Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band.
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. He wrote extensively on the principles of Kabbalah, but according to some Jewish forum members, this has nothing to do with any actually practiced form of it. The webmaster removed the news article from the site. Tolkki also phoned Anders Johansson, speaking nonsense about 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 he was 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 has reunited with the old lineup. Tolkki seemed to have recovered from his illness.
In June 2005 Timo Tolkki announced that the band's bassist, Jari Kainulainen, had left the band due to personal reasons. He was since replaced by Lauri Porra.
Timo Kotipelto - Vocals
Jens Johansson - Keyboards, piano
Timo Tolkki - Guitar
Jörg Michael - Drums
Lauri Porra - Bass
Fright Night (1989)
II (1991)
Twilight Time (1992)
Dreamspace (1994)
Fourth Dimension (1995)
Episode (1996)
Visions (1997)
The Past And Now (Compilation, 1997)
Visions Of Europe (Live, 1998)
Destiny (1998)
The Chosen Ones (Compilation, 1999)
Infinite (2000)
14 Diamonds (Compilation, 2000)
Intermission (2001)
Elements Pt. 1 (2003)
Elements Pt. 2 (2003)
Stratovarius (2005)
Future Shock (1988)
Black Night (1989)
Break The Ice (1992)
Wings Of Tomorrow (1995)
Father Time (1996)
Will The Sun Rise? (1996)
Black Diamond (1997)
The Kiss Of Judas (1997)
SOS (1998)
Hunting High And Low (2000)
It's A Mystery (2000)
A Million Light Years Away (2000)
Eagleheart (2002)
I Walk To My Own Song (2003)
Infinite Visions (2000)
Nightwish
Sonata Arctica
Hammerfall
Edguy
Angra
Official Stratovarius website
The Stratovarius Network
Complete Stratovarius Lyrics and album reviews
Stratovarius news, lyrics, reviews and info
Biography
"Elements pt. 1" was 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. He wrote extensively on the principles of Kabbalah, but according to some Jewish forum members, this has nothing to do with any actually practiced form of it. The webmaster removed the news article from the site. Tolkki also phoned Anders Johansson, speaking nonsense about 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 he was 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 has reunited with the old lineup. Tolkki seemed to have recovered from his illness.
In June 2005 Timo Tolkki announced that the band's bassist, Jari Kainulainen, had left the band due to personal reasons. He was since replaced by Lauri Porra.