Johan van Stratum (born 15 April 1982) is a Dutch bassist, currently playing live for German power metal band
Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres. Nine musicians have been part of the band ...
and
Ayreon
Ayreon is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon's music is described as progressive rock, progressive metal and power metal sometimes combined with genres such as folk music, f ...
.
He was the bassist of
Stream of Passion
Stream of Passion is a Dutch progressive metal band with symphonic and gothic influences founded by guitarist and composer Arjen Anthony Lucassen and Mexican singer, violinist, and lyricist Marcela Bovio. They have released four studio albums.
...
, and one of the two founding members to stay in the band until it disbanded in 2016. He also played bass live for
Ayreon
Ayreon is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon's music is described as progressive rock, progressive metal and power metal sometimes combined with genres such as folk music, f ...
and
The Gentle Storm,
VUUR. In July 2021 he was announced as the bass player of German power metal band
Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres. Nine musicians have been part of the band ...
.
Career
Van Stratum started music at age 14 by singing, before being pushed to play bass by his friends.
His first instrument was a brandless bass guitar brought for 50 euros.
He considers his biggest influences
Tim Commerford
Timothy Commerford (born February 26, 1968) is an American musician, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist for rock band Rage Against the Machine and supergroups Audioslave and Prophets of Rage. Since 2013 and 2015, respectively, he ha ...
of
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...
,
Chris Wolstenholme
Christopher Tony Wolstenholme (born 2 December 1978) is an English musician. He is the bassist and backing vocalist for the rock band Muse. He combines bass guitar with effects and synthesisers to create overdriven fuzz bass tones, a motif of ...
of
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
, and
Reginald Arvizu
Reginald Quincy Arvizu (born November 2, 1969), also known as Fieldy, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for nu metal band Korn. He is also the guitarist/bassist for rock band StillWell.
Career
Prior to Arvizu's time in Korn ...
of
Korn
Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
.
His first band No Problem was with future
After Forever
After Forever was a Dutch symphonic metal band with strong progressive metal influences. The band relied on the use of both soprano vocals and death growls.
In February 2009, it was announced that After Forever had disbanded. Singer Floor Jan ...
member and
Stream of Passion
Stream of Passion is a Dutch progressive metal band with symphonic and gothic influences founded by guitarist and composer Arjen Anthony Lucassen and Mexican singer, violinist, and lyricist Marcela Bovio. They have released four studio albums.
...
collaborator Joost van den Broek, with whom he studied music.
He also used to teach bass guitar and is co-founder of the only government accredited Metal education Metal Factory in Eindhoven NL.
Arjen Anthony Lucassen
Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born 3 April 1960) is a Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer, best known for his long-running progressive metal/ rock opera project Ayreon. Lucassen started his career in 1980 as t ...
formed
Stream of Passion
Stream of Passion is a Dutch progressive metal band with symphonic and gothic influences founded by guitarist and composer Arjen Anthony Lucassen and Mexican singer, violinist, and lyricist Marcela Bovio. They have released four studio albums.
...
in 2005, with a line-up including Van Stratum on bass.
The band released their debut album ''
Embrace the Storm
Embrace the Storm is Dutch progressive metal band Stream of Passion's debut album released on 24 October 2005 by InsideOut Music. It was preceded by the single "Wherever You Are" (18 October 2005) and followed by the single "Out in the Real World" ...
'' in 2005, with Lucassen acting as composer and
Marcela Bovio
Marcela Alejandra Bovio García (born October 17, 1979) is a Mexican singer and violinist who is currently a member of the Dutch symphonic metal bands Stream of Passion and MaYaN.
In 1995, she joined Hydra, a Mexican metal band, singing and ...
as lyricist.
After several years of touring and the release of the
live album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...
''
Live in the Real World
''Live in the Real World'' is the first live CD and DVD album by Dutch/ Mexican progressive metal band Stream of Passion, created by Arjen Anthony Lucassen.
It features not only songs from their debut album '' Embrace the Storm'', but also songs ...
'', several members of Stream of Passion chose to leave the band, including Lucassen, who had decided to leave to band to continue on its own. As the result, Van Stratum, Bovio and Van den Broek shared songwriting duties on their three subsequent studio albums: ''
The Flame Within'' in 2009, ''
Darker Days'' in 2011, and ''
A War of Our Own'' in 2014.
''A War of Our Own'' was produced and released
independently, and funded via the
crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...
site
Indiegogo
Indiegogo is an American crowdfunding website founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric Schell. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The site is one of the first sites to offer crowd funding. Indiegogo allows peo ...
.
In April 2016, the band announced via Facebook that they would be separating at the end of the year, stating "Over the past eleven years we've had the time of our lives playing in stages all over the world and sharing moments of joy on stage. But all good things come to an end, and we feel it's time to move on and search for new musical challenges. We're proud of everything we've achieved, with your help, and we want to end the band history on a high note instead of losing focus, interest and drive. Before parting ways as a band we will perform a few goodbye shows; we also want to record a DVD to serve as a memento of the good times we've had.
..Once again, we'd like to express our eternal gratitude for the support you've given us all these years. All of us will continue to make music, one way or the other; so we still hope to see you soon on a stage near you. Thank you for being part of the wonderful adventure that has been Stream of Passion!"
The band released a live album entitled ''Memento'' later that year, and performed their final show on 28 December 2016.
In 2016,
Anneke van Giersbergen
Anna Maria "Anneke" van Giersbergen (born 8 March 1973) is a Dutch singer, songwriter and guitarist who became known worldwide as the lead singer for the rock band The Gathering between 1994 and 2007. She also has a solo career. The project wa ...
created the band
VUUR, and chose Van Stratum, whom she had worked with as a part of The Gentle Storm, as bass guitarist.
He was featured on the band's first album, ''
In This Moment We Are Free – Cities
''In This Moment We Are Free – Cities'' is the debut studio album by Dutch progressive metal band VUUR. It was released on 20 October 2017, via Inside Out Music. Apart from the regular edition, the album was released on special editions including ...
'', released on 2017.
Personal life
Discography
Stream of Passion
* ''
Embrace the Storm
Embrace the Storm is Dutch progressive metal band Stream of Passion's debut album released on 24 October 2005 by InsideOut Music. It was preceded by the single "Wherever You Are" (18 October 2005) and followed by the single "Out in the Real World" ...
'' (2005)
* ''
Live in the Real World
''Live in the Real World'' is the first live CD and DVD album by Dutch/ Mexican progressive metal band Stream of Passion, created by Arjen Anthony Lucassen.
It features not only songs from their debut album '' Embrace the Storm'', but also songs ...
'' (live, 2006)
* ''
The Flame Within'' (2009)
* ''
Darker Days'' (2011)
* ''
A War of Our Own'' (2014)
* ''Memento'' (live, 2016)
VUUR
* ''
In This Moment We Are Free – Cities
''In This Moment We Are Free – Cities'' is the debut studio album by Dutch progressive metal band VUUR. It was released on 20 October 2017, via Inside Out Music. Apart from the regular edition, the album was released on special editions including ...
'' (2017)
Blind Guardian
* ''
The God Machine'' (2022)
As a guest
*
ReVamp
Revamp may refer to:
Changes
*Revamp, informal term for maintenance, repair, and operations
*Revamp, informal term for editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio eng ...
: ''
Wild Card
Wild card most commonly refers to:
* Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games
* Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...
'' (2013)
*
The Gentle Storm: ''
The Diary'' (2015)
*
Ayreon
Ayreon is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon's music is described as progressive rock, progressive metal and power metal sometimes combined with genres such as folk music, f ...
: ''
The Theater Equation'' (live, 2016)
* Ayreon: ''
Ayreon Universe – The Best of Ayreon Live
''Ayreon Universe – The Best of Ayreon Live'', alternatively known as ''Ayreon Universe – Best of Ayreon Live'' or simply ''Ayreon Universe'', is a live album and DVD/Blu-ray by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's progressive rock/metal rock opera project ...
'' (live, 2018)
* Ayreon: ''
Into the Electric Castle Live and Other Tales'' (live, 2020)
* Ayreon: ''
01011001 – Live Beneath the Waves
''01011001 – Live Beneath the Waves'' is a live album by Arjen Lucassen's progressive rock/metal rock opera project Ayreon, released on 17 May 2024. It is a live version of the 2008 concept album ''01011001'', which was filmed during a series of ...
'' (live, 2024)
References
External links
Official Stream of Passion website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stratum, Johan
1982 births
Male bass guitarists
21st-century bass guitarists
Dutch heavy metal bass guitarists
Dutch rock bass guitarists
Living people
Stream of Passion members
Blind Guardian members
21st-century Dutch male musicians