SONATA ARCTICA — Silence (review)

Album · 2001 · Power Metal

3/5 · 2022-04-22
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.