Former STRATOVARIUS, and current REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE guitarist, Timo Tolkki has responded to Stratovarius' press release that was issued earlier today here:

"I, like everybody, read today that Kotipelto, Michael and Johansson are continuing their new band as Stratovarius. I have really nothing else to say except to comment the quote of Jens Johansson 'After Tolkki gave his blessing for us to go on without him.'

I have never gave them any 'blessing' to continue as Stratovarius. As I have said many times, I think it is wrong and I would never have continued Stratovarius without Timo Kotipelto, Jörg Michael or Jens Johansson. What Johansson calls a "blessing" was that I gave them the rights to the name I owned and the rights to something like 14 Stratovarius albums. But not as a gift, but as to cut all the ties to them because I was told then that they will continue as Stratovarius which I though was totally wrong towards the fans and of course to me.

They write that they continue the Legacy of Stratovarius, but it cannot be continued. Even I cannot really continue it because it existed only when we were together. It's a shame to see that they cannot start from the clean table like me, but are just using the name. Without that name, they know that they would have it much harder. They took a long time in deciding if they will use the name or not and some of them were totally against using that name. Now that has apparently changed. It is timed very well also to the release of the website of my new band Revolution Renaissance.

It is a sad day for me, because I believe that Stratovarius as a band died to the publicity stunt the whole band, management and record company organized in 2004 when nothing that was happening was true. After that nothing was the same and the truth could not be told before I told it some days ago in an interview with Ontrackmagazine.com.

Finally to sum it up: I do not think that the band that now calls itself 'Stratovarius' is the band that its fans came to know as 'Stratovarius'. I think it is a sad way to make a financial use of the name and shows lack of courage to stand on their own feet and music and instead going on as a new band with a new name that I believe would have been the right way.

Stratovarius is dead, Long live Stratovarius!"