Polaris (Stratovarius album)

Last updated
Polaris
Stratovarius-Polaris cover.jpg
Studio album by
Released15 May 2009 (2009-05-15) [1]
RecordedSeptember–December 2008 at Finnvox Studios, Hästfittan Studios and 5 by 5 Audio in Pitäjänmäki; Musicworks; Timo Kotipelto's home; Der Bunker
Genre
Length54:55 [2]
Label Edel
Producer Stratovarius
Stratovarius chronology
Stratovarius
(2005)
Polaris
(2009)
Elysium
(2011)
Alternative cover
Stratovarius - 2009 - Polaris (vinyl).jpg
Vinyl edition
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Deep Unknown" Timo Kotipelto Matias Kupiainen 4:28
2."Falling Star" Lauri Porra Porra4:33
3."King of Nothing" Jens Johansson Johansson6:43
4."Blind"JohanssonJohansson5:28
5."Winter Skies"JohanssonJohansson5:50
6."Forever Is Today"PorraPorra4:40
7."Higher We Go"KotipeltoKotipelto, Kupiainen3:47
8."Somehow Precious"KotipeltoKotipelto, Kupiainen5:37
9."Emancipation Suite Part I: Dusk"PorraPorra6:57
10."Emancipation Suite Part II: Dawn"PorraPorra3:40
11."When Mountains Fall"PorraPorra3:12
Total length:54:55
Digipak edition bonus track
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
12."Deep Unknown (Mikko Raita Vinyl Mix)"KotipeltoKupiainen4:46
Japanese edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Deep Unknown"Kotipelto, Kupiainen4:28
2."Falling Star"Porra4:33
3."King of Nothing"Johansson6:43
4."Second Sight"Kotipelto, Kupiainen4:25
5."Blind"Johansson5:28
6."Winter Skies"Johansson5:50
7."Forever Is Today"Porra4:40
8."Higher We Go"Kotipelto, Kupiainen3:47
9."Somehow Precious"Kotipelto, Kupiainen5:37
10."Emancipation Suite Part I: Dusk"Porra6:57
11."Emancipation Suite Part II: Dawn"Porra3:40
12."When Mountains Fall"Porra3:12
7" vinyl collector's edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Second Sight (Mikko Karmilla Polycarbonate Mix)"Kotipelto, Kupiainen 
2."King Of Nothing (Matias Kupiainen Death Star Mix)"Johansson 
Digipak edition reissue live bonus disc
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Destiny" Timo Tolkki Tolkki10:12
2."Hunting High and Low"KotipeltoTolkki5:07
3."Speed of Light"KotipeltoTolkki3:14
4."The Kiss of Judas"KotipeltoTolkki6:54
5."Deep Unknown"KotipeltoKupiainen5:08
6."A Million Light Years Away"TolkkiTolkki5:33
7."Bach: Air Suite"(instrumental) Johann Sebastian Bach 2:17
8."Winter Skies"JohanssonJohansson5:19
9."Phoenix"TolkkiTolkki6:08
10."SOS"Tolkki, KotipeltoTolkki3:55
11."Forever is Today"PorraPorra5:15
12."King of Nothing"JohanssonJohansson6:39
13."Father Time"Kotipelto, Richard JohnsonTolkki5:19
14."Higher We Go"KotipeltoKotipelto, Kupiainen4:07
Total length:75:07

Personnel

Stratovarius

Additional credits

Release history

Following Polaris' original release, a Digipak edition was reissued on 21 May 2010, containing a bonus disc of live recordings from the 2009–10 Polaris world tour. [11]

RegionDateLabel
Europe15 May 2009 Edel [1]
Japan Victor [12]
United States Armoury [11]
Europe (reissue)21 May 2010Edel [11]

Chart performance

Album

YearChartPosition
2009 Finnish albums chart 2 [1]
Italian albums chart 47 [8]
German albums chart 55 [10]
Swiss albums chart 57 [1]
Billboard Heatseekers 57 [10]
French albums chart 62 [1]

Singles

YearTitleChartPosition
2009"Deep Unknown" Finnish singles chart 20 [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stratovarius</span> Finnish power metal band

Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band. Formed in 1984, they have released sixteen studio albums, five DVDs and six live albums. The band's line-up has changed many times, and after guitarist Timo Tolkki's departure in 2008, no founding members remain. Currently, the longest standing member is singer Timo Kotipelto, who joined in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timo Kotipelto</span> Finnish musician

Timo Antero Kotipelto is a Finnish musician best known as the lead singer of the power metal band Stratovarius, whom he joined in 1994, as well as fronting his own band Kotipelto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timo Tolkki</span> Finnish musician (born 1966)

Timo Tapio Tolkki is a Finnish musician best known as the former guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer of the power metal band Stratovarius. With his tenure lasting for more than twenty years, he was the longest standing member of the band before his departure in 2008. After leaving Stratovarius he formed two supergroups named Revolution Renaissance and Symfonia, both of which have since disbanded. In a 2011 article by Guitar World magazine, Tolkki was included in the all-time top 50 list of the world's fastest guitarists.

<i>Dreamspace</i> 1994 studio album by Stratovarius

Dreamspace is the third studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 9 February 1994 through Noise Records. It is the last Stratovarius album to feature guitarist Timo Tolkki on vocals, as well as the first to feature bassist Jari Kainulainen.

<i>Episode</i> (Stratovarius album) 1996 studio album by Stratovarius

Episode is the fifth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 22 April 1996 through Noise Records. It is the first Stratovarius album to feature keyboardist Jens Johansson and drummer Jörg Michael, both of whom would form part of the band's most stable line-up for a decade. The album reached No. 21 on the Finnish albums chart and remained on that chart for six weeks.

<i>Visions</i> (Stratovarius album) 1997 studio album by Stratovarius

Visions is the sixth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 28 April 1997 through Noise Records. The album reached No. 4 on the Finnish albums chart and remained on that chart for 23 weeks. It is a concept album about Nostradamus.

<i>Destiny</i> (Stratovarius album) 1998 studio album by Stratovarius

Destiny is the seventh studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 5 October 1998 through Noise Records. It reached No. 1 on the Finnish albums chart and remained on that chart for 17 weeks. "SOS" was released as a single, reaching No. 2 on the Finnish singles chart and remaining on that chart for eleven weeks.

<i>Infinite</i> (Stratovarius album) 2000 studio album by Stratovarius

Infinite is the eighth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 28 February 2000 through Nuclear Blast (Europe) and Victor Entertainment (Japan). The album reached No. 1 on the Finnish albums chart and remained on that chart for nine weeks, as well as reaching the top 100 in six other countries. "Hunting High and Low" and "A Million Light Years Away" were released as singles, reaching No. 4 and 14 respectively on the Finnish singles chart. Infinite was certified Platinum in June 2013, with 21,907 copies sold.

<i>Intermission</i> (Stratovarius album) 2001 compilation album by Stratovarius

Intermission is a compilation album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 26 June 2001 through Nuclear Blast. The album consists of covers, live and bonus tracks, as well as four new tracks. It charted in the top 100 in four countries.

<i>Elements Pt. 1</i> 2003 studio album by Stratovarius

Elements Pt. 1 is the ninth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 27 January 2003 through Nuclear Blast. The album reached No. 2 on the Finnish albums chart, as well as reaching the top 100 in four other countries. "Eagleheart" was released as a single, also reaching No. 2 on the Finnish singles chart.

<i>Elements Pt. 2</i> 2003 studio album by Stratovarius

Elements Pt. 2 is the tenth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 4 November 2003 through Nuclear Blast. The album reached No. 4 on the Finnish albums chart and its single, "I Walk to My Own Song", reached No. 9 on the Finnish singles chart.

<i>Stratovarius</i> (album) 2005 studio album by Stratovarius

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

<i>Fourth Dimension</i> (Stratovarius album) 1995 studio album by Stratovarius

Fourth Dimension is the fourth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 11 April 1995 through Noise Records. The album is the band's first to feature vocalist Timo Kotipelto as well as the last with keyboardist Antti Ikonen and drummer Tuomo Lassila, thus being the last Stratovarius album to date featuring an all-Finnish line-up.

<i>Elysium</i> (Stratovarius album) 2011 studio album by Stratovarius

Elysium is the thirteenth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 12 January 2011 through Victor Entertainment (Japan) and on 14 January through Edel AG (worldwide). It is the last Stratovarius album to feature longtime drummer Jörg Michael, who left the band in 2012. Elysium reached No. 1 on the Finnish albums chart, as well as reaching the top 80 in five other countries. "Darkest Hours" was released as a single, reaching No. 4 on the Finnish singles chart.

<i>Blackoustic</i> 2012 studio album by Kotipelto & Liimatainen

Blackoustic is a collaborative acoustic album by Stratovarius and Cain's Offering vocalist Timo Kotipelto and ex-Sonata Arctica and Cain's Offering guitarist Jani Liimatainen. The album was released on October 19, 2012, and entered the Finnish charts at #13 the first week. The album is self-financed. While initially only sold during performances, the album was eventually released through the Earmusic label, which had released the prior Stratovarius albums since Polaris.

<i>Nemesis</i> (Stratovarius album) 2013 studio album by Stratovarius

Nemesis is the fourteenth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 22 February 2013 through Edel AG. It is the first Stratovarius album to feature new drummer Rolf Pilve, who replaced Jörg Michael in 2012. The album was first announced on the band's official website on 24 November 2012, with the track listing being revealed on 5 December 2012. Nemesis reached No. 3 on the Finnish albums chart. A preview of "Unbreakable", the album's first single, was made available on YouTube and was released on 25 January 2013.

<i>Eternal</i> (Stratovarius album) 2015 studio album by Stratovarius

Eternal is the fifteenth album by Finnish power metal band Stratovarius, released on 11 September 2015 (Europe) and 18 September. Eternal reached No. 5 on the Finnish albums chart. Singer Timo Kotipelto composed three tracks and wrote most lyrics together with his Cain's Offering partner and former Sonata Arctica member Jani Liimatainen.

<i>Enigma: Intermission 2</i> 2018 compilation album by Stratovarius

Enigma: Intermission 2 is a compilation album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 28 September 2018 worldwide. The album has a collection of rare Stratovarius tracks spanning four of their studio albums: Polaris, Elysium, Nemesis and Eternal. It also includes three new tracks: "Enigma", "Burn Me Down" and "Oblivion", along with four orchestral versions of previous Stratovarius songs. The album is a follow-up to 2001's Intermission.

<i>Best Of</i> (Stratovarius album) 2016 compilation album by Stratovarius

Best Of is a compilation album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 6 May 2016. It has 28 different songs spanning the band's entire career, hand-picked and remastered by the band. It also includes one new track, Until the end of Days. The album is split into two CDs, the limited edition also containing a third CD with songs from the Wacken 2015 live performance.

<i>Survive</i> (Stratovarius album) 2022 studio album by Stratovarius

Survive is the sixteenth studio album by Finnish power metal band Stratovarius, released on 23 September 2022. It is the first studio album of the band in seven years.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Stratovarius - Polaris (album)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  2. Polaris (CD release "0196732ERE").
  3. "Stratovarius: 'Deep Unknown' Video Available". Blabbermouth. 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  4. Prato, Greg. "Polaris - Stratovarius". AllMusic . Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  5. Timo Kotipelto photocard released with Digipak edition CD of Stratovarius' Elysium.
  6. "TIMO TOLKKI: 'STRATOVARIUS Is No More'". Blabbermouth. 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  7. "Stratovarius - Last Night on Earth (WOA 2007)". YouTube post of a 2007 Wacken Open Air (WOA) concert. 2007-08-04. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  8. 1 2 "Classifica settimanale dal 15/05/2009 al 21/05/2009 (Negozi specializzati)" at the Wayback Machine (archived April 4, 2012). (in Italian). FIMI. 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  9. 1 2 "Stratovarius - Deep Unknown (song)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  10. 1 2 3 "Stratovarius: 'Polaris' First-Week Sales Revealed". Blabbermouth. 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  11. 1 2 3 "Stratovarius: 'Polaris' To Be Reissued With Live CD". Blabbermouth. 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  12. "Stratovarius: 'Polaris' Artwork Unveiled". Blabbermouth. 2009-03-13. Retrieved 2014-01-09.