martindavey87 Sonata’s Arctica’s 1999 debut, ‘Ecliptica’ is an incredible piece of power metal history, full of energy and youthful exuberance, the band’s majestic sound instantly made them a hit with fans of the genre. So it comes with regret that I find their follow-up, 2001’s ‘Silence’, to be a huge letdown.

The problem is, I can’t really figure out what the actual problem is. The songwriting is pretty solid, and the musicianship is fantastic, but overall, there’s just not a lot here to really get me going. It all seems very by-the-numbers power metal, which is weird, because Sonata Arctica have put out some absolutely amazing albums, but I find this one very hard to enjoy.

With that said, the record does have its moments. ‘San Sebastian’ and ‘Wolf and Raven’ are both exceptional, and worthy of any greatest hits compilations. And tracks like ‘Respect the Wilderness’ and ‘The Power of One’ both demonstrate the skills and potential this band has. Tony Kakko’s voice is a pleasure to listen to throughout, and the interplay between guitars and keyboards is stunning, though sadly wasted on a mostly generic album.

The Finnish five-piece were still pretty young into their careers here, and this is only their second album. It’s not terrible by any stretch, but it’s not anything I’m likely to come back to, either. I’d much rather listen to ‘Ecliptica’.

UMUR "Silence" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Finnish power metal act Sonata Arctica. The album was released through Spinefarm Records in July 2001. It´s the successor to "Ecliptica" from 1999 and there have been a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as bassist Janne Kivilahti has been replaced by Marko Paasikoski (who was an original member of the band, but didn´t perform on the debut album) and Mikko Harkin has been added on keyboards. Lead vocalist Tony Kakko still performs additional keyboards.

"Ecliptica (1999)" was a very succesful album for Sonata Arctica and immediately put them on the power metal map with it´s energetic take on Euro power metal, strong musicianship, and intriguing songwriting. The material on "Silence" is still unmistakably the sound of Sonata Arctica but it´s an even more ambitious effort than the otherwise brilliant debut, and adds an occasional progressive touch to the band´s brand of power metal. Especially the closing 11:39 minutes long "The Power Of One" is a power metal track with strong progressive leanings.

The album features several fast-paced Euro power metal tracks with blistering guitar riffs, neo-classical influenced leads (both guitar and keyboard leads and harmonies) and loads of double bass drum (tracks like "Weballergy" and "Black Sheep"), but half of the material are actually mid-paced and primarily focused on vocal melodies and epic arrangements. Some of the vocal melodies are quite brilliant. Examples of some of the most intriguing melodies are found on tracks like "Last Drop Falls" and "The End Of This Chapter".

The musicianship is on a high level on all posts and Kakko is both a skilled and distinct sounding vocalist. His Finnish accent and some of his lyrics can be slightly cringe worthy, but other listeners than me will probably just find those features charming. "Silence" features a powerful, clear, and detailed sound production and upon conclusion it´s a high quality power metal release and a great sophomore studio album by Sonata Arctica. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

lukretion Sonata Arctica’s debut album Ecliptica left a very positive impression on me so I was looking forward to listening to the Finnish band’s follow-up record released two years later in 2001. By and large, Silence confirms the strong qualities of the Finnish combo: strong talent, a great ear for melodies and a touch of originality in a genre (that of power metal) that already at the time was in great need of fresh oxygen. However, Silence is slightly less accomplished than its predecessor. It is more formulaic, slightly less exuberant, and replete with one too many unexceptional songs that in the end bog down the overall listening experience.

The basic coordinates of Sonata Arctica’s sound remain neoclassical metal (Rainbow, Dio, Yngwie Malmsteen) and Scandinavian/German power metal (Stratovarius, Helloween). The Finns, however, also bring in some slightly unusual influences, like a penchant for 80s pomp/arena rock and for gothic metal (HIM / Sentenced). While the former adds both grit and melodicism to the songs, the latter conveys a sense of melancholy that is not very common in power metal records. This mixture of influences and styles contributes to make Sonata Arctica’s music interesting and relatively fresh compared to other bands in the genre. The Finns also stand out thanks to their superior sense of melody, which allows them to pen some incredibly catchy and memorable songs. The five musicians are clearly talented, with singer Tony Kakko and guitarist Jani Liimatainen showing particularly impressive chops throughout the album.

Although there are multiple songs on this album that I find pleasant and interesting, there are also a lot of tracks that feel fairly uninspired to the point of coming across as “filler” material. There are also many tracks that are played very fast and straight, losing a lot of the nuance that had characterized the best moments of the debut album. Songs like “Weballergy”, “False News Travel Fast”, “San Sebastian”, “Wolf & Raven” do not leave any lasting impression on me and come across as throwaway songs, written without giving too much thought to arrangement or song development. Losing some of these weaker tracks would have definitely benefitted the album, which is too long and tends to drag a little as one gets midway through the tracklist.

Another problem is the relative lack of variety in the material. There are two types of songs on this album: soft ballads (“Last Drop Falls”, “Tallulah”) and bulletspeed power metal belters (almost everything else, really). I miss the richer texture of the debut album, where there were more moody mid-tempos and oddball songs in which Sonata Arctica dared experimenting with tempo changes and unusual song structures. With the exception of “The End of This Chapter” and “Sing in Silence”, everything on this album feels played much safer and “by the book”, which overall fails to recapture the freshness, enthusiasm and foolhardiness of the debut.

Overall, Silence is a slightly disappointing sophomore effort for Sonata Arctica. Not much because the objective quality of the music is inferior to the debut, but rather because the music on this record feels less inspired and more formulaic compared to the previous album. Nevertheless, if you liked Ecliptica (and are a fan of the genre, overall) you will most likely find a lot to like on this LP too.

Time Signature Sing in silence...

Genre: Euro power metal

Like "Ecliptica", "Silence" impressed my positively. The style on this album is more or less the same as the "Ecliptica" with catchy and epic vocal hooklines and choruses, thundering drums and solid neoclassical keyboard and guitar acrobatics that would make both Yngwie Malmsteen and Ritchie Blackmore green with jealousy. The keyboards are given more space n this album and have also become more varied (and it may probably due to the entry of a new keyboard-player on this album). The music itself is also more varied. The song structures are a bit more complex compared to "Ecliptica", and some of the tracks are actually even kind of progressive.

The band has teamed up with an actor who delivers stories and vocals on some tracks - and, I must admit I feel that this move is a bit silly and actually disturbs the musical experience more than it enhances it. And in some cases it is just not convincing voice-acting, as in the introduction to 'The End of This Chapter' (a song that features an interesting bridge, by the way), where it falls completely flat.

There are also more ballads on this album than on the debut album, and some of them are quite good, I must say, but most of them I do not find convincing in any way.

"Silence" is not as catchy as "Ecliptica" but it's still a pretty good power metal album, I think - and the cheesometer is still kept at a reasonable level.

Diogenes Silence is the Two-Face of Sonata Arctica’s discography. You know who Two-Face is, don’t you? He’s the guy in Batman who has a fudged-up face, duh. Half of his face is very handsome, and the other half is corroded by acid. He also has multiple personality disorder, and is so concerned with fate that he has to flip a coin whenever he wants to decide on something significant. This is the story of Silence. Half of it rules. The other half does not rule. Flip a coin labeled “fast song” on heads and “slow song” on tails, and you’ll either get a song that totally kicks ass or one that will make time slow to a crawl. Basically, on this album, there’s a direct relationship between how fast a song is and how good it is. Allow me to elaborate…

First, the fast songs. Those would be the good parts. Early on, Sonata Arctica still played a style of power metal that was very similar to that of Stratovarius: lots of double-bass drumming, fast riffage and soaring vocals. There was nothing they did better, and here it shows. Yes, it’s generic, but Weballergy, False News Travel Fast, Black Sheep, Land of the Free, San Sebastian, and Wolf and Raven are so awesome that it doesn’t matter. Each of them feature hook after hook, addicting as power metal can possibly be. Everyone shines on these tracks, with Jani Liimatainen laying down the riffs and dueling with (unfortunately temporary) keyboardist Mikko Harkin (Black Sheep being the best example of this). The moods are generally uplifting, which is a stark contrast to what would become of the band in their later years. I’m telling you, the fast songs on Silence are about as good as you can get when you listen to Sonata Arctica…heck, they’re some of the best songs in the power metal genre. If you’re looking for happy, powerful, over-the-top Euro metal, consider your search over!

Now, for the slow songs. In case you haven’t figured it out by now, these are the bad parts of the album. These are the songs that do not rule. They un-rule, or whatever the opposite word is. They’re boring, sure, but most ballads are; they’re not supposed to be bombastic balls of energy (that’s what the other half of the album is for, remember?). No, the problem with these ballads is, there’s nothing there. At this point in his career, Tony Kakko still did not speak the best English, so the lyrics are extra corny and stupid. There really isn’t much emotion being conveyed; that is, unless you like lots of whining in your slow songs. There’s plenty of that. But no, there’s nothing catchy or cool that makes me want to listen to the slow songs again. Making things worse, there are several of them. Several slow songs that do nothing. On Ecliptica, Letter to Dana was at least tolerable because it was the only cheesy ballad on there (Replica was good), putting less of a strain on my dear skip button. But on Silence, there is WAY too much material that is cheesy and boring. Last Drop Falls and Tallulah, the two “proper” ballads, trudge along as Kakko sings about a loved one and…I don’t know what else, because I almost fell asleep. The End of This Chapter and Sing in Silence end well, but by then it’s too late because the earlier parts of the songs are so slow and bad.

This brings me to another point: the album is just too long. Why are there even that many songs on here, anyway? Revontulet is a cool interlude, but it’s misplaced, being right before a lame ballad, and is thus neutralized. If Sonata Arctica scrapped one of the ballads and one of the slower songs, this album would be great, because it would be mostly faster songs with just enough slow cheese to keep things varied. That’s what they did on Ecliptica…why couldn’t they do that here, too? Yes, Silence is “balanced”…but sometimes too much balance can be bad.

The other aspects of the album aren’t really worth more than a mention. The production is fine (no problems here); this being Sonata Arctica’s sophomore effort, it’s clearer than the mix on Ecliptica, with Tommy Portimo’s bass drums being more audible and Harkin’s keyboards sounding as wonderful and flowery as can be. The bass is once again quiet, but with so much else going on, it doesn’t need to be loud anyway.

You could say that Silence is where Sonata Arctica got their reputation for writing incredible power metal songs along with some pretty bad ballads. Now, remember that this album is not total garbage. If you can buy part of this album, by all means, do it. Just make sure you buy the faster songs. I could continue to make references about this album being half good and half bad (Look, look at the album cover. LOOK! It’s divided into two parts! AAAH! Conspiracy!), but I think I’ve made my point by now. Fast=good, slow=bad. Class dismissed!

Stephen "Silence" is the second release of Finnish power metal act, Sonata Arctica, and they're still roaming around at the same environment like what they did with "Ecliptica". The sound production here is amazing and the songwriting structures are slightly more mature and consistent. The weakness is probably lack of variety and most songs are very much the same, either in the style or the chord progression, making them very hard to differentiate which track is which after only a couple of listens. However, the rhythm section is tightly played and Kakko's vocal is well-handled, so basically this is a pretty solid and balance album.

Standout tracks on this album are "Weballergy" with an amazing chorus, "The End of This Chapter", a spine-chilling stalker story wrapped up in a tremendous melodic metal sleeve, the victorious power metal of "Black Sheep" and "San Sebastian", and "Wolf & Raven" which has a fierce rhythm and furious singing, a blasting experience and simply their finest moment. "False News Travel Fast", "Land of The Free", and "The Power of One" are also good tracks but weaker in some ways. Putting three ballads on a power metal album, in my opinion, isn't a wise decision especially if you're not very capable of writing a great one. "Tallulah", a bit dull but ironically is the best ballad here compared to "Last Drop Falls" or "Sing In Silence".

This is a pleasing album for power metal lovers and could be a great starter if you're curious about Sonata Arctica. With many great songs spread out all over, "Silence" is absolutely an interesting release to have.

LightningRider Silence was my first Sonata Arctica album. I discovered it during an exploration into Finnish power metal, since I wanted to see what Finland had to offer other than Nightwish and Stratovarius. The big problem with a lot of power metal bands is that even their best albums will be monotonous. Sonata Arctica didn't have that problem, because Silence is always offering something new or throwing back to one of the many ideas the album features.

Ecliptica was a technical majesty that boasted classical guitar riffs and a keen sense of progression, but most of the songs were essentially doing the same thing. Such is not true with Silence, where the album mixes not only cheerful songs, sad songs, anthems and ballads, but also carefully places progressive metal and neoclassical metal in unexpected places. The band displays a keener sense of melody than even Blind Guardian is capable of! What's more, they bring so much lyrical crypticism, poetry and meaning to even the most obscure of topics to write about. Internet culture is a theme in the second track, "Weballergy."

Silence features heavy hitters, beautiful ballads, incredible melodies and a wide variety of different power metal tracks. This is my favorite Finnish power metal album, and I think it's a perfect album to introduce a newbie to power metal. Silence gives you all the sounds you want from power metal.

RuneWalsh2112 It didn't take long for Sonata Arctica to release their sophomore album with more music, improved musicianship while leaving the rest of things in status quo.

The biggest change that was audible on "Silence" (no pun intended) was the addition of new musicians to the band roster. Most importantly, the addition of the keyboard wunderkind Mikko Härkin who single-handidly created the blueprint for the band's fast pace keyboard-dominated sound for many year to come, but also made some fans and critics speculate whether Sonata Arctica could be considered a progressive metal band! Personally, I would never classify this style of strong melodic metal as anything other than pure Power Metal but I would be lying if I completely ignored the fact that the band has a few progressive tendencies in their sound. These tendencies would eventually manifest themselves on great compositions like "White Pearls, Black Oceans..." but now I'm getting ahead of myself again.

Unlike the debut album which featured quite a few classic Sonata Arctica tracks, "Silence" has marginally fewer of such classics but the ones that are here definitely outmatch pretty much anything from "Ecliptica"! Songs like "Weballergy", "Black Sheep", "San Sebastian (Revisited)" and especially "Wolf & Raven" are all big concert favorites that are still constantly in the band's repertoire.

In conclusion, I actually regard "Silence" as the band's true debut album since this was where they actually began to experiment with their sound. The end results might not be as exciting for the true fans of Power Metal, but those who are a bit more open-minded will note that the material that works is actually miles ahead of the amateurish approach that was so striking on "Ecliptica". Things would get marginally better on the next two releases!

***** star songs: Wolf & Raven (4:17)

**** star songs: Weballergy (3:51) False News Travel Fast (5:18) Black Sheep (3:42) San Sebastian (Revisited) (4:37) Revontulet (1:32) Tallulah (5:20) The Power Of One (11:39)

*** star songs: ... Of Silence (1:17) The End Of This Chapter (7:01) Land Of The Free (4:24) Last Drop Falls (5:13) Sing In Silence (3:51)