In a new interview with RockOverdose, Stratovarius singer Timo Kotipelto discusses his performance on the band’s new album, Eternal.

Q: Where do you think that you stand vocal-wise? Would you say that you are in good shape? Are you satisfied with the result of vocals in this album?

A: “I am very satisfied with my performance. But of course I also think that the vocals are not loud enough. I think Matias should have put them a little louder… but that’s just my opinion. I want to talk about my opinion. But it’s all a matter of change. I think my vocal condition is actually better than in many years… I basically lost my voice completely, I am talking about very very much, in 2010, in the tour with Helloween. I know I got this bacteria from food or whatever, and it really ruined my life for two years. And it took two years to get my voice back! But now it’s easier to sing. Probably more easy to sing compared to when I was 25, so… It’s easier. But of course it’s also… everything is like changing when you are growing older… for some people it’s more difficult to maintain high vocals… but for this album I think there are some high pitched vocals there, but there are also very low vocals, so it’s got a variety. It’s not my purpose to sing as high as possible and sometimes I didn’t even like it… Like when Tolkki composed songs like “Find Your Own Voice”… what the fuck? Why should I sing like Bjork sounds, you know? It doesn’t make any sense! But at that time it was probably… Maybe he wanted to punish me, I don’t know! [laughter] But I mean, I’ve done that, I can sing very high and people who know Stratovarius, they know I know how to sing high. But I think my voice is even better when I leave it like high chest register instead of very high head register. But it’s just a matter of opinion, you know.”

Listen to the audio interview at RockOverdose.

Stratovarius members Timo Kotipelto and Jens Johansson performed three acoustic songs on Spain’s Rock Palace TV Show, including "Shine In The Dark" from their brand new album, Eternal. Watch below:

Coinciding with the release of the band’s new studio album Eternal, Stratovarius recently premiere the official music video for their single “My Eternal Dream”. Directed by Mariano Biasin, the video clip deals with one of the world’s recent burning issues realized in stunning cinematic visuals, as well as a powerful performance from the band filmed in Argentina and Finland.

Stratovarius released their new album, Eternal, on September 11th (Europe), and September 18th in North America via earMUSIC. The symphonic metal masters offer a guided and intimate tour of the album via this behind-the-scenes mini-documentary.

It's 12-minutes long and allows fans and viewers to take a deep dive and to experience the birth of Eternal. The mini-doc spotlights the band in the studio recording, along with interviews. It's in-depth and intriguing. Watch this keyhole view of Stratovarius while making Eternal below:

Eternal is released in three formats: Standard CD Jewelcase, Limited Deluxe Edition (CD + DVD mediabook incl. live video tracks recorded at Loudpark Festival 2015 in Japan) and Double Vinyl Gatefold.

Tracklisting:

“My Eternal Dream”
“Shine In The Dark”
“Rise Above It”
“Lost Without A Trace”
“Feeding The Fire”
“In My Line Of Work”
“Man In The Mirror”
“Few Are Those”
“Fire In Your Eyes”
“Lost Saga”

“Shine In The Dark” lyric video:

Stratovarius confirms Gloryhammer and Divine Ascension as support for their upcoming European Tour.

Main support joining Stratovarius in Europe will be Gloryhammer, the heroic fantasy power metal warriors led by Christopher Bowes of pirate metal legends Alestorm. Gloryhammer return in 2015 with the follow up to their debut album Tales From The Kingdom Of Fife. The new album from Gloryhammer entitled Space 1992: Rise Of The Chaos Wizards catapults the listener at warp speed into the distant future, with epic power metal tales of intergalactic warfare and transdimensional conquest in outer space. Expect more orchestral bombast, more cosmic soundscapes, more terrifying narration, and more epic battles than you've ever heard before. Out on September 25th.

The band completing the line is Divine Ascension. After a successful Australian headliner tour, Divine Ascension is now set to conquer Europe, as support act for Stratovarius. Divine Ascension played alongside symphonic metal masters Kamelot in Australia before as well as were joining Blind Guardian, for their entire Beyond The Red Mirror Australian Tour. Now it's time for them to conquer Europe.

“We can't wait to be back on tour and see all our fans again”, states Timo Kotipelto. “And it's great to have yet again bands on the road with us, that are as passionate as us!”

Eternal World Tour:

October
5 - Tallinn, Estonia - Factory
6 - Riga, Lithuania - Melna Piektdiena
7 - Vilnius, Lithuania - Galaxy Event Hall
9 - Fabryka, Poland - Cracov
10 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja
11 - Berlin, Germany - C-Club
13 - Vienna, Austria - Szene
14 - Budapest, Hungary - Club 202
16 - Geiselwind, Germany - Musichall
17 - Lindau, Germany - Vaudeville
20 - Munich, Germany - Backstage
21 - Milano, Italy - Live Club
23 - Bilbao, Spain - Santana
24 - Madrid, Spain - Sala BUT
25 - Sevilla, Spain - Custom
27 - Valencia, Spain - Koh-Tao
28 - Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz
30 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z-7
31 - Besancon, France - La Rodia

November
1 - Paris, France - Trabendo
3 - London, UK - O2 Islington Academy
4 - Vosselaar, Belgium - Biebob
5 - Eindhoven, Netherlands - Effenaar
6 - Cologne, Germany - Essigfabrik
7 - Bochum, Germany - Matrix
9 - Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp
10 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA
11 - Hamburg, Germany - Gruenspan
12 - Karlsruhe, Germany - Substage
13 - Kufstein, Austria - Kulturfabrik