After the Stratovarius' bassist Jari Kainulainen had left the band, the band searched for a new bassist. He has been chosen and his name revealed : Lauri Porra, who played with SINERGY, KOTIPELTO, BEN GRANFELT, TUNNELVISION and WARMEN.
In an interview for the brasilian magazine Rock Brigade ( http://www.rockbrigade.com.br/ ), the drummer Jörg Michael explained the reason why Jari left the band :

"The truth is that Jari had other priorities," Michael explained. "He never became as involved with the band as the other members. It's sad for me to think about the fact that he is no longer in the band, because he and I formed one hell of a rhythm section, even though he wasn't really interested in developing something bigger with the band. I mean, he showed up for the gigs, he was in the band pictures, and he was part of the recording process, but he never showed he was really interested in STRATOVARIUS. Can you believe that the guy has been there for 10 years and I never even once visited him at his house? "Jari's departure has nothing to do with the other band problems," Michael continued. "STRATOVARIUS has never been his priority, he never got involved in the process of creating songs and with the creative development of the band. Now he's married and the family became more important than everything else. As a result, we will go our separate ways."

Moreover, the band just played in the Wacken Festival with the new line-up. Three songs were played : "Hunting High And Low", "Black Diamond" and "Maniac Dance". Here is a pic of the show :