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)
SOS
Stratovarius Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To settle the dusty air
Clearing up my emotions
Facing it all if I dare
I've been thinking
I've been trying
But I've always been denying
It's time to set them free
Why don't we see what's going on?
There are not so many years to be wasted
Until the damage is done, and the beauty is gone
Save our souls
What is the price that we pay?
Save our souls
Do we have nothing to say?
Why don't we see what's going on?
There are not so many years to be wasted
Until the damage is done, and the beauty is gone
Why don't we see what's going on?
There are not so many years to be wasted
Until the damage is done, and the beauty is gone
Save our souls
The lyrics to Stratovarius's song "Sos" explore the idea of taking action before it is too late. The singer is waiting for the rain to settle the dusty air, symbolizing the need for clarity and rejuvenation. The following lines suggest that the singer has been grappling with some emotional issues they have been trying to face but have been denying for too long. Wasted days, or time spent not dealing with these issues, weigh heavy on the singer and they feel it is time to let them go.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the urgency of the situation. The singer poses the question, "What is the price that we pay?" which could refer to the consequences of not taking action or ignoring the problems, potentially losing something valuable, like the beauty of life. The singer pleads to "save our souls" and asks if "we have nothing to say," implying that it is not too late to address these issues if we act now. The repetition of the line "Why don't we see what's going on?" drives home the message that we need to be aware of the situation around us and take action before it's too late.
Overall, "Sos" encourages listeners to confront their emotions and take action to prevent damage from being done to themselves or their surroundings, emphasizing the need to see the situation clearly and act before it's too late.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm waiting for the rain now
I'm waiting for a change, a refreshing start.
To settle the dusty air
To clear out the stagnancy and negativity that's been holding me down.
Clearing up my emotions
Sorting through my feelings, getting a handle on my inner world.
Facing it all if I dare
Braving the challenge of confronting myself and dealing with past mistakes.
I've been thinking
I've been pondering and reflecting.
I've been trying
I've attempted to make changes and grow.
But I've always been denying
But deep down, I've been resisting the important changes I need to make.
Wasted days are still inside of me
I regret how I've spent my time, and my past mistakes still weigh on me.
It's time to set them free
It's time to let go of my past regrets and mistakes and start fresh.
Why don't we see what's going on?
Why can't we pay attention to the world around us and recognize the problems we face?
There are not so many years to be wasted
There's not much time left to make a change and use our time wisely.
Until the damage is done, and the beauty is gone
If we wait too long, we'll lose what we have and the world will suffer.
Save our souls
Help us protect our lives and our world.
What is the price that we pay?
What are we sacrificing by ignoring the problems we face?
Do we have nothing to say?
Are we not speaking out and taking action against the problems we see?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TIMO KOTIPELTO, TIMO TAPIO TOLKKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
JavyMetal1092
Con razón este video fue declarado el mejor video metal de 1998 ^_^
Alan Zuñiga
Una de las mejores canciones de stratovarius sin lugar a dudas!!!
i don't have a better username
I can never get tired of this song!
luismaiden6
estoy de acuerdo contigo, stratovarius es una de las bandas más exitosas del power metal, heavy es lo que se podría llamar saratoga, centinela, etc etc. Esta canción es la crema!
Exodus85
The guitars sound very well tuned, awesome vocals!
MusaFinderi
One of the fine moments of Timo Tolkki. True guitar hero attitude. Listen to the solo, it's amesome!
samlevine
Of Kotipelto also.
Alicia Sirena
Que fuerte seria el video hoy y la cancion! tendrían que volver estas cosas a la tele! seria genial! 😳
Nickolay
Simply beautiful song!!! I started listening them a couple of months ago and i fell in love with their music from the first time! Amazing band!
Mj0Skyver
OMG. I didn't know they made a music video for S.O.S.! O_O I love the song! My second most in their Destiny album! Beautifully performed! x333