SONATA ARCTICA — Silence (review)

SONATA ARCTICA — Silence album cover Album · 2001 · Power Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
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from 1999 and there have been a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as bassist Janne Kivilahti has been replaced by Marko Paasikoski (who was an original member of the band, but didn´t perform on the debut album) and Mikko Harkin has been added on keyboards.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.
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