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)
Infernal Maze
Stratovarius Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And woe is all that remains
And I have gone astray
My mind full of theory and states
I'm carrying a seed of insanity
A burden of faded memories
Delusion, destruction,
Go on without saying
Hate in this creed
Awareness so numb this time
Underneath the skin
You're still drooling in
And what I've come to find
A state of mind
I need to find
A way to carry it
For my soul will once again be free
But first I need to bare it instead:
Infernal Maze
I'm lost within an internal game
Infernal Maze
The demons are calling out your name
Infernal Maze.
Infernal Maze
These demons, these demons,
Haunting me, Infernal Maze!
Infernal Maze!
Infernal Maze.
The lyrics of the song "Infernal Maze" by Stratovarius describe a feeling of being lost and trapped in a mental maze. The singer laments the loss of a loved one and the torment of carrying the burden of memories that haunt him. The lyrics describe the internal struggle of the singer, who is trying to find a way to cope with his pain and ultimately achieve redemption.
The lyrics of "Infernal Maze" are beautiful and emotional, resonating with anyone who has experienced the pain of losing a loved one or feeling trapped in their own thoughts. The song's imagery of demons calling out the singer's name creates a haunting and eerie feel, emphasizing the emotional pain the singer is experiencing. The repetition of "Infernal Maze" at the end of the song reinforces the idea that the singer is trapped and lost in his own thoughts.
Line by Line Meaning
You faded away
Someone or something that was once there has disappeared.
And woe is all that remains
The only thing left is sorrow.
And I have gone astray
I am lost and off course.
My mind full of theory and states
My thoughts are consumed by abstract concepts.
I'm carrying a seed of insanity
My mind contains the beginnings of madness.
A burden of faded memories
I am burdened by memories that are becoming less and less clear.
Delusion, destruction, Salvation
These three concepts are intertwined and cannot be discussed separately.
Go on without saying
This idea is so obvious, it doesn't need to be explained.
Hate in this creed
This belief system contains hatred.
Awareness so numb this time
My ability to perceive and understand is dulled.
Underneath the skin
Beneath the surface, hidden from view.
You're still drooling in
You are still immersed and captivated by something.
And what I've come to find
What I have discovered after searching and exploring.
A state of mind
A certain way of thinking and perceiving the world.
I need to find
I am searching for something specific.
A way to carry it
A method of handling and dealing with this state of mind.
For my soul will once again be free
By finding a way to handle this state of mind, I will feel free again.
But first I need to bare it instead:
However, first I need to reveal and confront it.
Infernal Maze
A torturous and hellish internal journey.
I'm lost within an internal game
I am trapped within my own mind, unable to escape.
The demons are calling out your name
Negative forces within me are urging me to give in to temptation and darkness.
These demons, these demons, Haunting me, Infernal Maze!
The demons continue to torment and haunt me in this hellish internal journey.
Infernal Maze!
This internal maze of darkness and torment.
Contributed by Alexis F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Randomnaut
Incredible song, the lyrics are as good as they ever were in a Strato song.
EDICINE
Tremendo tema !!! Velocidad total !!
Rafael Tardío Álvarez
No words to describe this wonder.
Christian Lameiro
Pure epicness
LeonSkull
DELUSION!!!!!!! DESTRUCTION!!!! SALVATION!!!!!!
Claudio Martins
Love this song!!
salud y riqueza
Excelente.
Célio Azevedo
Great song!
planeta da mostarda
I love Stratovarius
Panchito2696
so what if Timmo Tolkki is not on the band anymore? Matias Kupianein was the right choice for the guitarrist, hes fucking awesome!