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)
Heroes
Stratovarius Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
the answer is inside of feeble
here what you are to watch you say
or you just made and go by suddenly
if doesn't matter
in your use better
stronger so poke of kinku
cos you made by faster by that more
still we turn around
and we found the stout
we will pay the way to out
we are heroes in the night
livin at the all the fight
where the warriors are leading
tire that's okay
gonna fly here
gonna die all the day
gonna stay here all for now
cos' we are heroes
heroes of the light
The lyrics of Stratovarius's song "Heroes" exude courage and strength, while also highlighting the theme of self-reflection. The first two lines of the song, "Look to yourself hear what I say, the answer is inside of feeble," encourage introspection and self-awareness. The artist points out that the solution to our problems can be found within us, despite our perceived weakness. The next line, "Here what you are to watch you say, or you just made and go by suddenly," suggests that our words and actions have consequences, and we must be mindful of them. The artist is urging the listener to be more self-aware and to take control of their words and actions.
In the second verse, the lyrics state, "Dreams are meaning not anymore, cos you made by faster by that more." This line could be interpreted as the artist pointing out that our dreams and aspirations are not enough on their own without action. It suggests that we need to be proactive in achieving our goals and dreams. The chorus, "We are heroes in the night, livin at the all the fight, where the warriors are leading, tire that's okay gonna fly here, gonna die all the day, gonna stay here all for now cos we are heroes, heroes of the light," is a reminder that we all have the potential to be heroes. The light referred to represents hope and positivity.
Line by Line Meaning
look to yourself hear what i say
Take a look at yourself and listen to my words
the answer is inside of feeble
The solution to your problems is within you, even though you may feel weak
here what you are to watch you say
Be careful of the things that you say about yourself or others
or you just made and go by suddenly
Or you may end up just passing through life unnoticed and forgotten
if doesn't matter
It doesn't matter
in your use better
Use it in a better way
stronger so poke of kinku
You become stronger when you face challenges and overcome them
dreams are meaning not anymore
Dreams no longer hold meaning
cos you made by faster by that more
Because you are propelled faster by your current reality
still we turn around
Despite the challenges we face, we persevere and keep moving forward
and we found the stout
And we discover our strength
we will pay the way to out
We will find a path to get through
we are heroes in the night
We are brave and noble in the face of adversity
livin at the all the fight
Living through all the struggles
where the warriors are leading
Following the path of other brave warriors
tire that's okay
We may become exhausted, but that's alright
gonna fly here
We will soar to new heights
gonna die all the day
We will face challenges and maybe even death every day
gonna stay here all for now
We will remain here for the time being
cos' we are heroes
Because we are warriors
heroes of the light
Brave, noble individuals who bring light to the darkness
Contributed by Callie W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Octavio Pérez
de todas las versiones que hay de esta canción, esta es sin lugar a dudas la mejor (al menos para mí) XD
Fernando Frezza
Quais são as outras versões??
What are the other versions ??
Rayan Cedric
+Octavio Pérez it´s is Stratovarius of Tolkki
E-minor
Ah...This feeling is so nostalgic...This is Stratovarius I loved.(shed a tear)
Rayan Cedric
Great solo!
Rodrigo Moreno
genial!
Célio Azevedo
Great!
Carlos Orozco
Mucho mejor que con la odiosa voz de Sameth
G65
Osea, la voz es buena, simplemente no estaba hecha para esta cancion.
Nacho Winkler
buenisima la cancion pero se escucha como las weas aca