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)
Wasteland
Stratovarius Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Before the war this crime
Who would have believed
That they would do it
One April morning
Without a warning
The sirens woke us up
I'm dying I'm crying
Still I'm the lord
I'm fighting denying
Still I'm the lord
Of the wasteland
Now I'm alone here
The last man on earth I'll be
Walking through chaos land
There's just black mist and sand
I'm dying I'm crying
Still I'm the lord
I'm fighting denying
Still I'm the lord
Of the wasteland
The lyrics to Stratovarius's song Wasteland are a powerful commentary on war and the destructive nature of humans. The opening lines "I'm going back through time, before the war this crime" suggest that the singer is reflecting on a time when there was peace, but that this peace was shattered by some terrible event. The lines "Who would have believed, that they would do it" highlight the surprise and shock that comes with such an unexpected attack.
The song then shifts to a specific moment in time, "One April morning without a warning, the sirens woke us up, two minutes to live we got." This paints a vivid picture of a sudden, unexpected attack, where people were given only minutes to come to terms with their impending deaths. The use of the word "we" suggests that the singer is reflecting on a personal experience of war, rather than simply a general commentary.
As the song progresses, we get a sense that the singer has survived the attack, but is now alone in a desolate, "chaos land" that has been left in the wake of war. The use of the phrase "still I'm the lord" seems to suggest a kind of survivor's guilt - that the singer has survived while others have perished, and is struggling to come to terms with this. The final lines of the song "Of the wasteland" serve to reinforce the idea that war ultimately destroys everything in its wake - leaving only a barren, lifeless landscape behind.
Overall, Wasteland is a haunting and powerful song that offers a bleak commentary on the destructive nature of war. The lyrics are evocative and poetic, and the sense of despair that permeates the song is palpable.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm going back through time
Reflecting on the past, thinking about previous events
Before the war this crime
Before the war, the act considered criminal
Who would have believed
Expressing disbelief or surprise
That they would do it
Referring to an unexpected action that was taken
One April morning
A specific time and date
Without a warning
Without any notification or alert beforehand
The sirens woke us up
The sound of sirens awakened people from sleep
Two minutes to live we got
There was only a short amount of time left to live
I'm dying I'm crying
Expressing emotional pain and physical suffering
Still I'm the lord
Despite the pain, still maintains power and control
I'm fighting denying
Continuing to resist and refuse something despite negative consequences
Of the wasteland
The setting of the song, a place marked by destruction and ruin
Now I'm alone here
Solitude and isolation
The last man on earth I'll be
The final person alive
Walking through chaos land
Navigating through the aftermath of disaster
There's just black mist and sand
An image of a desolate and bleak environment
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TIMO TOLKKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@heavyfabiometal
I'm going back through time
Before the war this crime
Who would have believed
That they would do it
One April morning
Without a warning
The sirens woke us up
Two minutes to live we got
I'm dying I'm crying
Still I'm the lord
I'm fighting denying
Still I'm the lord
Of the wasteland
Now I'm alone here
The last man on earth I'll be
Walking through chaos land
There's just black mist and sand
I'm dying I'm crying
Still I'm the lord
I'm fighting denying
Still I'm the lord
Of the wasteland
@RobKieranz
Bit of a hidden gem which no one talks about. Adore it!
@vcaro12
One of my favorites. Ive listened it thousands of times, and i just love it. Stratovarius is the best
@kiroxtv9046
Despues de 7 años alfin la encontre...😢🔥
@user-hx8rt1of7o
A hidden gem of an incredible album.
@josemiguelibarapablaza2495
My Mighty Lord..!! !! this album is more than PERFECTION..!! !!
@brunovallesmunoz4757
Epic tune...GREAT ALBUM!!
@jhonherrera3717
SRTATOVARIUS...Una Banda de otra dimensión. Eterno Stratovarius ... Saludos desde Colombia \,,/ \,,/ \,,/ \,,/
@facundogon4171
La magia de Stratovarius
@marckossilva7339
Phenomenal track!
@espectaculardavidrcq
Great Stratovarius!!