Stratovarius (album)

Stratovarius
Studio album by Stratovarius
Released 5 September 2005 (2005-09-05)[1]
Recorded April 2004 – March 2005 at Soundtrack Studios and Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki; Goldenworks; Timo Tolkki's home studio; New York City
Genre Heavy metal, progressive metal
Length 49:17[2]
Label Sanctuary
Producer Timo Tolkki
Stratovarius chronology
Elements Pt. 2
(2003)		 Stratovarius
(2005)		 Polaris
(2009)
Singles from Stratovarius
  1. "Maniac Dance"
    Released: 14 August 2005[3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]

Stratovarius is the self-titled eleventh studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 5 September 2005 through Sanctuary Records.[1] The album reached No. 4 on the Finnish albums chart as well as the top 100 in six other countries.[1] "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 embarked upon a worldwide tour for 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.[5]

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Maniac Dance"  Timo TolkkiTolkki4:35
2."Fight!!!"  TolkkiTolkki4:03
3."Just Carry On"  Timo KotipeltoTolkki5:28
4."Back to Madness"  TolkkiTolkki7:42
5."Gypsy in Me"  KotipeltoTolkki4:27
6."Götterdämmerung (Zenith of Power)"  TolkkiTolkki7:12
7."The Land of Ice and Snow"  TolkkiTolkki3:04
8."Leave the Tribe"  Tolkki, Jens JohanssonTolkki5:42
9."United"  TolkkiTolkki7:04
Total length:49:17

Personnel

Stratovarius

Additional credits

Chart performance

Album

Year Chart Position
2005 Finnish albums chart 4[1]
Swedish albums chart 37[1]
Italian albums chart 52[6]
German albums chart 58[1]
French albums chart 88[1]
Swiss albums chart 92[1]
Spanish albums chart 93[1]

Singles

Year Title Chart Position
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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Stratovarius - Stratovarius (album)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  2. ↑ Stratovarius (CD release "MYNSP040").
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Stratovarius - Maniac Dance (song)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  4. ↑ Prato, Greg. "Stratovarius - Stratovarius". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ "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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