Stratovarius are back, bigger and better than ever with the follow up to last year's highly acclaimed "Episode". Matthew Honey talks to the man with the Vision, Timo Tolkki.

"Visions" is very similar in style to "Episode", was that intentional or was it because you recorded the album for the first time with the same band members as the previous album?

The line up is the same, that is the main point but we never think about it when we record or compose songs. It comes out naturally. I am well aware of our style and I am not going to change it because it is important to me to play this melodic metal music. I don't even pay attention to what else is going on, trends, I don't care. I do this for love, not for money.

Do you think this release will be even more successful than "Episode"?

I think so. Each year we gain more and more fans. It has helped to tour a lot and the future is looking very good for us. We have played for so many years and after 6 albums it is time to get something back (chuckles).

How happy are you with the album? Is there anything that you think is very good or not so good?

I am completely satisfied. I am a perfectionist so before I let the album go to the record company I have to like everything about it, the songs, the beat, the mix, the cover. After that I help with the promotion and interviews but it is up to record company to sell it. When it is finished I can say I did my best.

You spoke to us a few months ago and said that the "Forth Dimension" album was hard work to record. What was this one like to do?

"Visions" was so easy to make it was a pleasure. When we recorded "Episode" it was a new line up but after that we played a few shows and the band got tighter musically and also closer as people. When we went into the studio to record this one it went so smoothly. Is it my imagination or is the band playing even faster? (Laughing) Playing fast is not an aim but on the instrumental "Holy Life" it was meant to be very fast.

Do you have to practice much before you play live?

I probably should but I don't. I just go on and play which is not good for my fingers. Our vocalist Timo is very serious, he warms up and down afterwards.

You have a few ballads on the album. How do you like them compared to the faster tracks?

Yes I like them, there are two on my album but I wouldn't like to do five or six.

There is a live track on the Japanese version. Is there any more of that material lying around?

Yes there is some but when we go on tour this year we are going to record some of the live shows and maybe release a live album. We have done six studio albums so it is a logical time to release one at this point.

You toured with Rage and Gamma Ray for the "Episode" album. Did you jam with them?

Yes we used to play at the sound checks together and at a couple of shows. It is nice to have that sort of friendship. It was a good tour, we got to play in Germany, Spain and Italy. Places were metal is doing very well.

Who was involved in the writing this time?

I wrote all the songs and Timo wrote half the lyrics. I think that is fair because he has to sing them. To be convincing you have to able to stand behind the lyrics. I only write lyrics when I have something personal to say. The song "Visions" is about prophecy and the bible, the book of Revelations, and what will happen to mankind very soon. There is a lot of hatred in the world and we are getting greedy, consuming more and more each day. The planet cannot take it much longer and might just get its own back.

Are you a religious person? Does that come into your music?

I am more interested in music as a subject. It affects people from the very beginning. You are told what to believe in at home and school. It is a bit like brainwashing and is such a powerful thing. I don't believe in God as we know it. It is too hard to believe in. Why would God let children die? Some of the other songs have a religious theme. "Kiss Of Judas" for example is about betrayal. I read the bible but I am not religious.

So you don't want a big headline proclaiming Stratovarius to be a Christian metal band?

(Laughing) No no, not like Stryper, No thanks.

What are your touring plans? I guess you won't be coming over here?

I don't think it is very economical. I have never been to Britain so I would like to come but it is a question of money. If we could get costs then I think we would come. We start our European tour on the 28th of August in Hamburg, Germany and it will last 6 weeks. Before that we go to South America, Brazil and Argentina. That should be interesting.

Where do you get the most support?

Sales wise it is Japan but playing live they are best in Greece and Spain. They are really into us and we can get 2,000 at a show.

Is there any way you want to tinker with the Stratovarius sound?

I have a very strict way of recording. I have been recording bands for 8 years now so I have a sound that I go for and I am very aware of the technology that we use in the recording studio. Studios are very sterile places so I concentrate on getting the best performance out of an individual musician and getting it down on tape. You have to be creative to get good results. Sometimes you have to bring candles to the studio and dim the lights especially when you are doing the vocals.

There is a lot of harpsichord on the album. Whose idea was that?

I wrote the riff to "Black Diamond" on the keyboards so I came up with the sound. I like classical music such as Bach and that gave me the idea. When Jens and I play uni-solos, guitar and keyboards playing the same music very fast this harpsichord sound cuts through very easily.

Jens lives in the US and Jörg in Germany. How often do you get together as a band?

We get together 3 weeks before recording and then spend 3 months in the recording studio and also two months on tour so we get to see them quite a lot. We talk over the phone and send E-mails but perhaps it is better that way as we don't get bored. It is a very interesting mix of nationalities.

Are those three weeks before you go into the recording studio spent writing?

It is more like practising, getting things together so that when we go into the studio we are very ready. When we do go in we just record, we change nothing. When I start composing I make the first demo tape myself with a drum machine. I play the bass, guitars and keyboards all myself and then give the tape to the guys to listen to and learn their lines and the basic structure of the song. Then when we get together we start rehearsing and rearranging the songs. At this point everyone can have their input into the music and they can play pretty much what they want to play.

The track "Visions" is over 10 minutes long. Do you think you are going to better that on the next one?

Yes it is very long. I think the next album is going to be a concept album. I am searching for a theme that is good and interesting. I would like to do something very big sounding, maybe with an orchestra and choir. I am really into that type of sound. When I find a good theme I will start composing for it but I can picture it already.

If you made a solo album would it sound like Stratovarius? Hard question. I don't know, for me to make an album seems to be a natural process. I like to compose songs and I am going through a very creative part of my life. Since I own my own recording equipment at home I am constantly recording material and riffs. I have a lot of tape.

There has been a craze for unplugged albums of late. Are Stratovarius going to have a go?

I don't think so. We played a few acoustic numbers on our last promotional tour of Japan. Interesting but I don't see anything there for us. We have a lot of fast songs and it is pretty hard to play them on acoustic guitar ... pretty funny actually.

NOT THE LAST WORD... by Timo Tolkki / Stratovarius

*How do you feel about living in Finland?

Timo:

I like to live in Finland, actually I'm living on the countryside 25 km from the city of Helsinki. I like the peacefulness and the absense of nature and fresh air. I also like modern cities like NYC, Berlin and Tokyo, but I could never live there.

*What are you doing besides playing music?

Timo:

Besides playing music I play music. But seriously, the band is taking all my time because I also handle the managers job in this band. But here is a time schedule for my year: 4 months in the studio, 1 month on a promotion tour, 1,5 months on tour, 2 months writing new songs and demoing them, 1 month rehearsing and arranging new songs with the band. The rest is for organizing and of course time for myself and the people close to me. Music is my whole life. It is my tool in expressing myself.

*Why is "time" the theme of your album?

Timo:

Time is everlasting. It goes on and on. People were born, people die, but time just moves on and never look back.

*Why did you choose to play music?

Timo:

I really don't know. My father and mother are both so unmusical than a human being could ever be. I started playing classical guitar when I was 7.

*What is the most important thing in you life besides music?

Timo:

My Family.

*Which virtue do you appreciate most on a woman?

Timo:

Intelligence, definetely.

*Which virtue do you appreciate most on a man?

Timo:

Honesty.

*Which goal did you set yourself for life?

Timo:

I set myself the goal to be happy and do things that make me and the people around me happy.

*If you could be an animal, which animal would you like to be?

Timo:

A mouse.

*Would you say that the relationship between you and your guitar is kind of erotic?

Timo:

I don't know, it depends on how it's being looked and who is looking. More than being erotic I'd say my guitar playing can be described as emotional. Sometimes it is very aggressive but sometimes very very sad and beautiful. When I was developing my technique when I was from 12 to 18 years old I played 6-10 hours per day, I even slept with my guitar at that time!!!

*How do you see the situation about the opportunities of new technologies and the actual radical change through "internet"? Do you feel it as a threat or as a considerable step forward?

Timo:

I am very much a fan of all new technologies, but there has to be a limit to that otherwise the human race will be destroyed. I feel that internet has only scratched the surface of what it can really achieve.

*Who was your idol?

Timo:

Musically Ritchie Blackmore.

*What do you think have humans still to learn?

Timo:

Humans have learned nothing yet. We have destroyed more in 100 years than in the whole history of mankind!!! We need to learn to love and live in peace and respect the nature and listen to that small inner voice which tells us if we are wrong or right.

*What do you think humans should have refrain from inventing?

Timo:

Instead of inventing "cool" weapons such as neutron bomb which kills the people but saves the buildings we should concentrate to solve the real problems of the world such as pollution, greed and the growth of the military industry.

*Do you like animals?

Timo:

I love animals. They genuinely show their deepest emotions and feelings and do not know how to lie and be mean intentionally. We have two dogs, two parrots, some mice and a horse.

*Which film do you like most?

Timo:

Oliver Stones "JFK".

THE END