The Age Of Metal spoke with Timo Kotipelto and Jens Johansson of STRATOVARIUS prior to the listening party for the band's new album, Nemesis, at Idle Hands Bar in New York City. They talk about the album, their sounds, their new drummer, a reunion with Timo Tolkki, and their European tour with AMARANTHE and SEVEN KINGDOMS this March and April. Listen below:

Interview with Timo Kotipelto & Jens Johansson of Stratovarius by Theageofmetal on Mixcloud

EarMUSIC will release the long-awaited new studio album from Stratovarius, entitled Nemesis, as standard 11-track edition as well as 13-track special edition on February 22nd. Check out a sample of the title track below:

Nemesis will include the following tracklisting:

'Abandon'

'Unbreakable'

'Stand My Ground'

'Halcyon Days'

'Fantasy'

'Out Of The Fog'

'Castles In The Air'

'Dragons'

'One Must Fall'

'If The Story Is Over'

'Nemesis'

Another sample of the track 'Unbreakable' can be heard below:

To shorten the waiting period for the album, January 25th finds the release of the limited edition EP, Unbreakable. It features five songs: the new album leading track 'Unbreakable' and a selection of four songs from previous albums, remastered by Mika Jussila. Songs like 'Falling Star' (taken from Polaris) and 'Freedom' (taken from Infinite) show a different, catchy side of Stratovarius and guide the way to the new masterpiece Nemesis.

Matias Kupiainen about the new song: "’Unbreakable’ is a very important song to me and the lyrics have a lot of personal meaning. Sometimes you can snap out of your day to day fog and see what is important. And when you are in that special moment, when you have that special feeling, you are invincible, unbreakable; you should really stop and enjoy the feeling. Even, if the whole world falls apart tomorrow."

Timo Kotipelto adds: “This album has a darker and more modern sound. We, as a band, have gone through a lot and we have matured as songwriters. The making of this album was easier than before, because we could give it as much time as needed."

Unbreakable tracklisting:

'Unbreakable' (taken from the brand new studio album Nemesis)

'Falling Star' (taken from Polaris)

'The Game Never Ends' (taken from Elysium)

'Freedom' (taken from Infinite)

'Why Are We Here' (taken from Intermission)

(Songs 2-5 remastered by Mika Jussila in 2012)

BraveWords scribe Mark Gromen's new Stratovarius story can be found here.

Stratovarius and Amaranthe are teaming up in a double headline bill next spring. The Nordic Nexus Of Nemesis Tour 2013 will kick off in Munich, Germany on March 20th.

Confirmed dates include:

March

20 - Backstagehalle - Munich, Germany
21 - Stadtgarten - Erfurt, Germany
22 - Masters Of Rock Cafe - Zlin, Czech Republic
23 - Club 202 - Budapest, Hungary
24 - Majestic Club - Bratislava, Slovakia
26 - Szene - Vienna, Austria
27 - Hirsch - Nürnberg, Germany
28 - Matrix - Bochum, Germany
29 - Grünspan - Hamburg, Germany
30 - De Pul - Uden, Netherlands
31 - La Cigale - Paris, France

April

2 - La Laiterie - Strasbourg, France
3 - Le Kao - Lyon, France
5 - Razzmatazz 2 - Barcelona, Spain
6 - Arena - Madrid, Spain
7 - Rock Star - Bilbao, Spain
9 - Z7 - Pratteln, Switzerland
10 - Alcatrazz - Milan, Italia
11 - Rockfabrik - Ludwigsburg, Germany
13 - PPM Fest (Festival) - Mons, Belgium