don’t like judging an individual album by comparing it to an artist’s previous works, but here it is just unavoidable. A joke is never as funny when you’ve heard it for the fiftieth time, but it’s even worse when you’ve heard it for the fiftieth time, from the same person who told it to you the forty-ninth time, the forty-eighth, the forty-seventh…you get the picture.

This album is catchy. I’ll give it that. If you have never ever heard any power metal before, and thus won’t be offended by the group’s refusal to try something different, then chances are you might enjoy In Paradisum. Matos (who sings with absolutely no power at all on this release, but that’s the type of singer he is anyway), lays down plenty of inspiring vocal lines, and there are lots of sing-a-long choruses and the like. Another plus would be Tolkki’s unmistakable neoclassical style of soloing, which is still good for a couple of listens. But, even then…is it really worth it? Once again, the standards are set too high for this to be the main positive. Supergroups should not be focused on writing catchy, repetitive music. You prog-heads can probably relate with Asia.

Everything on this album has been done before! Even the nine-minute epic will give you an urge to look up what song they got those ideas from. This is why In Paradisum is the biggest disappointment of the year for me. Forget the new Morbid Angel; I knew that was going to suck as soon as I saw the tracklist. If you want to hear Tolkki in his prime, go get Episode. If you like Matos, buy Angels Cry. Both of those albums are infinitely superior to what this “supergroup” has put out. There’s no point in having such a band if four out of the five guys aren’t even contributing anything significant, and the other has been out of ideas for a decade now. If you like Tolkki and don’t mind hearing the same melodic power metal material he’s been writing with a different lineup, then go ahead and get this album. If you like your music to have a shred of originality, then steer clear.