In 1984, a band from Finland announced its existence to the world, joining the ranks of bands performing songs in the power metal style.
Initially, the band was called Black Water, but in 1985, with the appearance of vocalist Timo Kotipelto, the musicians changed their name to Stratovarius, which combined two words - stratocaster (electric guitar brand) and stradivarius (creator of violins).
Early work was distinguished by the influence of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. During their musical career, the guys released 15 albums.
Stratovarius discography
In 1987, the guys recorded a demo tape, including songs from Future Shock, Fright Night, Night Screamer, and sent it to various record companies.
And two years later, when one studio signed a contract with them, the group released their debut album Fright Night, which included only two singles.
The release of the second album Stratovarius II was carried out in 1991, although at this time the line-up of the group changed. A year later, the same album was re-released and changed its name to Twiling Time.
In 1994, the next Dreamspace album was released, in which there were changes in the line-up of the group. When the guys prepared it by 70%, Timo Kotipelto was chosen as the new vocalist.
Small lineup changes
In 1995, the band's fourth album, Fourth Dimension, was released. This completed project was very popular among the listeners. True, with his appearance from the group, keyboardist Anti Ikonen and one of the founders of the group, Tuomo Lassila, stole.
In 1996, the composition of the updated group released the next album, Episode. This album had a different unique sound to the songs, using a 40-piece choir and string orchestra.
Many "fans" considered this release the most successful in the history of album releases.
A year later, the new Visions album came out, and then the Destiny album appeared at the same time interval. In 1998, with the same line-up, the guys released the album Infinity.
All three albums influenced the group's popularity in the good sense of the word, and "fans" from Japan were especially fond of the work.
These three albums went gold, in 1999 in Finland the band was recognized as the best metal band in the country.
In 2003, the Stratovarius group released a grandiose project - the album Elements, which consisted of two parts. After the release of the first part, the team went on a world tour.
The collapse in the group led to a two-year lull, but then the musicians united and recorded the Stratovarius album. With the release of the record, the group was preparing for a world tour, which began in Argentina and ended in European countries.
Group breakup?
In 2007, the "fans" were supposed to hear the band's 12th album, but it was not destined to be released, since in 2009 the band's vocalist Timo Tolki published an appeal to terminate the band's activities.
Following this, other members of the group wrote a response, providing a refutation of the collapse of the team.
Timo Tolki transferred the rights to use the band's name to the rest of the team, while he himself focused on the new Revolution Renaissance band.
In early 2009, the updated line-up released the Polaris album. With this development, the Stratovarius group went on a world tour. The album Elysium followed.
In 2011, the group suspended its activities due to a serious illness of the drummer. When the team found a replacement for him, they breathed life into the new album and presented it to the public under the name Nemesis.
Eternal's 16th studio album was released in 2015. The main song, which marked the entire work of the band, is called Shine in the Dark. The guys carried out the promotion of the album with a world tour, which included 16 European countries.
Group members
Throughout the history of the Finnish band, 18 musicians worked in the Stratovarius group, of which 13 guys left the line-up for various reasons.
Current composition:
- Timo Kotipelto - vocals and songwriting
- Jens Johansson - keyboards, arrangement, production
- Lauri Porra - bass and backing vocals
- Matthias Kupiainen - guitar
- Rolf Pilve - drums
For a long time of existence, the Stratovarius group has released several video clips.
The group has social pages on Facebook and Instagram, as well as a personal website where the guys share photos from concerts, news and concert plans for the near future.
