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)
Rebel
Stratovarius Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I showed the way
The Path of Wisdom is the only way to reality
You learned to live Your life
The hard way
Your tears put out the fire from your soul
Lost behind the lies I can hear your cries
Learn from your past
But better make it fast
The time is running out for you to change your life
You must learn to live
There´s so much to give
Set Fire to your soul again and be, the Rebel
Hold your head up proud
In Stratovarius's song "Rebel," the lyrics talk about someone finding the truth through the guidance of the singer. The "Path of Wisdom" that they followed is the only way to truly understand and accept reality. This person has learned to live life the hard way, but their tears have put out the fire in their soul. However, the singer can hear their cries and encourages them to rise again and be strong.
The song suggests that the person needs to learn from their past, but they need to make it fast because time is running out for them to change their life. They need to set fire to their soul once again and become the Rebel. The lyrics are meant to inspire and motivate people to take action and make changes in their lives. The Rebel represents someone who goes against the norm and refuses to conform to societal expectations but does so in a positive and productive way.
Overall, the song Rebel conveys an important message about finding your truth and living your life purposefully. It encourages listeners to be strong, learn from the past, and to never give up on chasing their goals and dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
You found the truth again
You have rediscovered the truth
I showed the way
I helped guide you towards this truth
The Path of Wisdom is the only way to reality
The only way to truly understand reality is through the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom
You learned to live Your life
You have learned to live in a way that is true to yourself
The hard way
This learning process was difficult and required emotional struggle
Your tears put out the fire from your soul
Your emotional turmoil had a cooling effect on your passion and motivation
Lost behind the lies I can hear your cries
I can sense your emotional anguish from being deceived
Now is the time to rise again so strong
This is a moment of opportunity to come back stronger and more motivated
Learn from your past
Reflect on and gain understanding from your past experiences
But better make it fast
Do not dwell on the past for too long or it will be difficult to move forward
The time is running out for you to change your life
There is a limited time to make meaningful changes in your life
You must learn to live
You need to discover how to truly live your life
There´s so much to give
There is much potential for you to make positive contributions to the world
Set Fire to your soul again and be, the Rebel
Rekindle your passion and motivation and become a bold force for change
Hold your head up proud
Be confident in your convictions and who you are
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TIMO TAPIO TOLKKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@perpetual61
You found the truth again
I showed the way
The path of wisdom
Is the only way to reality
You learned to live your life
The hard way
Your tears put out the fire
From your soul
Lost behind the lies
I can hear your cries
Now is the time to rise
Again so strong
Learn from the past
But better make it fast
The time is running out
For you to change your life
You must learn to live
There's so much more to give
Set fire to your soul again
And be the rebel, hold your head up proud
Learn from the past
But better make it fast
The time is running out
For you to change your life
You must learn to live
There's so much more to give
Set fire to your soul again
And be the rebel, hold your head up proud
The rebel, hold your head up proud
@wladimirortiz1694
ESTA CANCION SERA LA LEGENDARIA QUE A TODOS NOS GUSTAN ESTA CANCIONES LA BANDA STRATOVARIUS
@TheMetallicDk
The intro is face melting....
@moviemaker3000
YEESSS JENS JOHANSON SHRED IT UPP!!!!
@espectaculardavidrcq
Me encantan los guitarreos de todas sus canciónes.
@ShadowChinook
Always loved Rebel by strat. Just love how it's sung in this piece and never get tired of it. <3
@madexan
This was the album and song that i showcased at 3rd grade in "levyraati" (students bring 1 song to present and class vote). We had subtitute teacher that day and he stopped this song around 3mins and i said why you stopped, teacher says "its repeating". Still was 2nd place
@Icedsymphony7
2:30 to 2:48 is some of the best alternate picking
@forgeth44
" OVERHAUL I COME TO TAKE CUSTODY OF THAT GIRL" - Lemillion vs Overhaul
@MentalOut
You have the vídeo?
@narunao
I love this song!!!