The Stratovarius Thread

[RazielSR]

Stratovarius are putting the finishing touches on their thirteenth full-length studio album "Elysium" in 5-by-5 studios, Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki, Finland. The album will  be released on January 12th, 2011 by JVC in Asia and worldwide on January 14th, 2011 by Edel/EarMusic.


                   
A single with two new songs of "Elysium" will be released on 26 November this year, coinciding with the start date of the "7 sinners world tour" on which Stratovarius will join Helloween as very special guests  - kicking off the same day in the Szene, Vienna.

The single also contains a demo track, and two unreleased live tracks recorded earlier this year on Stratovarius’ wildly successful 2009/2010 "Polaris" world tour.



The following tracks will be part of the single:

Darkest Hours (from the upcoming album "Elysium")
Infernal Maze (from the upcoming album "Elysium")
Darkest Hours (demo version)
Against the Wind (live recording, Sofia, Bulgaria)
Black Diamond (live recording, Göteborg, Sweden)

ELYSSIUM TRACK LIST:

1. DARKEST HOURS 4:11
ISRC DEH841000542
MUSIC BY MATIAS KUPIAINEN
LYRICS BY TIMO KOTIPELTO, MATIAS KUPIAINEN

2. UNDER FLAMING SKIES 3:52
ISRC DEH841000610
MUSIC BY TIMO KOTIPELTO, MATIAS KUPIAINEN
LYRICS BY TIMO KOTIPELTO

3. INFERNAL MAZE 5:33
ISRC DEH841000543
MUSIC BY MATIAS KUPIAINEN
LYRICS BY TIMO KOTIPELTO

4. FAIRNESS JUSTIFIED 4:21
ISRC DEH841000605
MUSIC BY MATIAS KUPIAINEN
LYRICS BY TIMO KOTIPELTO

5. THE GAME NEVER ENDS 3:54
ISRC DEH841000612
MUSIC BY JENS JOHANSSON
LYRICS BY JENS JOHANSSON

6. LIFETIME IN A MOMENT 6:39
ISRC DEH841000609
MUSIC BY LAURI PORRA
LYRICS BY LAURI PORRA

7. MOVE THE MOUNTAIN 5:34
ISRC DEH841000613
MUSIC BY JENS JOHANSSON
LYRICS BY JENS JOHANSSON

8. EVENT HORIZON 4:24
ISRC DEH841000611
MUSIC BY MATIAS KUPIAINEN
LYRICS BY TIMO KOTIPELTO

9. ELYSIUM 18:07
ISRC DEH841000606
MUSIC BY MATIAS KUPIAINEN
LYRICS BY MATIAS KUPIAINEN, TIMO KOTIPELTO

10. CASTAWAY (JAPAN BONUS TRACK) 4:40
ISRC DEH841000614
MUSIC BY LAURI PORRA
LYRICS BY LAURI PORRA


Cover artwork by Gyula Havancsák. Band photo by Kimmo Syväri.

See information about upcoming live dates here, or below.


Source: https://www.stratovarius.com/

[PlaysLikeMyung]

sweet

[Adami]

Meh. I heard one of the songs off of the last album. THe music was cool, though generic, but the vocals were awful. I guess Tolki was the only member of the band who could write melodies.

[Zydar]

Cool, although I've barely listened to their last two albums.

[sonatafanica]

Fucking pelicans.

And I had a thing for Stratovarius quite a while back, but meh. meh meh meh. meh,

[Fuzzboy]

And I had a thing for Stratovarius quite a while back, but meh. meh meh meh. meh,

This, and I never even got around to hearing the last album.

[wolfking]

Last album was pretty good, had some excellent songs, nothing mindblowing though.  I will be buying this, no brainer.  I don't understand the contrast yet references from the single cover to the album cover.

[Mladen]

I thought Polaris was their best album. Seriously. This one is gonna rock as well, the departure of Tolkki is exactly what the band needed. He was a good songwriter, but he also wrote a whole bunch of average songs on pretty much every album. On Polaris, there was only one track I didn't care for.

[RazielSR]

I thought Polaris was their best album. Seriously. This one is gonna rock as well, the departure of Tolkki is exactly what the band needed. He was a good songwriter, but he also wrote a whole bunch of average songs on pretty much every album. On Polaris, there was only one track I didn't care for.

The band is going pretty well without Tolkki. Tolkki was the mastermind in the past, but from 2004 to 2007 I think you all know how the band went with him. Stratovarius needed to erase Tolkki and his strange behaviour. Many people don't understand that Polaris was an album with a lot of pressure and Jens, Kotipelto and Jörg and Lauri had really hard times, and they had to find a guitarrist: Matias Kupiainen. These guy is more prog oriented and the band now is taking a semi-prog power path. For example, songs like Deep Unknown, reminds you that this is Stratovarius, but you can feel new elements there. The same with King of Nothing, Falling Star or Emancipation Suite. Then you have songs like "Forever is today","Higher we go" and "Blind", were you can hear the typical Stratovarius power metal past sound.

Now, the writters and composers are Lauri Porra (another more prog oriented guy), Matias and Jens.
Jens was always trying to compose songs, but it was almost impossible with Tolkki. And Jens is an extremely talented composer and keyboard player.
Now they are trying to make another step with the sound of the band. Polaris was a really good album, and more if you understand and lived the days when it was created. For Elyssium, the band has composed and created  music with total freedom and together. The band is really, really well now and having fun.

Polaris for me is their 4th best album (as a whole album). My favourite is Episode, then Fourth Dimension and then Visions.

You know, this is somthing like DT and Portnoy, more or less. Polaris was like saying..."hey, we can do it without him". And Elyssium is gonna be the confirmation.

[?]

Sounds promising! I really liked Polaris so this one will probably be great too!

[wolfking]

It's surprising and exciting at the same time, that this lineup are putting out another album.  They are really steaming along, I for one was skeptical wether they would get to this point.  And Tolkki reading this news of a new album must be kicking himself, especially with all the Revolution Renaissance fiasco in the last month.

[RazielSR]

It's surprising and exciting at the same time, that this lineup are putting out another album.  They are really steaming along, I for one was skeptical wether they would get to this point.  And Tolkki reading this news of a new album must be kicking himself, especially with all the Revolution Renaissance fiasco in the last month.

True. That feeling was mainly because Tolkki was the mastermind, but many people didn't realized that the success in the past of Stratovarius was thanks to Jens, Jörg and Kotipelto too. Just see Tolkki now and the rest now. I mean, Tolkki was a great director, but you need talented people, if not, your directions will go nowhere. For me Tolkki is and was the best rock/metal composer out there while creating emotions and atmospheres in the songs. But hey, do not forget that this is a band. I say it again, it's happening the same, exactly the same with DT now. We'll see that nothing is lost. It is just another chapter. For example, I'm a hardcore fan of Stratovarius, and for me me one of the best moments in Stratovarius dicography is in Emancipation Suite part I from minute 4,54 to 6,24 and in Winter Skies song from minute 2,46 to 4,46. And that's thanks because of Lauri and Jens.

[RazielSR]

Lauri Porra usually makes videos of the work in progress and how they are just having fun. Here you have two of them of the new album (more coming):

You can hear some seconds of demos of new songs appearing in the album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZeN2WwsNcM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSJ1lrx5JKY

[?]

I don't like power metal as much as I used to so I hope this new album will focus on Stratovarius' proggy side. Didn't Jens say in some interview that Matias had composed a 30 minute song? Maybe it's Elysium! Unfortunately it looks like they separate it into different tracks like they did with Emancipation Suite.

[RazielSR]

I don't like power metal as much as I used to so I hope this new album will focus on Stratovarius' proggy side. Didn't Jens say in some interview that Matias had composed a 30 minute song? Maybe it's Elysium! Unfortunately it looks like they separate it into different tracks like they did with Emancipation Suite.

You can find a more proggy side in Stratovarius in some songs in their discography. Not that it was progressive metal as DT, but it is that there were some songs where you can find some proggy elements. For example if you listen to songs like:
Dreamspace, Lord of the wasteland, Twilight symphony, When the night meets the day, Galaxies, Eternity, Babylon, Season of change, The abyss of your eyes, Coming Home, Destiny, Infinity, soul of a vagabond, Dreamweaver, etc, etc you can't say that is 100% power metal. It is a more proggy side. Listen to them in a row and you can't say that is 100% power metal. In fact, Tolkki was always more prog than power metal. Neoclassical was somekind of style in the middle that he used incredibly well and it was really popular in the second half of the 90s, and he knew it and he knew that Kotipelto and his high ranges were more power metal.
Anyway, Stratovarius was always more a power metal oriented band.

Now I think they are trying a more proggy side, it's clear in the songs composed by Matias and Lauri in Polaris. About the Elyssium thing, maybe is that song that Matias had that was 30 minutes (of course that is not gonna be the final lenght XD ). And yes, that said Jens in an interview. I don't like when they make different tracks like in Emancipation. Let's hope to have Elyssium all in one.

[RazielSR]

Samples fom the single online: https://www.amazon.de/gp/recsradio/radio/B0046JPPWE

And Jens confirmed that there will be a 20 minutes song in the album.

[?]

Darkest Hours sounded a bit... weird. But it's not bad. Infernal Maze sounds epic! It seems that this will indeed be a bit proggier album!

[wolfking]

I like what I heard of Darkest Hours, especially the chorus.  Infernal Maze reminds me of Elements style Strato.

[RazielSR]

Different parts of the songs samples:

https://www.abella.de/p6-i4029759061700/stratovarius/darkest-hours-ep-/index.html

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/d11163ad7644f24b3f03d482d876bd50/poprock/detail/-/art/Stratovarius-Darkest-Hours-EP/hnum/4994069

[?]

Those samples sound promising too. I'm sure that Infernal Maze was written by Jens! BTW, has anyone noticed that one melody in DT's The Best of Times (1.44 & 6.11) is quite reminiscent of Strato's Elements (7.17)?

[RazielSR]

CHECK THIS!!!! ->> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CTOR_zyFPo


And another parts of the samples: https://es.7digital.com/artists/stratovarius/darkest-hours/

[RazielSR]

The whole song, Darkest hours in youtube, recorderd from a Finnish radio -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY9sz8gS0pc

[wolfking]

Sound fucking great. 

[?]

Sound fucking great. 

[Zydar]

I like what I hear.

[RazielSR]

TRACK LIST:

1. DARKEST HOURS 4:11
ISRC DEH841000542
MUSIC BY MATIAS KUPIAINEN
LYRICS BY TIMO KOTIPELTO, MATIAS KUPIAINEN

2. UNDER FLAMING SKIES 3:52
ISRC DEH841000610
MUSIC BY TIMO KOTIPELTO, MATIAS KUPIAINEN
LYRICS BY TIMO KOTIPELTO

3. INFERNAL MAZE 5:33
ISRC DEH841000543
MUSIC BY MATIAS KUPIAINEN
LYRICS BY TIMO KOTIPELTO

4. FAIRNESS JUSTIFIED 4:21
ISRC DEH841000605
MUSIC BY MATIAS KUPIAINEN
LYRICS BY TIMO KOTIPELTO

5. THE GAME NEVER ENDS 3:54
ISRC DEH841000612
MUSIC BY JENS JOHANSSON
LYRICS BY JENS JOHANSSON

6. LIFETIME IN A MOMENT 6:39
ISRC DEH841000609
MUSIC BY LAURI PORRA
LYRICS BY LAURI PORRA

7. MOVE THE MOUNTAIN 5:34
ISRC DEH841000613
MUSIC BY JENS JOHANSSON
LYRICS BY JENS JOHANSSON

8. EVENT HORIZON 4:24
ISRC DEH841000611
MUSIC BY MATIAS KUPIAINEN
LYRICS BY TIMO KOTIPELTO

9. ELYSIUM 18:07
ISRC DEH841000606
MUSIC BY MATIAS KUPIAINEN
LYRICS BY MATIAS KUPIAINEN, TIMO KOTIPELTO

10. CASTAWAY (JAPAN BONUS TRACK) 4:40
ISRC DEH841000614
MUSIC BY LAURI PORRA
LYRICS BY LAURI PORRA

[wolfking]

Matius sure is pulling his weight.

[?]

Wow, where did you find the tracklist and credits from?

Only 2 songs from Jens and 1 from Lauri (if you don't count the bonus track)? Weird... On Polaris they wrote most of the songs. But I like how Matias has composed an 18 minute song by himself! And it looks like he has written some lyrics too.

[RazielSR]

Wow, where did you find the tracklist and credits from?

Only 2 songs from Jens and 1 from Lauri (if you don't count the bonus track)? Weird... On Polaris they wrote most of the songs. But I like how Matias has composed an 18 minute song by himself! And it looks like he has written some lyrics too.

Jens posted in the official forum. A lot of work by Matias it seems. I think that's good. I suppose the others wanted that to have fresh energy and new ideas mixed with them for this album.

[RazielSR]

Matius sure is pulling his weight.

Yes, that seems. The guy is putting a lot of effort on this. That's good.
Deep Unknown for me was the most fresh song in Polaris, and it was created by him.

[RazielSR]

1 minute samples!

https://us.7digital.com/artists/stratovarius/darkest-hours/


My expectations with this album are growing and growing...

[Mladen]

OK, I'm really excited now. 

[RazielSR]

There's a version of the song Infernal maze, recorded from a finnish radio.

[RazielSR]

deleted

[RazielSR]

Dear Stratovarius fans, I am afraid we have some quite terrible news. News of the worst imaginable kind. It's about our friend and drummer Jörg Michael.

Jörg has cancer.

He recently discovered a lump on his neck, went to the doctor, they decided to operate, and found what they call "a malignant thyroid neoplasm". They took out his whole thyroid just to have the best chance to get everything out. He will also have to undergo a regimen of radiotherapy. He is a fighter. We have all talked to him and it's clear that this guy is not down for the count. He and his team of German doctors are pissed off and ready to kick ass, and I would not want to be a little cancer cell on these guys' shit list.. believe me.

Jörg and his family (and us guys in the band) found this out only last week, after the operation. Naturally we are all going between a lot of emotions, sadness, worry, shock, confusion, even anger.

As for Stratovarius, as you perhaps know there is a long tour coming up with Helloween, and with the surgery and therapy that will now follow there is no way Jörg can do the first part of the tour. For me personally (it's Jens writing this if you didn't figure it out) I at first felt quite hopeless about the tour, because I was so upset about all this news. But Jörg himself has been extremely clear that he does not want the band to cancel a single show because of this. In the end this is what made at least me feel better about going back hitting the road next week.

So, we have debated what to do for many days now. Jörg first suggested my brother Anders to do this November-December 2010 leg, but it turns out Anders will unfortunately be busy recording some record or other with that little indie cellar band of his called HammerFall. Surprised) After a lot of searching we found a guy that both can do it and didn't have other commitments: Alex Landenburg. He plays well, Jörg says he is a great guy (very important!) and he even started learning the set already before we even had decided what to do, which to me shows a lot of dedication. You can google Alex' name if you are curious.
So it turns out that Stratovarius will do the first leg of the Helloween Seven Sinner tour, just as planned, only not with Jörg behind the kit, but with Jörg very much as a motivator to us being there. Not one single date will be cancelled or changed. Jörg wants to be back on the road with us again as soon as possible depending on the thearapy, but we are not making any promises, that one is up to powers even higher than Jörg Michael and his doctors. We will try to keep you somewhat updated.


Anyway, the most important thing is that they think they got all the bad stuff out and that the end result is that we just fix that sentence I wrote above. We will then say:

Jörg had cancer. But he beat it.

/Jens

https://forum.stratovarius.com/viewtopic.php?t=10208


Seems they got out all the bad stuff and with some medication he will be alright in some months.