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)
Deep Unknown
Stratovarius Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Into the great unknown
Facing your fears and feel
What's on your mind
When all alone
Fall into the sea
Into the deep you disappear
Down you go, descend below
Dive deeper into the ocean
You will find more
About your emotions
As you go far beyond
Imaginary borderlines
Into the deep unknown
A need to breathe, might drown,
You can't inhale
No one around, sliding down,
Time passes by
You cannot fail
As light fades away
There's so much to gain
You're holding on, It's not in vain
Dive deeper into the ocean
You will find more
About your emotions
As you go far beyond
Imaginary borderlines
Dive deeper into the ocean
You will find more
About your emotions
As you go far beyond
Imaginary borderlines
The lyrics of Stratovarius's "Deep Unknown" convey the theme of taking a chance and exploring unknown depths, both physical and emotional. Going into the "great unknown" and facing one's fears while being alone can evoke a feeling of vulnerability and uncertainty. Falling into the sea and disappearing into the deep waters becomes an escape, leading towards freedom. It is here where one dives deeper into the ocean and finds more about their emotions - the deeper they go, the more they discover beyond imaginary borderlines.
The second stanza delves into the risk involved when someone is finding more of themselves in the unknown. A person may face the possibility of drowning or suffocation as they journey into their emotional depths. They may slide into the darkness and time may appear to pass by, yet we are reminded that we cannot fail. As the light fades away and everything seems lost, there is much to gain by continuing to hold on. The chorus repeats the message that diving deeper into the ocean will uncover more about one's emotions and take us beyond imaginary borderlines.
Overall, "Deep Unknown" is an inspiring song that encourages us to go beyond our limits and face the unknown with courage. It talks about the positive outcomes of taking chances and dealing with fears. Stratovarius's music helps in conveying the message of hope and inspires us to be daring, adventurous and pursue our dreams, no matter where they take us.
Line by Line Meaning
Taking a chance going
Risking the unknown
Into the great unknown
Venturing into unfamiliar territory
Facing your fears and feel
Confronting anxiety and experiencing emotions
What's on your mind
Thoughts and feelings on the surface
When all alone
In solitude and without support
Fall into the sea
Submerging into the vastness of the ocean
Soon you will be free
Liberation from constraints and limitations
Into the deep you disappear
Vanishing beyond sight
Down you go, descend below
Descending into the depths
Dive deeper into the ocean
Going further into the unknown
You will find more
Discovering what lies ahead
About your emotions
Uncovering personal feelings
As you go far beyond
Venturing further than expected
Imaginary borderlines
Fictitious boundaries
A need to breathe, might drown,
Risk of suffocating
You can't inhale
Unable to draw breath
No one around, sliding down,
Isolated and descending
Time passes by
Moments elapse
You cannot fail
Incapable of defeat
As light fades away
Sinking into darkness
There's so much to gain
Opportunities for growth and discovery
You're holding on, It's not in vain
Persevering through difficulty with purpose
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TIMO TAPIO TOLKKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Hablemos de Rock !! 🤟😎
Mientras siga Johansson y el vocal Stratovarius vivirá por siempre !! 🤟
Antony Arnould
A true classic among many others of the group!
A simple and catchy melody!
Beautifully well interpreted and composed lyrics!
My favorite song from the whole album!
Mauricio Donoso
Underrated song
Arnaldo Andrés
Excelente video... ¡Me fascina la intro! Y el solo que se manda Matias, espectacular... Stratovarius por siempre mi banda favorita.
Richard García
Concuerdo contigo
Eder Guzman
Polaris el mejor álbum
Eduardo sepulveda
las bandas no dependen de una sola persona :3 siguen siendo excelentes :D
Flávio Asfat
Este album é simplesmente maravilhoso!!
Jhony Uriel - Oficial
Polaris é um álbum eletrizante, contém ótimas músicas, e é um dos discos do Stratovarius que eu mais gosto.
shito289
fuerza stratovarius el power esta con ustedes