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)
Winter
Stratovarius Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Blackness fills my world
Midwinter days and lonely nights
Depression takes over
My frozen mind
Morning starts a new day
Dawning nowhere to be seen
My chains and let me go
Free as a bird in the sky
Winter blows colder
I´m feeling older
Visions of darkness
Breaking the silence
Winter blows colder
I´m growing older
Light fades away
I´m here to stay
I´m telling you no-one could ever take your place
Open your eyes and you will see
"Winter" by Stratovarius speaks about the desolate and isolated feeling that winter brings to an individual. The opening lines express the idea of complete silence with nothing to hear and see but blackness surrounding everything. The season of midwinter brings depression, and the person's mind seems to be frozen. The second stanza talks about the new day that starts in the morning, but even the dawn is nowhere to be seen. The singer wants to break free from the chains of their loneliness and asks for someone to help them become free as a bird soaring in the sky.
The chorus talks about how winter keeps blowing colder, and the unrelenting coldness makes the individual feel older. The visions of darkness contrast with the fulfilling silence and intensify the misery. The singer here is accepting the fact that they need to stay and endure the winter's coldness despite how despondent they feel. Finally, the last sentence of the song is addressed to someone specific, telling them that nobody could ever take their place and encourages them to open their eyes and see.
Line by Line Meaning
Silence is all I hear
The singer is experiencing a period of absolute quietness in their life.
Blackness fills my world
The singer feels as though they are in a state of complete darkness in their life.
Midwinter days and lonely nights
The singer is going through a difficult period in their life which is similar to the bleak winter season.
Depression takes over
The artist is engulfed by feelings of sadness and hopelessness.
My frozen mind
The artist feels incapable of thinking or processing information due to their emotional state.
Morning starts a new day
Every new day offers a fresh start for the singer.
Dawning nowhere to be seen
The singer feels as though they cannot see any indication of things getting better in the future.
Oh, won´t you break
The artist is pleading with someone to help them get out of their current situation.
My chains and let me go
The artist feels trapped and wants to be free from their current situation.
Free as a bird in the sky
The artist wants to experience a sense of liberation and freedom in their life.
Winter blows colder
The singer is experiencing a sense of isolation and pessimism in their life.
I´m feeling older
The artist feels as though their experiences have caused them to age prematurely.
Visions of darkness
The singer is haunted by negative thoughts and feelings.
Breaking the silence
The singer is attempting to voice their innermost thoughts and feelings.
Light fades away
The singer is losing hope for a brighter future.
I´m here to stay
The artist feels as though their current situation is their permanent reality and are unable to escape it.
I´m telling you no-one could ever take your place
The artist is expressing their love and admiration for someone who holds a special place in their life.
Open your eyes and you will see
The singer is urging someone to take notice of things around them and see the true reality.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: TIMO KOTIPELTO, TIMO TOLKKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Enrikerfca
Very underrated song. An absolute masterpice.
Metalliholisti ᛘᛂᛏᛆᛚᚼᚮᛚᛁᛋᛏ
One my favorite songs from Stratovarius.
gbuhnoezqayusioehf
Why?
kastryotan epos
Wherever may I roam ...
Artur Fontinelli
Top demais
moviemaker3000
Wow this just sounds full and wholesome! Great song Stratovarius!
Elizeu Santos
I like this song a lot, i can travel in my memories, oh God!
José Miguel ibar Apablaza
what an amazing track..!! !!
salud y riqueza
Son la caña!!! viva stratovarius!!
Benjamin Breeg
Salud y riqueza para todos