Stratovarius is a power metal band from Finland. They became more popular i… Read Full Bio ↴Stratovarius is a power metal band from Finland. They became more popular in the '90s, and throughout their career have inspired upcoming power metal bands with their baroque arranged keyboard solos & Ritchie Blackmore-like guitar portions.

Stratovarius was founded in Finland in 1984 from former members of the band Black Water. They went through a number of personnel and musical changes before the band found its own voice. In 1984, the name was changed to Stratovarius (a portmanteau of Stratocaster and Stradivarius), an idea of Stråhlman's. By 1984, Timo Tolkki entered the band, replacing Stråhlman in the guitar. He took up the vocal duties as well. Tolkki became the driving force and mastermind of the band assuming almost complete control of the song writing. He brought along not only strong rock influences but also a neo-classical tinge. The band released a demo to various record companies by 1987, finally being picked up by CBS Finland. In 1989, their debut album Fright Night was released followed by two singles.

After being dropped by CBS the band went through several member changes but they managed to release on another label and they also toured a bit. In 1994 they released their third album, Dreamspace, featuring new bass player Jari Kainulainen, (who joined the band when 70% of the new material was already recorded) which was a great success. Tolkki decided to stop singing for the band and they hired a new full-time singer, Timo Kotipelto. The release of Fourth Dimension in 1995 was a great success, but internal differences in the band particularly about the style the band was going for, prompted the departure of long-time drummer Tuomo Lassila and keyboardist Antti Ikonen. Two new non-Finnish members were recruited: Swedish keyboardist Jens Johansson of Yngwie Malmsteen fame; and German drummer Jörg Michael. With the fifth release Episode, Stratovarius had finally found its sound and had a strong, diverse line-up. Episode was a grand project featuring a large choir and a string orchestra. It spawned some of the all-time greatest Stratovarius hits, such as "Father Time" and "Will The Sun Rise".

This line-up released three hugely successful albums over the years: Visions in 1997, Destiny in 1998, and Infinite in 2000. With every album their fame and fan-base expanded and they started gaining a stronger following outside the Nordic countries particularly in Japan.

In 2003 the band released its most epic project yet, the two album suite named Elements. With these albums they reached a peak in their progressive and symphonic style of power-metal. The first album, Elements pt. 1, was released in early 2003 followed by a world tour. Elements pt. 1 was naturally followed by Elements pt. 2, also released on Nuclear Blast records in the same year with the hit single "I Walk To My Own Song".

In late 2003 the band broke up with Timo Kotipelto and Jörg Michael leaving after a very vaguely explained conflict. Tolkki hired a new singer, Katriina ''Miss K'' Wiiala, and Anders Johansson of Hammerfall (Jens's brother) temporarily on drums. Tolkki's behaviour rapidly began to become extremely strange. He published a long news article on the band's website, detailing how he had converted to Kabbalah after reading Madonna's autobiography and being contacted by Jesus himself. He wrote extensively on the principles of Kabbalah but according to some Jewish forum members, this has nothing to do with any actually practised form of it. The webmaster removed the news article from the site. Then Tolkki even stabbed himself in the shoulder first claiming that a crazy Spanish fan had done it because of band had broken up. Tolkki also phoned Anders Johansson, speaking nonsense about Adolf Hitler – Anders freaked out and left the band. Nobody really understood the situation and fans were worried about Timo's mental condition. In April 2004 he was hospitalised with chronic depression and a nervous breakdown and, after being released from the mental hospital, negotiations and attempts at reconciliation with the rest of the band began. The rest of 2004 was virtually complete silence from the band.

In January 2005 an announcement was released that Stratovarius had reunited with the old line-up. Tolkki seemed to have recovered from his strange illness. In June 2005 Timo Tolkki announced that the band's bassist, Jari Kainulainen, had left the band due to personal reasons. He was later replaced by Lauri Porra.

Stratovarius then released the self-titled album Stratovarius in September 2005 featuring the popular single "Maniac Dance". During this time Stratovarius began a world tour starting in Argentina. It also included a North American leg where they toured the United States and Canada for the first time in the band's history. They played at such events as Atlanta's "Prog Power", and in well-known venues such as "B.B. King's House Of Blues" in New York and Philadelphia's "Trocadero Theatre". The tour also included some European and Japanese cities.

On April 2 2008 Timo Tolkki announced on his official website that the band has officially stopped due to various issues between the band members.
Timo Tolkki has formed a new band, Revolution Renaissance. He released his first album on june 6, 2008 and it featured guest appearences by Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween) and Tobias Sammet (Edguy, Avantasia)

The band has since made an announcement on the Stratovarius website stating that the band will continue without Timo Tolkki.

After the announcement, the band began to search for a new guitar player, making the announcement on the band's official forum and in soundi magazine that Matias Kupiainen would replace Timo Tolkki and that 15 songs had already been demoed for the new album.

On May 13 2009 Stratovarius released their 12th studio album, Polaris, now with the new members Lauri Porra and Matias Kupiainen playing bass and guitar respectively.

Early 2011 saw the release of their new album, Elysium, containing the songs that were written during the Polaris tour. Also during 2012 saw the departure of long-time drummer Jörg Michael for personal reasons and his replacement Rolf Pilve.

2013 saw the release of their newest album "Nemesis".

Studio albums:
- Fright Night (1989)
- Twilight Time (1992)
- Dreamspace (1994)
- Fourth Dimension (1995)
- Episode (1996)
- Visions (1997)
- Destiny (1998)
- Infinite (2000)
- Intermission (2001)
- Elements, Pt. 1 (2003)
- Elements, Pt. 2 (2003)
- Stratovarius (2005)
- Polaris (2009)
- Elysium (2011)
- Nemesis (2013)

Darkness
Stratovarius Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Living on the edge of falling down
Like each day would be your last one
Reaching for the stars that shine so far
Take my hand it will be alright
For you and me to go

Look into my eyes they are black as night now
You can see your reflections I tell you no lies

You are the prisoner of your own feelings it's true
There's something inside you but you just won't
Let it come out

When the night comes you won't be alone
'Cause I will be there I will be there
When the darkness enters into your room
Don't be afrain 'cause I'll be there
When the darkness enters into your room

They will put you down with their minds of steel
Despise and scorn you just because they cannot feel
Hell is eternity hell is your destiny
I can see it in your eyes that you want to say
But you can't

When the night comes...

Listen to me hear you're playing
A dangerous game
There is no time to waste anymore
Because it is getting so late
Get what you got give what you can

Leave all the mem'ries behind
They'll be haunting you forever

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Stratovarius's song Darkness is empowering and uplifting. The song begins by talking about the struggles of living on the edge and how every day feels like it is the last one. It speaks of reaching for the stars that seem so far away and being unsure of how to attain them. The chorus then offers hope and comfort by reassuring the listener that they are not alone. When the night comes and darkness enters their room, the singer will be there to offer support and guidance.

The lyrics dive deep into the internal struggles of one's self. The song speaks about feeling trapped in one's own feelings and being afraid to get them out. With the line "I can see it in your eyes that you want to say, but you can't," the song addresses the idea of not being able to express oneself fully or how they truly feel, which can lead to frustration and loneliness. At the end of the song, the lyrics urge the listener to stop wasting time playing a dangerous game and to leave all the memories behind as they'll haunt them forever.

Overall, the song Darkness by Stratovarius is a powerful reminder that no matter how difficult life's struggles can be, it is essential to hold onto hope and to remember that we are not alone. The lyrics remind us that even in the darkest of moments, there is always someone there to hold our hand and guide us towards the light.

Line by Line Meaning

Living on the edge of falling down
Existing in a precarious state where one wrong move could lead to a disastrous fall

Like each day would be your last one
Living in a way that acknowledges the possibility of death looming over every new day

Reaching for the stars that shine so far
Striving for lofty goals that seem far out of reach

Take my hand it will be alright
Offering a gesture of comfort and assurance that everything will be okay with the help of a supportive friend

For you and me to go
To go somewhere together as companions to face the unknown

Look into my eyes they are black as night now
Inviting someone to stare deeply into someone's dark eyes, revealing the mysteries and fears held within

You can see your reflections I tell you no lies
The blackness of the eyes serves as a mirror that shows one's innermost self truly without any deception

You are the prisoner of your own feelings it's true
Acknowledging that one's emotions hold one captive without allowing one to fully express and release them

There's something inside you but you just won't
There's a deep source of strength that one refuses to tap into despite it being within reach

Let it come out
Allowing and encouraging that inner strength to come to the surface and manifest itself

When the night comes you won't be alone
Assuring someone that they will have companionship and support during difficult times

'Cause I will be there I will be there
Repeating the reassurance that the artist won't abandon the person in need

When the darkness enters into your room
A metaphor for despair and sadness that might afflict someone

Don't be afrain 'cause I'll be there
Repeating the reassurance that the singer will be available to provide comfort

They will put you down with their minds of steel
Describing people who are cruel and unyielding, emotionally deadened and without empathy

Despise and scorn you just because they cannot feel
These people are incapable of empathizing with the target of their scorn or feeling compassion for them

Hell is eternity hell is your destiny
People steeped in cruelty and born without kindness will be consigned to a hellish fate

I can see it in your eyes that you want to say
Expressing how a perceptive person can detect emotions and thoughts that one tries to suppress and hide behind a facade

But you can't
Despite wanting to express one's feelings, one is stopped by fear or other obstacles

Listen to me hear you're playing
Telling someone to pay attention to the danger that they're recklessly exposing themselves to

A dangerous game
Describing a rootless and risky lifestyle that might lead to disaster

There is no time to waste anymore
It's important to take action and make decisions rather than fritter away the remaining time

Because it is getting so late
Time is running out fast and one needs to act soon

Get what you got give what you can
Make the most of one's abilities to help oneself and others

Leave all the mem'ries behind
A call to detach oneself from past regrets and to move forward without any emotional baggage

They'll be haunting you forever
Warning that clinging on to past mistakes, guilt, and negative emotions will lead to ongoing suffering

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TIMO TOLKKI

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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