Jens Johansson has been Stratovarius's keyboardist since 1995, and is one of the few musicians in the genre whose instrument contests the foreground with the guitar rather than accompanying it. Born in Sweden in 1963, he comes from a family of musicians: son of the jazz pianist Jan Johansson and brother of the drummer Anders Johansson. That origin explains his approach. Johansson plays keyboards like a lead guitarist — fast scales, neoclassical phrasing, solo duels with the guitar player — but with a rhythmic and harmonic freedom that comes from jazz and is rarely heard in power metal. It is what gives tracks like "Hunting High and Low" and "Black Diamond" two lead voices rather than one accompanied by a bed of keys. Before Stratovarius he was part of Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force between 1984 and 1989, the period that produced the records establishing neoclassical metal, and later backed Ronnie James Dio on Strange Highways (1993) and Angry Machines (1996). Few keyboardists have crossed so many of the genre's landmarks. He is on every Stratovarius release since Episode (1996), through the crisis years and the post-Tolkki rebuilding, and remains in the current line-up. In parallel he keeps the Johansson project going with his brother Anders.
Bands they were part of and guest appearances (feat.) on other bands.
Metalicks is a community-run informational and cultural portal. The information on this page — texts, images, logos, cover art and other materials — is credited to their respective authors, artists, bands, labels and rights holders. Metalicks does not claim ownership over any of the works portrayed here, and all rights remain with their rightful owners. Content is gathered from public sources and community contributions; any inaccuracies can be corrected using the button below. Rights holders who wish to request a correction or removal of any content may do so at any time.
