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)
Lifetime In A Moment
Stratovarius Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I will never see you, again...
Every passing day prolongs my pain
I am slowly fading, into the void...
Fades without a sound,
A sound that no one cares to hear
Just passed away!
Moment in a lifetime
Lifetime in a moment
Seize the day, don't let it slip, away...
Cherish every moment, before it's gone...
Fades without a sound
A sound that no one cares to hear
A second round to live your life
Just passed away!
Moment in a lifetime
Lifetime in a moment
Moment in a lifetime
Lifetime in a moment
Moment in a lifetime
Lifetime in a moment
The lyrics of "Lifetime In A Moment" by Stratovarius seem to be about the pain and regret of losing someone forever without being able to say goodbye. The opening lines "From the dark, I watch you go away, I will never see you again" imply that the singer is watching the person they love leave without being able to do anything about it. The next lines "Every passing day prolongs my pain, I am slowly fading, into the void" suggest that the singer's grief is overwhelming, and they are losing themselves in the process.
The chorus "Moment in a lifetime, lifetime in a moment" reinforces the idea that life is fleeting, and we should cherish every moment before it's gone. The lines "Seize the day, don't let it slip away" urge the listener to live in the present and not take anything for granted. The repetition of "fades without a sound, a sound that no one cares to hear" emphasizes the idea that the passing of time can be silent and unnoticed, but it's important to pay attention to it.
In conclusion, "Lifetime In A Moment" by Stratovarius is a poignant reminder to appreciate the people and moments in our lives before they slip away. The song encourages us to live every day as if it were our last and emphasizes the importance of saying goodbye when we can.
Line by Line Meaning
From the dark, I watch you go away
I'm standing here in the dark watching you leave, and it's a painful experience for me.
I will never see you again...
This is the final goodbye, and I'll never have another chance to be with you again.
Every passing day prolongs my pain
My pain is not going away with time; it's just getting worse with every day that passes.
I am slowly fading, into the void...
I'm becoming emptier as the days go by, and it feels like I'm slowly disappearing into nothingness.
Fades without a sound,
This moment is slipping away silently, without anyone noticing or caring.
A sound that no one cares to hear
Even if I try to make noise, no one is listening, and no one really cares about what I'm going through.
A second round to live your life, just passed away!
Another chance to make the most of life just passed me by, and I missed it.
Seize the day, don't let it slip away...
I must grab every opportunity, carpe diem and not let anything pass me by if I want to make the most of life.
Cherish every moment, before it's gone...
Every moment is precious, and I should cherish and appreciate them, as they will not last forever.
Moment in a lifetime, Lifetime in a moment
One single moment can hold the weight of a lifetime, and an entire lifetime can feel like just a moment when it's over.
Moment in a lifetime, Lifetime in a moment
A reminder that life is short and fleeting, and every moment must be lived to its fullest.
Moment in a lifetime, Lifetime in a moment
A call to action to take advantage of every moment we have, because our entire lives will come and go in the blink of an eye.
Contributed by Jake B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Dreamer
Intro is an extract from a title of Carl Orff (Carmina Burana) :
Omnia sol temperat :
"Omnia sol temperat, purus et subtilis.
Novo mundo reserat faciem Aprilis."
Sunshine overrules the world
peaceably and purely:
April with her veil unfurled
bares herself demurely;
Brenda Victoria
São poucos aqueles que gostam de uma obra de arte como essa!!!
Kardia.
exatamente!!
marcio branco
eu sou um desses.
Johan Marin
Impresionante, es simplemente hermoso.
Jennifer Frances
My favourite Stratovarius song. Listen to it over and over again after the breakup of my true love. Broken engagement...2 years later and we are back together ❤️✨😇 never give up hope.
Benjamin Jentgen
I hope for you to get him/her back!
NortvesterTG
Very happy for you!
I am in a similar situation right now. I hope the same happens to me... I don't care after how long. As long as it happens... I listen to Fairness Justified most of all :) and this one a lot. They are both awesome songs.
Erick Ruan
q musica cara q musica :)
Maicon Vidigal
Erick Ruan Sim!!
Mauro Gualtieri
I love this song!Elysium is good too!