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)
Millenium
Stratovarius Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We've got to change our ways
There is no going back anymore
Eons rumble through space
We must find new ways to live
I know there's so much more to give
Where do we go?
Millennium
Time will show
Forever more
The light will be guiding our journey
Millennium
Show us the way
Millennium
Into a new day
Forever more
Give us a chance to change
Ooh!
People may come and people may go
The dance of time is eternal
What is the meaning of this cosmic play?
Will we see another day?
We must find new ways to live
I know there's so much more to give
Millennium
Where do we go?
Millennium
Time will show
Forever more
The light will be guiding our journey
Millennium
Show us the way
Millennium
Into a new day
Forever more
Give us a chance to change
Ooh!
Millennium
Where do we go?
Millennium
Time will show
Forever more
The light will be guiding our journey
Millennium
Show us the way
Millennium
Into a new day
Forever more
Give us a chance to change
Ooh!
The lyrics of "Millennium" by Stratovarius reflect on the idea of change and the desire for finding new ways to live. The singer expresses the belief that there is no going back, and that we must embrace the uncertainty of what lies ahead. The song suggests that we need to take on a new mentality and come up with new strategies to survive.
The lines "we must find new ways to live, I know there's so much more to give" emphasize the idea that we have to push ourselves beyond the limits of what seems comfortable, inspiring us to be more creative and innovative. The chorus ("Millennium, where do we go?/ Millennium, time will show/ Forever more, the light will be guiding our journey") asks a series of rhetorical questions, as the singer tries to make sense of the world we live in and contemplate our future.
The song highlights the importance of being open to change and suggests that we must embrace the future with hope and enthusiasm. The theme of the song may be interpreted differently depending on the listener's experience and perspective, but it generally inspires us to look at the positive outcomes of change, and to take initiative in bringing about positive change.
Line by Line Meaning
The more I live, more clear it's each day
Everyday I understand more about the importance of life and living.
We've got to change our ways
We need to alter our behavior and lifestyle.
There is no going back anymore
We can't change what's already done and gone, only learn from it and move forward.
Eons rumble through space
Time is constantly moving forward, as we should be.
We must find new ways to live
We need to discover different strategies for living life in harmony with the world around us.
I know there's so much more to give
I am aware that each person has much more potential than they realize.
Millennium
Where do we go?
As we approach the turn of the century, we question our future and what it holds for us.
Millennium
Time will show
Only time will tell what's in store for us as we progress through this new era.
Forever more
The light will be guiding our journey
Our path will be illuminated by the positive forces in our lives that will lead us forward.
Millennium
Show us the way
As we enter this new time period, we look for guidance and direction.
Millennium
Into a new day
The turn of the century signifies a new beginning, a fresh start to the future.
Forever more
Give us a chance to change
Ooh!
We hope to be given the opportunity to alter our ways and make the world a better place.
People may come and people may go
The dance of time is eternal
People may pass through our lives but time will continue on its eternal course.
What is the meaning of this cosmic play?
Will we see another day?
We ponder the significance of our lives in the grand scheme of the universe and wonder what the future holds.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TIMO TAPIO TOLKKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
dancre
One of the best guitar solos of history
Kars
Tudo nesta música é perfeita, a potência da bateria e do baixo, a velocidade e harmonia das guitarras, a melodia dos vocais...
RICKNHO
Cresci ouvindo essa banda por causa do meu pai, meu pai é um louco fanático por essa banda, essa e outras como "HELLOWEN", outra banda foda! Isso sim é música de verdade! Obg pai, desde os meus 5 anos que eu escuto essa obra de arte por conta do senhor 🙏🛐❤️💫
AleBuiuBR
eu conheci essa banda por causa do meu irmão de 22 anos e tbm por causa de um vídeo
Real Vialdis
Conheço esta música desde criança, até coloquei como trilha sonora de um filme amador que fiz lá por 2009/2010, na altura não a valorizava como agora, agora em 2020 voltei a ouvir esta banda incrível e conhecer mais músicas, mas penso que a minha preferida é a The kiss of judas, pois estas eram as únicas músicas que eu conhecia quando criança, quando tinha entre 10 a 12 anos, vamos valorizar esta banda fantástica!
Carryzard
This is obviously their best album!!
RoyalRoyer
Visions is better than this
Glitchedblood
episode has a word to speak with you
Medardo Arce
Destiny Is the way to go
GF line producer
Dreamspace.