During a recent interview with BW&BK; scribe Carl Begai about the KOTIPELTO & LIIMATAINEN debut, Blackoustic, STRATOVARIUS frontman Timo Kotipelto commented on replacing drummer Jörg Michael, who opted to leave the band on friendly terms after 16 years behind the kit. Finnish drummer Rolf Pilve, age 24, was tapped as his replacement:

"It’s actually been amazingly easy," Kotipelto says of the transition. "Jörg was a character, a great drummer, and he’s still one of my best friends. Rolf’s style is different from Jörg’s but it’s been really easy getting used to having him in the band because we’ve done some festival shows with him. He’s a very easygoing guy but his playing is very technical. He’s an amazing drummer. I’ve played with a lot of different drummers but I can honestly say that this guy is one of the best. Very fast but very groove-oriented. He’s as good as Jörg was at the peak of his career."

One of Michael's last gigs with the band was released on CD/DVD and Blu Ray back in June. Entitled Under Flaming Skies - Live In Tampere, it features hits and classics like 'Under Flaming Skies', 'Speed Of Light' and 'Hunting High And Low' as well as exclusive bonus material (30 min documentary about the band's history, exclusive interviews with each member as well as a special comment from Jörg Michael about the reasons to leave the band) makes it a must-have for every fan and a real collector's item not to miss.

Tracklist CD:

CD1

'Under Flaming Skies'

'I Walk To My Own Song'

'Speed Of Light'

'Kiss Of Judas'

'Deep Unknown'

'Guitar Solo'

'Eagleheart'

'Paradise'

'Visions'

Bass Solo

'Coming Home'

CD2

'Legions Of The Twilight'

'Darkest Hours'

'Burn'

'Behind Blue Eyes'

'Winter Skies'

Keyboard Solo

'Black Diamond'

'Father Time'

'Hunting High And Low'

Tracklist DVD / Blu-ray:

'Intro'

'Under Flaming Skies'

'I Walk To My Own Song'

'Speed Of Light'

'Kiss Of Judas'

'Deep Unknown'

Guitar Solo

'Eagleheart'

'Paradise'

'Visions'

Bass Solo

'Coming Home'

'Legions Of The Twillight'

'Darkest Hours'

Encore I

Jörg Speech

'Burn'

'Behind Blue Eyes'

'Winter Skies'

Keyboard Solo

'Black Diamond'

Encore II

'Father Time'

'Hunting High And Low'

Bonus:

Documentary: Rewinding from the past to 2012

5.1 mix of Elysium (taken from the album Elysium) - only on Blu-Ray

Each of the formats (2CD / DVD / Blu-Ray) includes a different booklet - the same cover and interview with Jörg but different rare pictures.

A clip for 'Black Diamond' can now be seen below:

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