TIMO TOLKKI To Perform With RHAPSODY OF FIRE Singer In Rome

REVOLUTION RENAISSANCE/ex-STRATOVARIUS guitarist Timo Tolkki has issued the following update:

"I'm gonna play some songs with Fabio Lione [RHAPSODY OF FIRE, VISION DIVINE] in Rome, Italy next Friday, April 24. The club is called Palarockness and it is situated in Genzano di Roma. Si fueris Romae, Romano vivitomore. See you there!!"

For more information, visit www.palarockness.com.

As previously reported, Tolkki will be joined by Finnish bassist Jari Kainulainen (who is currently a member of Sweden's EVERGREY) and other fellow ex-STRATOVARIUS members Tuomo Lassila (drums) and Anti Ikonen (keyboards) to record a new album, titled "Return to Dreamspace", for a fall 2009 release. This means that the project's lineup is exactly the same as the one that recorded STRATOVARIUS' "Dreamspace" LP that was released in 1994.

Regarding the musical direction of the CD, Tolkki previously said, "It has been 15 years from [STRATOVARIUS' 'Dreamspace'] album, so it will be interesting, for sure... It's not a 'remake,' but a brand new album. A closure for [what] I consider to be the end of STRATOVARIUS. It completes the cycle and returns to the beginning."

Tolkki drew up and signed an official waiver on May 20, 2008 giving up all rights to the STRATOVARIUS name. The remaining STRATOVARIUS members — Timo Kotipelto (vocals), Jens Johansson (keyboards) and Lauri Porra (bass) — have since announced plans to carry on with new guitarist Matias Kupiainen.