Stratovarius Community

[Pancio]

Tolkki's illness is due to his almost divorce from his wife, Dominika Gottova.
I don't know the details, but I know that, after a lot of bad things (like his out of marriage son and his bipolar disorder) and strange going on, she had decided to break with him so he fell into depression.
For what I know she then decided to return in Finland with him and their daughter.

About his body problem: he fat is due to bipolar therapy, it can be very destructive and, obviously, his weight problem bounce on his live performances, almost 2 hour of show is too much for a young untrained guy, I can't imagine how can it be for a big, fat and tall man, out from stages since Symfonia "live performances".
Painful.
Dunno what kind of problem he had experimented before his first gig, I belive a panick attack or something, he's a fragile human being, and the pressure can be too much after all this time out of business.

Like I've said before, audio quality from the footages is bad, the bass is too high and drums cover the rest of the frequencies, but Tolkki skills, at least for what I can hear, sucks.It's painful for me, I love his playing, but his skills are not here anymore, I hope he can improve during next shows, but I don't believe it.He's done and my heart bleed, he's no more the one I used to know tho I hope he was in a bad moment and not reharsed.
(strangely he teach guitar via skype)

[Pancio]

2 more videos, this time from Valencia show.

Kiss of Judas: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=eMb0f_vW8C4

Key to the Universe: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=plWoiJ9qwpM

Kiss of Judas is, in a certain way, decent, still the audio quality sucks due to bass, keybords and drums too high in the mix(maybe a deliberated choice to hide poor guitar work).The solo is sloppy but not too much and the pick seems precise, rythm part, as I said before, is poor.
Key to the Universe...well, it's fucking awful, sounds like a YouTube cover done by 8 years old kids, Livas sucks too much (I know it's not easy to emulate Kiske, but c'mon, is out of tune and forced, and Strato songs are harder to sing, since there's homogeneity in passages through vocal ranges(actually Kotipelto once used to modulate the passages) while Kiske technique consist in jump almost directly to the notes) and Timo looks like he doesn't know what's going on and how to play (listen to the solo).

Sooooooooo... Looking at Timo's listless eyes, sloth-like movement and behavior, I must say he's under anti-bipolar therapy and, maybe, under other drugs.

I hope him the best and to get out of this shit, he doesn't deserve it at all.

Last things, I admit it, I've cried watching Key to the Universe, not for the song but for Timo's condition, it's extremely sad thinking at his physical and mental state, too much for me, and I don't think I have the strength to watch him live nowadays (last time I saw him was in 2010, 7 years ago, shit), this is the first time I don't want a musician to play in Italy.

[Carn]

Thank you for the infos (where did you dig all that up ? Wow).
About before the Athens show yeah, aside from the fact that I heard he didn't sleep and the rehearsal seem to have started a bit too late (I m assuming from bits of dialogs I heard , nothing clear at all) so that might add the the problems. But yeah he was apparently panicked, but around the middle of the concert. Black Diamond was the last song they performed and he just left like in a totally giving up/ run to live way. The song ended and he fled without looking back. :/

About your second post, no, I don't think hes on any specific other drugs aside from maybe stuff for his disorder. In depressive phase, bipolar people can be like that, absent and with kinda lost gaze etc. My mother knows a dude who s also bipolar and it s exactly the same. (He doesn't take any medecine or drugs and doesn't even drink). Of course I can't possibly know if he doesn't take anything else. Drinking is Really bad for BPS but in the backstage I only saw juices and sodas, no alcohol. But i heard in Sofia fans gifyed him two bottles of Vodka and bought him beers during the concert. Si idk

[R.F.]

Sounds all the same to me. Looks like after all those years I still haven't learned to appreciate metal enough to get what is good playing and what is bad. Good to see TT doing what he loves.

Timo, I have noticed you, by the way.

[HinatAArcticA]

I hope his health gets better... from better health comes better playing, but health is first. Seeing him like this worries me a bit

[SentineLEX]

Breaks my heart seeing the guy who got me into guitar and is probably the inspiration for most of my music, xanaxed to shit, morbidly obese and unable to play the same songs he's been playing for the last 20 years

[Empathica1928]

[Mr Hadder]

He is also suffering from Lumbago, being that the reason why he couldn't stand for too long during those shows.
Talking about those shows, it is indeed painful to watch him like that. His playing is gone; tbh I dunno why he rushed to tour during the spring, why couldn't him practice a bit more? Well who knows...maybe he was desperate to prove something for his fans and/or himself. Hopefully, he can overcome this difficult moment of his life and maybe come up with great music again

[Empathica1928]

In my honest opinion, I think he should just hang it up for good. It's over. Clearly he needs to focus on his health more than anything else. God, I feel so bad for him. I wish I could help.

But if playing in any capacity makes him happy, who am I to judge.

[Rebel]

I feel like Trinity was the pivotal moment of Timo Tolkki's career. That's the best collection of songs he put together this Millennium (Assuming that "Millennium and the rest of that album were written in 1999), and what does Tolkki do? Raids the bands remaining fund to try and launch an (admittedly attractive sounding) supergroup that instantly flamed out.

[SentineLEX]

[HinatAArcticA]

[adrian9]

Tolkki's Illness is no joke, and with the recent news about Cornell and just yesterday Chester Bennington, I'm actually worried about TT, depression is fucked up, and makes you think the wierdest shit, a really really dark place.
I've depressed like two times in my life and was shit, I can't even begin to fathom what is like to be in that situation for a prolonged time.

Timo if you read this, you're awesome, we all love you, get better!

[Empathica1928]

Trinity is not good. At all. Just my opinion.

Symfonia is decent but that title track is awful (so are the ballads) and the rest of the songs sound like Timo just couldn't shake the Strato writing tradition. It literally sounds more or less like Strato, just with Andre Matos on vox.

[NeverendingAbyss]

Trinity was the best album from RR. Age of Aquarius sounded so fucking depressive. Forced, if you will.

New Era was fine, but the keyboards just never developed for background music or even the build up.

I miss TT.

[SentineLEX]

[Rebel]

[Sth2112]

[nightfireivey]

[Sth2112]

Guess there were some ego-clash between Timo and Andre as well. But didn't Timo write a whole album worth of material in Siberia before they officially called it quits?

Timo never seemed to accept the fact that he had to work hard to come back in the spotlight as a musician. Revolution Renaissance got offers to warm up for Iron Maiden in India and being a support act for a European Sonata Arctica tour, but he refused to do them...

[Empathica1928]

[nightfireivey]

Timo just expected that he could go tour around with Symfonia/RR with couple thousand people as if he was still playing in Strato. It wasn't going to happen he was basically a no name outside of Strato, and he was an idiot for not wanting to take up behind Iron Maiden or Sonata Arctica.

[SentineLEX]

[Empathica1928]

And yet by the time this was even going down, Sonata had moved on from that kind of Stratovarius-clone power metal. Hah.

[Rage1979]

[Rocka_Rolla]

Cut the guy some slack. I saw the Madrid gig and it was quite good, much better than the athens clips, beginning to sound like a band. This is a "band" that got together, with only a few practices and despite them all being good musicians, it takes a bit to "gel" together. Also Timo has been through some tough times lately, so he's not in his best condition ever.
Bipolar medicine is heavy and it's slowing him down, but he's on much less of it now and should be better and better. But he wanted to "get out there" and do it again to get a taste for it, again.

And you can't really lose a motor skill, unless you get a stroke or have a muscle issue. It might get worse if you got an issue, but train a bit and you 're likely to reacquire it fully, or at least most of it. Give the guy some space. He's obviously doing it, cause he loves doing it. Still.

In Athens according to a friend who was crewing, it was actually dehydration - that made them cut 2 songs- the next days they had a fan on stage and it was all fine. And there's a bad back, but he did almost all of the other shows standing.
As for the Sonata tour, i think i 've read somewhere that it was a buy on - ie you had to PAY to play, so for a person who's used to receiving sizable fees, how likely is that this would happen. If the guy is trying to put back together a career or a semblance of it, more power to him. He's done more than most people ever will. Lots of great songs and records and for the music we should be thankful. He's obviously not the easiest guy to deal with, but he didn't strike me as an asshole up close, he was appreciative of the fans, cool and smiling... Also from what i hear through my friend there will be more dates too that are to be announced soon.

And also my friend said that there's a 3rd Avalon that is being recorded/completed as well as a slowly developing power metal project that they want to be very special but are taking time with, for after the touring of this and possibly Avalon, so i suppose after a year or more.

[SentineLEX]

[Arnold Layne]

[Empathica1928]

[Motha-faka]