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)
Hunter
Stratovarius Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
revealing nothing at all what's on the way
and when the air filled with fear
he's lurking in the shade unrevealed
his aim is concealed
He is like a shark
when he smells some blood
as he is chasing down his prey
and from the dark he rises
and he'll bring evil to light
he won't be keeping it at bay
Oooh, darkness follows him!
Death will he bring!
He's hunting from the dusk till dawn
he's on the move, he's on the loose and silently
he is sneaing upon his game
there is no warning there will be mourning
he makes his kill
Feeling no shame
He is like a shark
when he smells some blood
he goes blind and insane
as he is chasing down his prey
and from the dark he rises
and he'll bring evil to light
he won't be keeping it at bay
Oooh, darkness follows him!
Death will he bring
Those cold black eyes with their empty sta
He is like a shark
when he smells some blood
he goes blind and insane
as he is chasing down his prey
and from the dark he rises
and he'll bring evil to light
he won't be keeping it at bay
The lyrics to Stratovarius's song "Hunter" describe a mysterious and dangerous figure with "cold black eyes" who quietly stalks his prey with "empty stare[s]." The lyrics use imagery of a hunting shark to describe this character, with the phrase "when he smells some blood, he goes blind and insane" emphasizing his predatory nature. The lyrics also suggest that this hunter is not bound by a sense of morality or compassion, as he "feels no shame" in taking his victims.
The repeated refrain of "Oooh, darkness follows him! Death will he bring!" adds to the ominous tone of the lyrics, suggesting that the hunter is not just capable of physical violence, but also represents a more existential threat.
Overall, the lyrics to "Hunter" paint a picture of a menacing figure with an insatiable appetite for destruction.
Line by Line Meaning
Those cold black eyes with their empty stare
The hunter's eyes are black and empty, giving no sign of what's to come.
revealing nothing at all what's on the way
His eyes don't give away his intentions, keeping his target guessing.
and when the air filled with fear
The atmosphere becomes tense and uneasy in the presence of the hunter.
he's lurking in the shade unrevealed
The hunter waits in the shadows unnoticed and hidden from sight.
his aim is concealed
His true intentions are not known, remaining a mystery.
He is like a shark
The hunter is compared to a shark – ruthless and relentless.
when he smells some blood
He becomes excited and eager when he senses his prey is nearby.
he goes blind and insane
He becomes so focused on his target that he becomes irrational and savage.
as he is chasing down his prey
He pursues his victim with intensity and determination.
and from the dark he rises
The hunter emerges from the shadows to attack his prey.
and he'll bring evil to light
His true wickedness will be revealed in his actions.
he won't be keeping it at bay
The hunter won't be holding back his malevolent intentions.
Oooh, darkness follows him!
The hunter embodies evil, and his presence brings darkness.
Death will he bring!
The end result of the hunter's actions is death.
He's hunting from the dusk till dawn
The hunter is active throughout the day and night relentlessly pursuing his prey.
he's on the move, he's on the loose and silently
The hunter is moving quietly and skillfully unnoticed by his target.
he is sneaing upon his game
He approaches his prey quietly and stealthily.
there is no warning there will be mourning
The victim won't see it coming, and soon there will be sorrow and grief.
he makes his kill
The hunter succeeds in capturing and taking the life of his prey.
Feeling no shame
The hunter feels no guilt for his actions, continuing to hunt without remorse.
Contributed by Jordyn B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Deus Gaming
That intro..
Xavier Cxdfc
Longer solos please
Best part of stratovarius
Hulkzilla
Makes me think of Kraven The Hunter.
youtube broken
Reminds me of crotas end
Owen Nuckols
big fax
Classified
Dat Intro 0_o
Marcc Twain
Nice Lyrics