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)
Future Shock
Stratovarius Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The day that changed our history
I still can hear the screams
Swear it was no mystery
In the heat of the blast
Houses fell down into the ground
This happened so fast
Now the world lives in shadow of atomic fear
Can we win the fight for peace or will we disappear?
Future Shock
I saw it on the screen
The day that changed our lives and history
There goes our dream
Nuked into the sky don't know why
In the heat of the blast
Watch the beauty of the mushroom cast
It won't take long
You won't live till the end of this song
Now the...
The lyrics to Stratovarius's song "Future Shock" are a powerful description of the immediate aftermath of a devastating nuclear explosion. The singer recounts a dream in which they saw the world change forever, hearing the screams of victims and witnessing houses falling into the ground. The event is described as happening so quickly that mankind disappeared without sound. The second verse is even more haunting, with the singer watching a nuclear explosion on a screen, wondering why their dream has become reality. The image of a mushroom cloud and the recognition that the listener won't make it to the end of the song create a sense of urgency and horror.
Thematically, "Future Shock" highlights the threat of nuclear war and the devastation it would bring. The song's lyrics are a warning against the long-lasting effects of nuclear war and a call for peace. Stratovarius's song is both a depiction of a world-changing event and a plea for humanity to avoid such catastrophes. The lyrics express the fear that nuclear war will destroy not only individual lives but entire civilizations.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw it in a dream
The singer had a dream in which an event occurs that forever changes the course of human history.
The day that changed our history
The event in the dream was so significant that it altered the path of human history.
I still can hear the screams
The singer vividly remembers hearing the screams of those affected by the event.
Swear it was no mystery
The artist is certain that the event was not a random occurrence, but was caused intentionally.
In the heat of the blast
The event was caused by a nuclear explosion.
Houses fell down into the ground
The force of the explosion caused buildings to collapse and sink into the earth.
This happened so fast
The disaster occurred extremely quickly, leaving those affected little or no time to react.
Mankind disappeared without sound
The catastrophic event caused the death of all or most humans in the area, leaving a desolate landscape.
Now the world lives in shadow of atomic fear
The surviving population of the world is haunted by the fear of a similar nuclear disaster.
Can we win the fight for peace or will we disappear?
The world must decide between continuing down a path towards potential destruction or finding a way to achieve lasting peace.
I saw it on the screen
The singer watched a video of a nuclear explosion.
The day that changed our lives and history
The event in the video was so significant that it altered the course of human history.
There goes our dream
The idea of a peaceful world, free from nuclear destruction, has been destroyed.
Nuked into the sky don't know why
The reason for the nuclear explosion is unknown, leaving those affected with no sense of closure.
Watch the beauty of the mushroom cast
The singer acknowledges the awe-inspiring and terrible nature of a nuclear explosion.
It won't take long
The destructive power of nuclear weapons is such that it would not take long for them to cause catastrophic damage.
You won't live till the end of this song
The destruction caused by a nuclear explosion would be so complete that no one would survive to hear the end of a song.
Now the...
The fear and threat of nuclear war continues to loom over the world, leaving us with the urgent need to find a path towards peace.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TUOMO LASSILA, TIMO TOLKKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nicolás Guerra
I saw it in a dream
The day that changed our history
I still can hear the screams
Swear it was no mystery
In the heat of the blast
Houses fell down into the ground
This happened so fast
Mankind disappeared without sound
Now the world lives in shadow of atomic fear
Can we win the fight for peace or will we disappear?
Future Shock
I saw it on the screen
The day that changed our lives and history
There goes our dream
Nuked into the sky don't know why
In the heat of the blast
Watch the beauty of the mushroom cast
It won't take long
You won't live till the end of this song
Now the...
El Haj
I saw it in a dream
the day that changed our history
I still can hear the screams
swear it was no mystery
In the heat of the blast
Houses fell down into the ground
This happened so fast
Mankind disappeared without sound
Now the world lives in shadow of atomic fear
Can we win the fight for peace or will we disappear?
Future Shock
I saw it on the screen
The day that changed our lives and history
There goes our dream
Nuked into the sky don't know why
In the heat of the blast
Watch the beauty of the mushroom cast
It won't take long
You won't live till the end of this song
now the ...
Leni
I don't now about you but I absolutely adore Tolkki's voice. I miss his singing, so sentimental, so right. He is a genius!
Pherocket
I agree bro
Pibe10
Yeah
John
Ami me gustaba más esta voz era genial así
perpetual61
Timo Tolkki will always be the Genius behind Stratovarius. He wrote, Produce & sang the songs long before Koltipelto joined the band. He will always be Strato to me even though he is no longer in the band. Long Live Timo Tolkki.
Thomas Castrovillo
Totally agree
Chainsaw
He IS the band, sadly for the band to be outside the Strato project.. you know it is completely different now without Timo.
perpetual61
@Chainsaw I agree to me it hasn't been the same since he left.
Orklord 666
He was never - the Band is soo much better without this Guy ! I saw em live with him 10 times but sice he left - they are so much better !!
Pablo Daniel Cavalieri
@Orklord 666 Sure boi.