Timo Tolkki - Biography

Biography

Tolkki started playing guitar at the age of seven and practiced intensely, sometimes eight hours a day. When he was twelve years old, his father committed suicide by jumping from the fourth floor of his apartment.

Before joining Stratovarius in 1984, Tolkki had played with the bands Antidote, Thunder and Road Block. At the beginning of his career with Stratovarius, he served as vocalist as well as handling all lead and rhythm guitars, and at times bass guitar (until Jari Kainulainen's arrival in 1993). After the band's third album, Dreamspace (1994), Tolkki handed over vocal duties to Timo Kotipelto, who took over from Fourth Dimension (1995) onwards. This was largely due to Tolkki's desire to evolve the overall musical direction of the band and concentrate on his guitarwork. Further changes were made after Dreamspace, including the departure of the remaining original members of the band, keyboardist Antti Ikonen and drummer Tuomo Lassila, due to creative differences.

In 1994, Tolkki released his first solo album, Classical Variations and Themes, which had at the time been one of his longtime ambitions. The album was similar to his work with Stratovarius, but with more focus on primarily instrumental compositions. His second solo album, Hymn to Life (2002) showed a more personal side, dealing with such emotional issues as his relationship with God and his late father.

He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2004, following a nervous breakdown which occurred some months after Stratovarius acrimoniously disbanded. After a period of rehabilitation, he went on to make a full recovery later that year and subsequently opened his own recording studio named Goldenworks. A final self-titled album with Stratovarius was released in 2005, after which he announced his departure from the band in 2008. Upon leaving he decided to waive the legal rights to the name, allowing the band to continue as Stratovarius.

Tolkki's next project was an album described as a rock opera, named Saana – Warrior of Light Pt 1. Released on 14 March 2008, it featured a number of guest vocalists, including soprano Jennifer Sowle in the lead role, as well as Aino Laos, Janette Sainio and Heikki Pöyhiä of Twilightning.

In 2010, Symfonia was formed as a power metal supergroup comprising Tolkki, singer André Matos, keyboardist Mikko Härkin, drummer Uli Kusch and former Stratovarius bandmate Jari Kainulainen. They made their debut performance at the 2011 Finnish Metal Expo and later released their only studio album, In Paradisum, but in December of that year Tolkki announced the discontinuation of the band, and subsequently his retirement from the music industry.

In March 2012 Tolkki stated on his Facebook profile (and official Symfonia page) that although he had left the music business, he hadn't given up on music altogether: "With all the tools available for us today to release music, you will hear something interesting from me". Later he released a mock album cover entitled Classical Variations and Themes Vol 2, suggesting a new solo album. On 10 April 2012 he released a new instrumental track named "Dinner with Paganini", which was made available as a free download through PledgeMusic, as well as a revised name for a potential new album, Classical Variations and Themes II: Credo. However, on 26 July, he announced the cancellation of the project.