Stratovarius Honoured To Come To Canada

Finnish metal band Stratovarius is now on tour in North America, South America and Europe. “North America is one of the most important markets” according to Jörg Michael, drummer of Stratovarius “It’s very important to us to present ourselves to the fans, and to show everyone that the band returns after all the chaos, and that the band is playing live. But the fans that are coming to the show are die-hard fans, they have all our records. We find it an honour and a pleasure to come here.”

They are currently in North America promoting their new album Polaris which was written in the secluded woods of Finland.

Jörg lets us in on what we can expect on the tour, what has kept them together for the last 25 years and how new guitarist Matias Kupiainen has fit nicely into the band.

Sometimes in Canada we don’t get to see some of the great European bands like Stratovarius, so it’s great to see that you’re playing so many places in the country.

Is Canada an important market for you?

Polaris rocks. What was the inspiration for the album?

Is there a theme you had when you wrote and recorded the album?

The official bio says you went into seclusion to write the new CD. What does a band do when you’re secluded from everything?

Is that the first time you wrote an album this way?

It’s the first album with a change in guitarists. Was that a hard transition?

The guitar sound is important. Has anything changed with the sound at all?

I read that the band went through a really tough time when Sanctuary Records collapsed. What happened?

What has kept the band together for 25 years?

What can we expect on the tour?

In all the music in the world, what is you absolute favourite song? Why that song?

Who inspires you now?

What is your favourite part about being on tour?