SONATA ARCTICA — Stones Grow Her Name (review)

SONATA ARCTICA — Stones Grow Her Name album cover Album · 2012 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
dtguitarfan
This band holds a special place in my heart as one of the crossover bands that gave this Progressive Metal lover an appreciation for Power Metal. From the masterful instrumental playing to the voice of Tony Kakko, one of the few male voices I would actually call "beautiful" (though extremely versatile, employing growly angry vocals at times as well), this band rocks my world. Over the last couple ofalbums, Unia and Days of Grays, they have really experimented, to the thrill of some and the sorrow of others. I believe this album shows some of the results of that experimentation - I believe they take some of the lessons learned from this experimenting and apply them to the old, comfortable groove. I won't give a track by track analysis of this, but here are some of the highlights, to me:

Shitload of Money - I had to laugh as I listened to this one. This is raunchy, don't care, "I'm gonna say whatever the *$^#! I want because I have the mic and you don't" Metal and it put a big ol' grin on my face.

Losing My Insanity - I think this is the kind of song fans expect of SA - kind of the classic, "Silence" sound.

I Have a Right - This song reminds me for some reason of "Broken" from Winterheart's Guild. It has the atmospheric, peaceful, keyboard-based sound that they underlay with Elias' heavy rhythm guitars which keeps changing patterns.

The Day - Beautiful. Not sure what else to say about this one, but it's like seeing rays of sunshine streaming through clouds.

Cinderblock - Well, this one is the one everyone will be (and already are) talking about. Like it or hate it, this is the one everyone will have an opinion on. When you hear those banjos, you're going to think "what the...?!" But they fuse styles together to create...um...Hillbilly Metal? No matter what anyone says, it's interesting! I personally love it.

Wildfire, Parts II and III - Now here is where SA really show off their Progressive side. Here's where you're going to hear some tricky, changing rhythms, and a song structure that goes way beyond verse/chorus. I absolutely LOVE these two tracks.

All in all, a great album - I enjoyed it thoroughly and hope you do too!
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Diogenes wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Different strokes for different folks. I don't like Unia but The Days of Grays is my second favorite album by them. This one, too, will probably be hit-or-miss among metalheads.
dtguitarfan wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Haha, I LOVE Unia...
Diogenes wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Boy, I don't know. This album has had a Unia effect on me so far. Not as bad as I had feared, but...

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