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)
Visions
Stratovarius Lyrics
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The wisdom of my prophecies you'll find
Follow the truth and be careful, are we the last?
Hundred years have passed what have we done
Inconceivable damage under the sun
I think it's too late to change the man, we are the last
Mother nature is crying for change
The time will come when we all must pay for what we have done
Are you prepared for that?
As we are reaching the end of the century
There's message we can send
Be strong and bold and never lose your mind
'Cause we are the last
The world keeps turning while people yearn for more
Mother nature is crying for change
The time will come when we all must pay for what we have done
Are you prepared for that?
The signs of the end I see
Let them hear my voice in every corner of the world
Take heed of the warnings that I give
I have seen the Southern Cross forming in the sky
"There shall be heard in the air the noise of weapons
And in the same year the divines shall be enemies
They shall unjustly put down the holy laws
And by thunder and war, true believers shall die"
"For forty years the rainbow shall not appear
For forty years it shall be seen every day
The parched earth shall wax drier every day
And a great flood when it shall appear"
After us the road goes on forever
Many changes lie along the path
That's the price we pay for our selfishness
We are headed for the end
"From the skies shall come the powerful kind
Before and after the Mars reigns at will
Not far from the great age of Millennium
Buried ones shall come out of their graves"
When the comet tears out the sky
You and I must die
After all this the time will come for the chosen ones
To rise from their graves to be free again
The beast is gone forever, there's no more pain
Instead so many things for us to attain
The sun is shining brightly after the rain
The land is green and full of life again
The sorrows wiped away now
It's time to smile
And learn from the past
Together we will try
"Twenty years of reign of the moon having past
Seven thousand years another shall hold his monarchy
When the sun shall resume his days past
Then is fulfilled and ends my prophecy"
The lyrics of Stratovarius's song Visions speaks of a devastating prophecy regarding the future of mankind. The singer has seen the future of the world and the wisdom of his foretelling are found in his warnings. The song expresses the dire consequences of human ignorance and selfish actions. A hundred years has passed but it seemed like we have done nothing to change or improve the world. The damage we have made to our planet is inconceivable, and we may have reached a point of no return.
The song makes us question our readiness for the consequences of our actions. It seems that the world is turning without care, while Mother Nature is crying out for help. The song ends with the belief that the end is coming, but instead of fear, it is an opportunity to learn from our mistakes and strive for a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
I have seen the future of mankind
The singer has seen what is to come for humanity
The wisdom of my prophecies you'll find
The singer's visions are full of wisdom
Follow the truth and be careful
One should follow the truth and be cautious
Are we the last?
Is humanity the last of its kind?
Hundred years has passed what have we done
We've made a lot of damage in the last 100 years
Inconceivable damage under the sun
Humanity has caused unimaginable destruction to the Earth
I think it's too late to change the man
It's too late to turn humanity around
We are the last
Humanity is the last generation
World keeps turning while people yearn for more
People are always wanting more, even as the world keeps moving forward
Mother nature is crying for a change
The environment is deteriorating due to human activity
Time will come when we all must pay for what
We will eventually have to face the consequences of our actions
We have done, are you prepared for that?
Are we ready to face the future consequences?
As we are reaching the end
As humanity approaches its demise
Of the century there's message we can send
There's a message humanity can send to future generations
Be strong and bold and never lose your mind
Stay strong and steadfast, even in difficult times
'Cause we are the last
Because humanity is the final generation
The signs of the end I see
The artist sees signs of the apocalypse
Let them hear my voice in every corner of the world
The singer wants everyone to hear their warning
Take heed of the warnings that I give
Pay attention to the prophecy being shared
I have seen the southern cross forming in the sky
The artist has had visions of the southern constellation
There shall be heard in the air the noise of weapons
Warfare will be pervasive
And in the same year the divines shall be enemies
Religious groups will be at odds
They shall unjustly put down the holy laws
Sacred principles will be disregarded
And by thunder and war true believers shall die
True followers will suffer violent deaths
(Nostradamus: Century IV:43)
The singer is quoting Nostradamus' work
For forty years the rainbow shall not appear
There will be a long period of suffering
For forty years it shall be seen every day
There will be a time of peace after a prolonged period of turmoil
The parched earth shall wax drier every day
The world will become more inhospitable
And a great flood when it shall appear
There will be a great natural disaster
(Nostradamus: Century I:17)
The singer is quoting Nostradamus' work
After us the road goes on forever
Humanity's time is finite, but the universe is eternal
Many changes lie along the path
The future is uncertain
That´s the price we pay for our selfishness
Humanity's selfishness has taken its toll
We are headed for the end
Humanity is headed towards extinction
From the skies shall come the powerful kind
A powerful being will come from the heavens
Before and after the Mars reigns at will
The planet Mars will have an impact on the future
Not far from the great age of millennium
The apocalypse will happen close to the turn of the millennium
Buried ones shall come out of their graves
The dead will rise again
(Nostradamus: Century X:72,74)
The singer is quoting Nostradamus' work
When the comet tears out the sky
A comet will cause destruction
You and I must die
All of humanity will die eventually
After all this the time will come for the chosen ones
There will be a time of redemption after the apocalypse
To rise from their graves to be free again
The dead will rise again to live a better life
The beast is gone forever there´s no more pain
A force of evil will be defeated
Instead so many things for us to attain
There's so much to strive for
The sun is shining brightly after the rain
There will be joy and happiness after a period of strife
The land is green and full of life again
The world will be renewed
The sorrows wiped away now
All sadness will be gone
It´s time to smile
It's time to be happy
And learn from the past
Humanity should learn from its mistakes
Together we will try
Humanity will attempt to survive
Twenty years of reign of the moon having past
Time will have passed
Seven thousand years another shall hold his monarchy
The world will change after 7,000 years
When the sun shall resume his days past
The world will revert back to its previous form
Then is fulfilled and ends my prophecy
This marks the end of the singer's divinations
(Nostradamus: Century I:48)
The artist is quoting Nostradamus' work
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Timo Tapio Tolkki
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind