Visions (Stratovarius album)

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.^[1] It is a concept album about Nostradamus.^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[5]
Rock Hard	9.5/10^[6]

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 of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.^[7]

Track listing

All music 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

Personnel

Timo Kotipelto – lead vocals
Timo Tolkki – guitar, background vocals, mastering, production
Jens Johansson – keyboard, harpsichord
Jörg Michael – drums
Jari Kainulainen – bass
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

Chart performance

Year	Chart	Position
1997	Finnish albums chart	4^[1]

References

1 2 3 "Stratovarius - Visions (album)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
↑ Visions (CD release "TT 0031-2").
↑ "Stratovarius - The Kiss Of Judas (song)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
↑ "Stratovarius - Black Diamond (song)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
1 2 3 Huey, Steve. "Visions - Stratovarius". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
↑ Albrecht, Frank. "Stratovarius Visions". (in German). Rock Hard. 120. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
↑ [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 94. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.

Stratovarius

Timo Kotipelto Jens Johansson Lauri Porra Matias Kupiainen Rolf Pilve Timo Tolkki Tuomo Lassila Jörg Michael Jari Kainulainen Antti Ikonen Jyrki Lentonen Staffan Stråhlman John Vihervä Jari Behm

Studio albums	Fright Night Twilight Time Dreamspace Fourth Dimension Episode Visions Destiny Infinite Elements Pt. 1 Elements Pt. 2 Stratovarius Polaris Elysium Nemesis Eternal

Live albums	Live! Visions of Europe

Compilations	The Past and Now The Chosen Ones Intermission Black Diamond: The Anthology

DVDs	Infinite Visions

Singles	"Future Shock" "Black Night" "Break the Ice" "Wings of Tomorrow" "Against the Wind" "Speed of Light" "Father Time" "Will the Sun Rise?" "Black Diamond" "The Kiss of Judas" "SOS" "Hunting High and Low" "It's a Mystery" "A Million Light Years Away" "Will My Soul Ever Rest In Peace?" "Eagleheart" "I Walk to My Own Song" "Maniac Dance" "Deep Unknown" "Darkest Hours" "Under Flaming Skies" "Unbreakable" "Halcyon Days" "If the Story Is Over" "Shine In the Dark" "My Eternal Dream" "Lost Without a Trace" "Until the End of Days"

Tours	Stratovarius World Tour 2005–06

Related pages	Discography Kotipelto Cain's Offering Revolution Renaissance Symfonia Blackoustic Avalon

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