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Fourth Dimension (Stratovarius album)
1995 studio album by Stratovarius
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fourth Dimension is the fourth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 11 March 1995 through Noise Records.[1] The album is the band's first to feature vocalist Timo Kotipelto as well as the last with keyboardist Antti Ikonen and drummer Tuomo Lassila, thus being the last Stratovarius album to date featuring an all-Finnish line-up.
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| Fourth Dimension | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 11 March 1995 | |||
| Recorded | June–October 1994 | |||
| Studios | Soundtrack Studios, Helsinki | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 59:20 | |||
| Label | Noise | |||
| Producer | Timo Tolkki | |||
| Stratovarius chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Fourth Dimension | ||||
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Founding member and guitarist Timo Tolkki, who had served as the band's vocalist for their first three albums, made the decision to leave the vocals to Timo Kotipelto who the band had already known some time before. Tolkki still provided background vocals on Fourth Dimension before handing over lead singing duties to Kotipelto for all subsequent albums. The track "030366" is likely a reference to Tolkki's birthday of 3 March 1966. The album seen Stratovarius take off both commercially and artistically. As they redefined its style, with a mix between melody, speed and technical guitar passages.[2]
For a couple of months, the recording sessions for this album ran parallel and in the same studio as Tolkki's then-upcoming solo studio album Classical Variations and Themes. In said album, Lassila and Ikonen also provided drums and keyboards, respectively.
Critical reception
Steve Huey at AllMusic described Fourth Dimension as "melodic Euro-metal" and picking up where Dreamspace (1994) left off. He recommended it for fans of Judas Priest, Scorpions and other similar heavy metal bands.[3]
Track listing
All music is composed by Timo Tolkki.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Against the Wind" | Tolkki, Timo Kotipelto | 3:48 |
| 2. | "Distant Skies" | Tolkki | 4:10 |
| 3. | "Galaxies" | Tolkki, Kotipelto | 5:00 |
| 4. | "Winter" | Tolkki | 6:32 |
| 5. | "Stratovarius" | (instrumental) | 6:22 |
| 6. | "Lord of the Wasteland" | Tolkki | 6:11 |
| 7. | "030366" | Tolkki | 5:46 |
| 8. | "Nightfall" | Tolkki, Tuomo Lassila | 5:09 |
| 9. | "We Hold the Key" | Tolkki, Kotipelto | 7:53 |
| 10. | "Twilight Symphony" | Tolkki | 6:59 |
| 11. | "Call of the Wilderness" | (instrumental) | 1:30 |
| Total length: | 59:20 | ||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Dreamspace" (live) | Tolkki | 6:16 |
Personnel
- Timo Kotipelto – lead vocals, background vocals
- Timo Tolkki – guitar, background vocals, engineering, mixing, record producer
- Antti Ikonen – keyboards
- Tuomo Lassila – drums, arrangement (track 10)
- Jari Kainulainen – bass guitar
- Marko Vaara – background vocals
- Kimmo Blom – background vocals
- Kimmo Tullila – strings (track 10)
- Marika Bister – strings (track 10)
- Petteri Poljärvi – strings (track 10)
- Antero Manninen – strings (track 10)
- Mika Jussila – mastering
Charts
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[5] | 33 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[6] | 26 |