Stratovarius
Studio album by
Stratovarius
Released5 September 2005 (2005-09-05)
RecordedApril 2004 – March 2005
StudioSoundtrack Studios and Sonic Pump Studios, Helsinki; Goldenworks; Timo Tolkki's home studio; New York City
Genre
Length49:17
LabelSanctuary
ProducerTimo Tolkki
Stratovarius chronology
Elements Pt. 2
(2003)		 Stratovarius
(2005)		 Polaris
(2009)
Singles from Stratovarius
  1. "Maniac Dance"
    Released: 14 August 2005
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Stratovarius is the eleventh studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 5 September 2005 through Sanctuary Records.[2] The album reached No. 4 on the Finnish albums chart as well as the top 100 in six other countries.[2] "Maniac Dance" was released as a single, reaching No. 4 on the Finnish singles chart and the top 100 in three other countries.[3]

It is the last album to feature the band's longest-standing line-up which had been consistent since Episode (1996), as bassist Jari Kainulainen would leave Stratovarius later in the year, followed by guitarist and bandleader Timo Tolkki in 2008.

Overview

The release of Stratovarius came after a highly troubled period for the band in 2004, during which they temporarily split up following a nervous breakdown suffered by Tolkki. After a year-long hiatus, they reunited in 2005 and toured worldwide in support of the album, playing for the first time in the United States and Canada.

Stylistically the album displays a dramatically noticeable shift from the symphonic power metal sound of previous albums: the songs are more hard-edged and slower, with Tolkki's signature neo-classical shred soloing almost completely absent. Keyboardist Jens Johansson's role is particularly restricted, as well as Jörg Michael's drumming, which features hardly any of his signature double bass playing. Singer Timo Kotipelto also attempts a different vocal approach, mostly avoiding his usual high vocal range. Tolkki has since stated in interviews that he was unsatisfied with the end result of the album due to it being too far removed from the band's true style.[4]

Track listing

All music is composed by Timo Tolkki

No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Maniac Dance"Tolkki4:35
2."Fight!!!"Tolkki4:03
3."Just Carry On"Timo Kotipelto5:28
4."Back to Madness"Tolkki7:42
5."Gypsy in Me"Kotipelto4:27
6."Götterdämmerung (Zenith of Power)"Tolkki7:12
7."The Land of Ice and Snow"Tolkki3:04
8."Leave the Tribe"Tolkki, Jens Johansson5:42
9."United"Tolkki7:04
Total length:49:17

Personnel

Stratovarius

Additional credits

  • Max Lilja – cello (track 4)
  • Petri Bäckström – tenor vocals (track 4)
  • Marko Vaara – backing vocals
  • Kimmo Blom – backing vocals
  • Pasi Rantanen – backing vocals
  • Anssi Stenberg – backing vocals
  • "Starbuck" – spoken vocals (track 4)
  • Mikko Oinonen – engineering (drums)
  • Svante Forsbäck – mastering

Chart performance

Album

YearChartPosition
2005 Finnish albums chart 4[2]
Swedish albums chart 37[2]
Italian albums chart 52[5]
German albums chart 58[2]
French albums chart 88[2]
Swiss albums chart 92[2]
Spanish albums chart 93[2]

Singles

YearTitleChartPosition
2005 "Maniac Dance" Finnish singles chart 4[3]
Spanish singles chart 17[3]
Swiss singles chart 82[3]
German singles chart 93[3]

References

  1. ↑ Prato, Greg. "Stratovarius - Stratovarius". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Stratovarius - Stratovarius (album)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Stratovarius - Maniac Dance (song)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  4. ↑ Priest, David (2007). "The Legacy Of Stratovarius!" at the Wayback Machine (archived April 18, 2007). On Track Magazine. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-04-18. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  5. ↑ "Classifica settimanale dal 09/09/2005 al 15/09/2005 (Negozi specializzati)" at the Wayback Machine (archived August 6, 2012). FIMI. 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-08-06. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
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