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)
Father Time
Stratovarius Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pacing all the way without a care in my stride
Where are the friends of my yesterday
Have they moved on with their lives
Can we still laugh and joke about things like before
There's no need to hide the past that I have left behind
It's a good resource somewhere for me to find
Why am I waiting for someone to reach out
Keeping in touch ain't that easy but I'll have to try
Where have all the years gone
That's what I am asking now
What have I learnt so far
Tell me Father Time
Tell me now
Now I understand I'll take from time what I need
And I store it inside it's there for me to find
I can't deny that the years will pass by
But it won't bother me
Coz now I will set out to realize my dream
Where have all the years gone
That's what I am asking now
What have I learnt so far
Tell me Father Time
Tell me now
The lyrics to Stratovarius's song Father Time speak about the passage of time and the memories that come along with it. The song begins with the singer walking down a path that leads him to his memories. He walks without a care in his stride, but wonders where his friends from the past have gone. He contemplates whether they have moved on with their lives and if they can still share laughs and jokes about things like they used to do. The singer admits that there is no need to hide the past that he has left behind and that it can be a good resource for him to find in the future.
The singer then questions why he is waiting for someone to reach out to him, be it his friends or someone else. He realizes that it should be up to him to keep in touch, even if it's not that easy. The chorus comes in with the singer asking Father Time where all the years have gone and what he has learned so far. He reflects on the fact that he'll take from time what he needs and store it inside, knowing that he can't deny that the years will pass by. However, he won't let that bother him as he sets out to realize his dreams.
Overall, the lyrics to Father Time reflect on the passing of time, memories, and growing older. The singer asks questions about the past and reflects on the present, knowing that he must continue to move forward with his dreams and make the most of the time he has left.
Line by Line Meaning
Walking down the path that leads me to my memories
I am retracing my steps to my past
Pacing all the way without a care in my stride
I am taking my time going back and I am not worried about anything
Where are the friends of my yesterday
I wonder where my old friends are now
Have they moved on with their lives
They might have left and moved on to different things
Can we still laugh and joke about things like before
I wonder if we can still find joy in the same things we used to enjoy together
There's no need to hide the past that I have left behind
I should not be ashamed or hide who I used to be
It's a good resource somewhere for me to find
It could be a helpful reference point for me
Why am I waiting for someone to reach out
I shouldn't wait for others to make the first move
It should be all up to them
They can choose to reach out or not, it's not my responsibility
Keeping in touch ain't that easy but I'll have to try
It might be difficult, but I still need to make an effort to stay connected
Where have all the years gone
I can't believe how quickly time has passed
That's what I am asking now
I am inquiring about the speed of time as I look back on my life
What have I learnt so far
I am reflecting on my life experiences and what I have gained from them
Tell me Father Time
I am asking time to reveal its secrets to me
Now I understand I'll take from time what I need
I realize I can take valuable things from my past experiences
And I store it inside it's there for me to find
I can keep these valuable learnings and refer to them in the future
I can't deny that the years will pass by
I acknowledge that time will continue to move forward
But it won't bother me
I won't let time's passage worry or fret me
Coz now I will set out to realize my dream
Instead, I am focused on pursuing and achieving my dreams
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TIMO KOTIPELTO, TIMO TAPIO TOLKKI, RICHARD GUSTAF JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Increíble Jorge Michael en la batería, que bestia de humano nunca lo podría olvidar ese doble bombo de ROBOT preciso que buen tema, me hace llorar.
Mob 70
"Where have all the years gone". That is, in fact, a very good question. I discovered this band over two decades ago and it feels like it was yesterday.
Michael Pfeiffer
True! Thought often the same :D
Ivan Ivan
Same! Pretty deep.
Tass_Drumlord_Of_Doom
Add a decade for me... time flies away
Ketzakov
3:23 essa parte sempre me emociona, nostálgico.
Osvaldo Yañez Salas
Venia a decir lo mismo, jajaj. Y en el Visions of Europe con Tolkki haciendo los coros es mas epico aun, sobretodo en la parte final cuando le sube una nota a la voz
V3TH14
Been listening to Strato for 10 years now. Where have all the years gone? All their songs sound like I've discovered them yesterday. Mastery of power metal
Fernando Camera Neto
Música perfeita!... Banda espetacular 👏
Sabbathman
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🤘
This album...one of the cornerstones of my music world. This song...one of the heavy-hitters that changed my life! 🎸💫✨💪