Review by Krys on June 23, 2001.

Our Finns had enough... after eight full-length albums Stratovarius decided to take a 2-year brake to pursue solo careers and to simply recharge their batteries. "Intermission" as the title states, is a gift to the fans before this long break and it features 4 new songs, 3 covers and 8 bonus tracks previously released on various albums or on 7" singles.

But... is this compilation worth your hard-earned change? Yes and no.

On one side, the whole idea of making this album with new and rare tracks only is well worth it. Instead of giving us one of those “the best of” albums with half of the tracks you’ve never heard of or skipped during the first listening, Stratovarius decided to show us what was supposed to be limited to the few parts of the world. If that’s not enough, money-wise, it can’t get any better than this. Instead of paying top $$$ for export titles with just one extra track you can get everything on one CD at regular price. And unless you are a diehard fan that has to have all editions of every album it’s as good as it gets.

On the other side, we all know that most of the time bonus tracks are just marketing tools and are not treated as ‘normal’ songs even by the bands themselves. Knowing that, I didn’t expect top quality throughout the whole album and, as expected, that’s exactly what didn’t get. Most of these eight bonus tracks are mid or slow tempo compositions with nothing more than average arrangements and mediocre melodic lines. Four new songs are 'Will My Soul Ever Rest In Peace', 'Falling Into Fantasy', 'The Curtains Are Falling' and 'Requiem'. The first three songs from this set are typical, Stratovarius sounding tracks which most probably were dumped during the "Infinity" session, and 'Requiem' is nothing more than just a keyboard outro and could be easily skipped. Let’s only hope that those tracks are not an indication of the band’s new material for 2003-release because they don’t bring anything new or innovative to their sound. As for the covers, Judas Priest’s 'Bloodstone' and two Rainbow tracks 'Kill the King' and 'I Surrender' are the top picks on this album and show Stratovarius’ real capabilities and talent.

Bottom Line: Nice collectors item but far away from their best stuff.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Review by Carl on January 25, 2021.

Death metal/crust it says here, and that indeed describes Subterror adequately, although I'd say this band is 80 percent crust, with the death metal part the remaining 20. Not that it really matters, this still is some brutal pounding stuff, sure to satisfy fans of both genres.

Stylistically you can place Subterror next to metallic crust acts such as Mass Genocide Process, Nuclear Death Terror and Last Legion Alive, and just like the bands mentioned, there certainly is some influence from the old works of the mighty Bolt Thrower, especially their "In Battle There Is No Law!" and "Realm of Chaos" albums. The frame of the music consists of down tuned guitars colliding with pummeling d-beat drumming, with the fitting gruff vocal delivery you might expect from bands in the genre. The bulk of the material dutifully follows this formula, but Subterror has built in some variation among the brutish crust assault in the form of a few subtle guitar harmonies and by taking the foot off the accelerator now and then. These parts usually don't last too long, because before you know it the band has launched into another bout of hammering metallic crust rage. The death metal influence is noticeable in the riffing, albeit not that outspoken. Especially in the closing track, where the influence of (again) Bolt Thrower rears its head in the guitar work, but a slight Morbid Angel touch is present as well. The production fits the music like a glove: it's heavy and has a fitting raw edge to it, making the band's pounding assault come roaring out of the speakers. I find it difficult to sit still when listening to this, because of the relentless drive contained within the music. Unfortunately this EP turned out to be their final offering to the world, which is quite the shame, because this is some seriously ripping stuff!

This is an excellent and belligerent piece of work, well executed, brimming with energy, and it's short duration ensures that the band does not overstay its welcome, although I personally could listen to stuff like this for hours on end without tiring of it. If heavy metallic crustcore with a death metal touch is your bag, you can't afford to miss out on this one!

Rating: 8 out of 10