Visions (Stratovarius album)

Visions
Studio album by Stratovarius
Released	28 April 1997 (1997-04-28) [1]
Recorded	October 1996 – February 1997
Studio	Finnvox Studios, Helsinki
Genre	Power metal neoclassical metal
Length	61:01 [2]
Label	Noise
Producer	Timo Tolkki
Stratovarius chronology
Episode (1996) Visions (1997) Destiny (1998)
Singles from Visions
"The Kiss of Judas" Released: 1997 [3] "Black Diamond" Released: 1997 [4]

Visions is the sixth studio album by Finnish 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. ^[1] It is a concept album about Nostradamus. ^[5]

The album is viewed as a turning point for the Finnish power metal scene and a reference point for many emerging bands of the time.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Rock Hard	9.5/10 [6]
Metalcrypt.com	[7]

Steve Huey at AllMusic gave Visions four stars out of five, calling it "as ambitious as neoclassical metal gets" and saying "there are some fine moments on the record", but also remarking that "too much of the material sinks under its own weight, particularly the ten-minute title track." ^[5]

In 2005, the album was ranked No. 297 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. ^[8]

In 2016 Metal Hammer named the album in their list of "The 10 essential power metal albums." ^[9] Stating “Visions is simply a classic power metal record: preposterous, slick, immaculate and bursting with killer tunes." ^[9]

In 2017 Loudwire named the album at sixth in their list "Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time." ^[10]

Track listing

All music is composed by Timo Tolkki, except where noted.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"The Kiss of Judas"	Timo Kotipelto	5:49
2.	"Black Diamond"	Kotipelto	5:39
3.	"Forever Free"	Kotipelto	6:00
4.	"Before the Winter"	Tolkki	6:07
5.	"Legions"	Tolkki	5:43
6.	"The Abyss of Your Eyes"	Kotipelto	5:38
7.	"Holy Light"	(instrumental)	5:45
8.	"Paradise"	Tolkki	4:27
9.	"Coming Home"	Tolkki	5:36
10.	"Visions (Southern Cross)"	Tolkki	10:17
Total length:			61:01

Japanese edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
11.	"Black Diamond" (demo)	Kotipelto	5:07
12.	"Uncertainty" (live; music by Kotipelto)	Kotipelto	6:13

Japanese 2002 reissue bonus track ^{[11] [12]}

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
13.	"4th Reich" (live)	Tolkki	5:44

Personnel

• Timo Kotipelto – lead vocals
• Timo Tolkki – guitar, background vocals, mastering, production
• Jens Johansson – keyboards, harpsichord
• Jörg Michael – drums
• Jari Kainulainen – bass guitar
• Kimmo Blom – background vocals
• Marko Vaara – background vocals
• Richard Johnson – background vocals, lyrical consultation
• James M. Johnson – spoken vocals
• Mikko Karmila – engineering, mixing
• Pauli Saastamoinen – mastering

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [13]	4
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [14]	18

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)	Gold	20,000 [15]

References

1. "Stratovarius - Visions (album)". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
2. Visions (CD release "TT 0031-2").
3. "Stratovarius - The Kiss Of Judas (song)". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
4. "Stratovarius - Black Diamond (song)". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
5. Huey, Steve. "Visions - Stratovarius | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 7 July 2019.
6. Albrecht, Frank. "Stratovarius - Visions". Rock Hard (in German). Retrieved 7 July 2019.
7. https://www.metalcrypt.com/pages/review.php?revid=4445
8. Best of Rock & Metal - Die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten (in German). Rock Hard. 2005. p. 94. ISBN   3-89880-517-4.
9. Lawson, Dom (19 October 2016). "The 10 essential power metal albums". Metal Hammer . Retrieved 17 August 2019.
10. DiVita, Joe (5 July 2017). "Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time". Loudwire . Retrieved 7 July 2019.
11. "Stratovarius/ヴィジョンズ +1＜初回生産限定盤＞". Tower Records Online. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
12. "Stratovarius - Visions". Discogs . Retrieved 17 August 2019.
13. "Stratovarius: Visions" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
14. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
15. "StratoStoria". web.tiscali.it. Retrieved 6 October 2025.