(Redirected from Black Diamond (Stratovarius song))

Black Diamond: The Anthology is a compilation album of the group Finland power metal Stratovarius. 92.9 the game fm radio station. This album contains the 30 most famous songs on the group throughout its history, and its split into 2 discs. What you get is a solid overview of Stratovarius' entire career, from a few early classics (Wings of Tomorrow, Break the Ice) through the genre-defining classic period (Black Diamond, Paradise, Destiny), and into the present Tolkki-less incarnation of the band (Halcyon Days, My Eternal Dream).

Visions

Studio album by

Released

28 April 1997^[1]

Recorded

October 1996 – February 1997

Studio

Finnvox Studios, Helsinki

Genre

Length

61:01^[2]

Label

Noise

Producer

Timo Tolkki

Stratovarius chronology

Episode
(1996)

Visions
(1997)

The Past and Now
(1997)

Singles from Visions

'The Kiss of Judas'
Released: 1997^[3]
'Black Diamond'
Released: 1997^[4]

Visions is the sixth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 28 April 1997 through Noise Records. The album reached No. 4 on the Finnish albums chart and remained on that chart for 23 weeks.^[1] It is a concept album about Nostradamus.^[5]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[5]
Rock Hard	9.5/10^[6]

Steve Huey at AllMusic gave Visions four stars out of five, calling it 'as ambitious as neoclassical metal gets' and saying 'there are some fine moments on the record', but also remarking that 'too much of the material sinks under its own weight, particularly the ten-minute title track.'^[5]

In 2005, the album was ranked No. 297 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.^[7]

Stratovarius Black Diamond Lyrics

Loudwire named the album at sixth in their list 'Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time.'^[8]Metal Hammer also named the album in their list 'The 10 essential power metal albums.'^[9]

Track listing[edit]

All music composed by Timo Tolkki, except where noted.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	'The Kiss of Judas'	Timo Kotipelto	5:49
2.	'Black Diamond'	Kotipelto	5:39
3.	'Forever Free'	Kotipelto	6:00
4.	'Before the Winter'	Tolkki	6:07
5.	'Legions'	Tolkki	5:43
6.	'The Abyss of Your Eyes'	Kotipelto	5:38
7.	'Holy Light'	(instrumental)	5:45
8.	'Paradise'	Tolkki	4:27
9.	'Coming Home'	Tolkki	5:36
10.	'Visions (Southern Cross)'	Tolkki	10:17
Total length:			61:01

Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
11.	'Black Diamond' (demo)	Kotipelto	5:07
12.	'Uncertainty' (live; music by Kotipelto)	Kotipelto	6:13

Japanese 2002 reissue bonus track^[10]^[11]
No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
13.	'4th Reich' (live)	Tolkki	5:44

Personnel[edit]

Timo Kotipelto – lead vocals
Timo Tolkki – guitar, background vocals, mastering, production
Jens Johansson – keyboards, harpsichord
Jörg Michael – drums
Jari Kainulainen – bass guitar
Kimmo Blom – background vocals
Marko Vaara – background vocals
Richard Johnson – background vocals, lyrical consultation
James M. Johnson – spoken vocals
Mikko Karmila – engineering, mixing
Pauli Saastamoinen – mastering

Chart performance[edit]

Year	Chart	Position
1997	Finnish albums chart	4^[1]

Trivia[edit]

In the end of 'Before the Winter', the Force Theme from the Star Wars franchise can be heard.

References[edit]

^ ^a^b^c'Stratovarius - Visions (album)'. finnishcharts.com. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
^Visions (CD release 'TT 0031-2').
^'Stratovarius - The Kiss Of Judas (song)'. finnishcharts.com. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
^'Stratovarius - Black Diamond (song)'. finnishcharts.com. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
^ ^a^b^cHuey, Steve. 'Visions - Stratovarius | Songs, Reviews, Credits'. AllMusic. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
^Albrecht, Frank. 'Stratovarius - Visions'. Rock Hard (in German). Retrieved July 7, 2019.
^[..], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 94. ISBN3-89880-517-4.
^DiVita, Joe (July 5, 2017). 'Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time'. Loudwire. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
^Lawson, Dom (October 19, 2016). 'The 10 essential power metal albums'. Metal Hammer. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
^'Stratovarius/ヴィジョンズ +1＜初回生産限定盤＞'. Tower Records Online. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
^'Stratovarius - Visions'. Discogs. Retrieved August 17, 2019.

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Stratovarius Black Diamond Anthology