As Stratovarius took the Party Stage at Wacken this year, it was in front of a huge crowd, reaching all the way down to the entrance of the festival area.

No doubt expectations were high, not only from the crowd, but also from the bands side. Frontman and vocalist Timo Kotipelto even commented what a great experience it was coming back every time to this festival, and he should know as this was the 10th time for Stratovarius here. Whether he had wilfully forgot the burn accident back in 2000 or not, I cannot say, but one does tend to remember good times more than bad, and Kotipelto was certainly not shy to play around on the stage this day.
In fact, his fidgeting around with his mic, and also to a large degree drummer Jörg Michael, stood for the more memorable parts of the stage performance this evening. Michael showed his juggling talents as he, while drumming in the songs, juggled drumsticks back and forth with a nameless helping hand who stood all the way out at the side of the stage! Now, if that doesn’t impress the drumophiliacs out there, I don’t know what will…
Michael also had time to show off an actual, albeit short, drumsolo at the very end of the show. Not that he was the only one in the band who got time to shine though; keyboard mastermind Jens Johansson got some solo-time during Winter Skies off of their latest album, Polaris, a song which Johansson also has writing credits for. Also during the last song of the set, Black Diamond, Johansson got to show off his abilities in a big way.

Which in a way brings us to the set, doesn’t it?
Well, as it was a festival gig, the set was lined with the most classic Stratovarius material; from opener Hunting High And Low, through The Kiss Of Judas to the aforementioned ending track Black Diamond. Kotipelto even tried to convince the audience that they, the band, had played so fast that there was suddenly time for one song not included on the setlist. As this song was the all-time favourite Paradise, I doubt the sincerity in his words, but it had a positive effect nonetheless.
The set also held a lot of new songs, mainly from Polaris, and I’m sure the band is proud to show that they can cope even with the loss of long-time guitarist and song-writer Timo Tolkki. The crowd didn’t seem to mind one bit, and I’m sure Stratovarius will be with us for a good, long time to come.

Setlist:

Hunting High And Low
Higher We Go
Speed Of Light
The Kiss Of Judas
Against The Wind
Deep Unknown
Eagleheart
Winter Skies
Phoenix
Paradise
Black Diamond