Fourth Dimension (Stratovarius album)

Fourth Dimension
Fourth Dimension
Studio album by Stratovarius
Released	11 April 1995
Recorded	June–October 1994
Studio	Soundtrack Studios, Helsinki
Genre	Power metal; heavy metal;
Length	59:20
Label	Noise
Producer	Timo Tolkki
Stratovarius chronology
Singles from Fourth Dimension
	"Against the Wind"; Released: 1995;

Fourth Dimension is the fourth studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 11 April 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.

Founding member and guitarist Timo Tolkki, who had served as the band's vocalist for their first three albums, 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.

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

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]

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.^[2]

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

Japanese edition/2003 reissue bonus track
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)^[3]	33
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[4]	26

References

^ "Stratovarius - Fourth Dimension (album)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
^ ^a ^b Huey, Steve. "Fourth Dimension - Stratovarius". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.