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 "Winterheart's Guild" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Finnish power metal act Sonata Arctica. The album was released through Spinefarm Records in March 2003. It´s the successor to "Silence" from 2001 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as keyboard player Mikko Harkin has left, after a relatively short stint with the band. He has not been replaced here, and lead vocalist Tony Kakko therefore handles most of the keyboards on the album, although Swedish sessions musician Jens Johansson also contribute, playing the more demanding keyboard parts.

The material on "Winterheart's Guild" pretty much continue down the melodic same Euro power metal road that Sonata Arctica also travelled on their first two albums. The keyboards are a little more dominant in places and as Sonata Arctica aren´t satisfied with stagnating they also add new sounds and songwriting ideas to their style, too keep things fresh and interesting for the fans. Highligths to my ears are the charming and playful "Champagne Bath" and the absolutely gorgeous, epic, and brillitantly melodic "Broken". The closing power ballad "Draw Me" is also a strong track, although it closes with nearly 4 minutes of annoying silence. I never understood why artists would do such a thing, and it quite frankly pisses me off...

...oh well...thankfully the remaining tracks on the album are also of a high quality as "Winterheart's Guild" also features a clear, powerful, and detailed sound production, and strong musicianship, 4 minutes of annoying silence at the end of the album aren´t going to ruin my day or my perception of the album, and "Winterheart's Guild" definitely deserves a lot of praise. Sonata Arctica are not only skilled musicians, they are also brilliant composers, and there are moments of absolute bliss on this album that only few artists will ever come close to achieving, so a 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

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.

lukretion Back in the mid/late 1990s, power metal bands were sprouting like mushrooms all over Europe. Sonata Arctica were part of that trend, but differently from many other bands that came and went in the blink of an eye, the Finnish combo was destined to stay. Listening to Ecliptica, their first LP released in 1999, I can understand why. Still today this record sounds superior to a lot of power metal released back then as well as today.

The secret of Sonata Arctica’s success boils down to two key factors: originality and talent. Originality is a big word in the power metal world, where countless band are mere clones of countless other clones. I am not going to lie: Sonata Arctica find plenty of inspiration in the neoclassical metal of bands like Rainbow and Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force, filtered through the aesthetics of their countrymen Stratovarius as well as German acts like Helloween and Gamma Ray. Yet, there are also a couple of unusual influences that emerge here and there in the sound of the Finns that, ultimately, help them differentiate from all the other bands that also grew in the footsteps of dad Malmsteen and grandad Blackmore. The first unusual influence is a quaint taste for the melodic approach of pomp / arena rock bands like Europe or Royal Hunt that is particularly apparent on tracks like “My Land”, “Kingdom for a Heart” and “FullMoon”. These tracks strike a great balance between grit and melody, ballsy speed and symphonic sophistication, like in the best pomp rock/metal tradition. The other unusual influence lies in the melancholic aura that pervades a lot of the material of the album and that brings to mind the gothic aesthetics of Sonata Arctica’s countrymen HIM and Sentenced.

While these subtle twists to the trite power metal formula are decisive to retain my interest throughout the duration of the album, the other reason why I grew addicted to Ecliptica is the incredible talent of the band, particularly their frontman Tony Kakko and their guitarist Jani Liimatainen. The latter is a funambulist of the six strings, speedy but at the same time exquisitely melodic, as the best neoclassic metal guitar players. The true star of Sonata Arctica, though, is his vocalist Tony Kakko, who here also plays keyboards. Actually, his keyboard playing is very remarkable, and the instrument plays a major role in the arrangements and songwriting of the material on Ecliptica. His voice is equally remarkable, richly melodic and with an impressive range. Guitars, keyboards and vocals carry some truly inspired and memorable melodies throughout the album, peaking in songs like “Blank File”, “My Land”, “FullMoon”, the beautiful ballad “Letter to Dana” and “Picturing the Past”. The rhythmic section is less impressive, with the bass barely audible (no surprise here, this is a trademark of so many power metal albums of the time) and doublebass drums going at breakneck speed with little room for expressive playing (no surprise here either).

The album contains a good variety of material, from ultra-fast songs like “Blank File”, “8th Commandment” and “UnOpened”, to moody mid-tempos (“My Land”, “FullMoon”), to languid ballads (“Replica”, “Letter to Dana”), to semi-progressive epics like “Destruction Preventer”. In a few cases the band show an ambition to stretch beyond the mere verse/chorus structure, exploring tempo changes and slightly more articulated structures, like on “My Land”, “FullMoon” and “Destruction Preventer”.

The playing is exuberant and the band’s enthusiasm is contagious, which contributes to make Ecliptica a highly enjoyable album. Add to this some unusually interesting lyrics (at least for the genre), sparing us of yet another knights & dragons story to focus instead on deeper psychological and existential questions, and we have a pretty solid album through and through. The only weakness lies perhaps in the overall sound, which is fairly thin and dry especially when it comes to drums and guitar tone, and that one has to chalk down to low budget and inexperience. Overall, though, this is a great power metal album that rightly received a lot of attention at the time it was released, quickly but deservingly projecting Sonata Arctica at the forefront of the power metal scene.