Okay guys, maybe you can explain something for me here. The only album I have, and indeed the only album I have heard, by Sonata Arctica, is Winterheart's Guild, and I was not very impressed at all.

I haven't paid much attention to this band for a long time. But can anyone tell me, are the other albums much different? Are any of them "better", in your opinion? Did I just choose a bad place to start, or is this band just not fitting with my musical tastes?

Can't say much about the other albums, 'cause I don't have any but by looking at your favorite bands list, I'll say that they're not very similar to any of those. Kamelot is the only one that come close.

Written by [user id=2031] on 02.06.2006 at 08:13

Okay guys, maybe you can explain something for me here. The only album I have, and indeed the only album I have heard, by Sonata Arctica, is Winterheart's Guild, and I was not very impressed at all.

I haven't paid much attention to this band for a long time. But can anyone tell me, are the other albums much different? Are any of them "better", in your opinion? Did I just choose a bad place to start, or is this band just not fitting with my musical tastes?

There definitely is some kind of evolution in their four albums. Most notable is the change in keyboard sound. In the first album, Ecliptica, Tony Kakko plays all keys. In Silence, they recruited Mikko Harkin for keys, with Tony doing some additional keys. Mikko left before Winterheart's Guild, and Tony was left on keys again, with Jens Johannsen doing the keyboard solos on The Cage, Victoria's Secret, Silver Tongue and Champagne Bath. Soon after, Henrik Klingenberg was put on keys.

I just got Sonata Arctica´s new DVD and watched it. I liked it a lot. Especially the little documentary... The gig was awesome! I recommend buying that DVD to anyone, who likes Sonata Arctica.

Sonta is Ok band they have some great ballds but also so verry good fast songs liek San Sebastian and Full Moon
damn i cant member names of albums

Written by SteTech on 02.06.2006 at 15:21

Written by [user id=2031] on 02.06.2006 at 08:13

Okay guys, maybe you can explain something for me here. The only album I have, and indeed the only album I have heard, by Sonata Arctica, is Winterheart's Guild, and I was not very impressed at all.

I haven't paid much attention to this band for a long time. But can anyone tell me, are the other albums much different? Are any of them "better", in your opinion? Did I just choose a bad place to start, or is this band just not fitting with my musical tastes?

There definitely is some kind of evolution in their four albums. Most notable is the change in keyboard sound. In the first album, Ecliptica, Tony Kakko plays all keys. In Silence, they recruited Mikko Harkin for keys, with Tony doing some additional keys. Mikko left before Winterheart's Guild, and Tony was left on keys again, with Jens Johannsen doing the keyboard solos on The Cage, Victoria's Secret, Silver Tongue and Champagne Bath. Soon after, Henrik Klingenberg was put on keys.

Okay. That might explain some things. Lineup changes do tend to do strange things to bands. Thank you.

Yeah! Sonata Arctica is a great Power Metal band!!! Soem of their songs are amazing. This group may enter in my list of "Flower Metal". Their best CD will be found in "Silence", with great riffs and solos, one of the best Power Metal CD's ever released. AMAZING!!! Their other CD's are also masterpieces.
Best songs: A lot of them... "Weballergy", "Black Sheep", "FullMoon", "The Cage", "Don't Say A Word", "Victoria's Secret", "UnOpened", "Misplaced", ...

I think that "Silence" was their best album, although the other albums are also good (but it took some time until I finally liked "Reckoning Night").

But in my opinion, the clothes that are worn by Tony while he is singing in concerts are ... funny. I wonder if he wears them voluntarily or if he is forced to wear them ...

Yeah, I've noticed that too. They're pretty hard to describe - I guess I'd describe them as 'strangely girly' or something.

this is the band that got me into metal along with Crematory and Scorpions....love thier albums "Reckoning night", but my favourite remains ( as Shojo said) "Silence"

a different question about SA:
why the hell does tony write so often about taking revenge on a woman?

Written by miss_d on 07.06.2006 at 12:19

a different question about SA:
why the hell does tony write so often about taking revenge on a woman?

Dunno, that's like asking why do DragonForce always sing about fantasy battles?

Written by SteTech on 07.06.2006 at 13:00

Written by miss_d on 07.06.2006 at 12:19

a different question about SA:
why the hell does tony write so often about taking revenge on a woman?

Dunno, that's like asking why do DragonForce always sing about fantasy battles?

Yeah, them or any of the other 5 billion power metal clones.

One of my favourite bands to listen to when im in a melodic metal and ballards mood. To me each of the albums have a little bit of a change... is that because of the keyboard line-up changes so much from one album to another you think? Or is it just me .. probably just me, Ohwell

My prefered album to listen to would be 'Silence', but then again they all come pretty close.

I used to be a huge fan in 2004/2005, until about the Reckoning Night era.
All 4 albums are pretty good, i just find them too boring now though, some bands like Iced Earth, Blind Guardian and Iron Maiden, i just never get sick of, and ive loved them for ages, but Sonata Arctica i dont have this with, i guess i liked their earlier albums moreso than Reckoning Night, from this album, they lost their innocence, hard to explain. I think they try and be too tough on Reckoning Night, i prefer them for their ballads.
My fav albums were Ecliptica and Silence back then, i dont really listen to them anymore though.
I still like them, just they have fallen out of my favourite bands list.

They're awesome. Like a month ago got Reckoning Night in a special edition witth three bonus tracks (including a cover from Depeche Mode's World In your Eyes), I've heard it non-stopping. it's awesome. And they're a different power metal band, not so epic-dragonslayer, but more romantic and complex. They're awesome, Can't wait to get the DVD.

Written by [user id=11156] on 05.06.2006 at 00:58

I think that "Silence" was their best album, although the other albums are also good (but it took some time until I finally liked "Reckoning Night").

But in my opinion, the clothes that are worn by Tony while he is singing in concerts are ... funny. I wonder if he wears them voluntarily or if he is forced to wear them ...

Haha, forced to wear them! That really made me laugh. I could just imagine Jani Liimatainen with a shotgun to Tony's head!

I gave a friend of mine a gift today: Reckoning Night. She was so happy, as it was one of her favorite albums of one of her favorite bands (including with Ecliptica).

So well, Sonata Arctica my give me a new love. That would be cool.

My father told me about this band about 4-5 years ago. He wanted me to listen to one of their CD's, and damn.. I was blown away actually. Some of their songs are really catchy. I'm not going to argue about their albums, because IMO all their albums are equally good.

Sonata Arctica - Guitar Tabs For Reckoning Night Album Online :

Sonata Arctica have posted several guitar tabs for their last album, Reckoning Night, online at their official website. They were created by the fans for the fans. Go to this location to check them out.

BW&BK recently hooked up with Sonata Arctica guitarist Jani Liimatainen to discuss the band's new live DVD, For The Sake Of Revenge, and their future plans. The following is a brief excerpt :

"It was time to put a live DVD out anyway," Jani says of For The Sake Of Revenge. "We've been asked lots of times when we were finally going to get around to doing one, so here it is. We actually filmed two shows but decided to just use one. The fact that the footage is over a year old makes it out of date as far as we're concerned. It's okay, but I think filming it in Japan was a mistake because the audiences are a lot less energetic compared to European audiences. We did a killer show in Finland, for example, in front of 2,300 people with pyro and all that shit, so we should have filmed that one. Japan is definitely a huge market for Sonata Arctica but the audiences aren't nearly as crazy as they are in Europe or South America."

(Website : http://www.sonataarctica.info)

they are a good band, nice songs as shamandalie and gravenimage (i love both of them) and the "for the sake of revenge" is ok

Sonata Arctica is absolutely one of my fav bands..Jani is really fast n Tony's voice is just awesome..I can't stop listenin to their songs,they ROCK! Ecliptica is one of their very best I believe.

I only have one album of Sonata Arctica and I found it very impressive.
I really liked the ballad Letter To Dana and the power songs Replica, Blank File, Kingdom For A Heart.
My favourite is My Land. And one of my favourite of all times.
Can anyone of you recommend another Sonata Arctica album?

Written by [user id=6192] on 01.07.2006 at 02:27

I only have one album of Sonata Arctica and I found it very impressive.
I really liked the ballad Letter To Dana and the power songs Replica, Blank File, Kingdom For A Heart.
My favourite is My Land. And one of my favourite of all times.
Can anyone of you recommend another Sonata Arctica album?

Silence is my favourite of all of their outputs.

Sonata Arctica are probably one of my favorite bands right now. I think all of their albums are great but I would have to say that Silence is my favorite.

I saw Sonata Arctica live yesterday and the were great! I really enjoyed the show, as they played both "My Land" and "The Cage". The songs where they really got the audience with them were "Full Moon" and "8th Commandment". The atmosphere was awesome! Tony had a flu, so his voice wasn´t in the best shape, but he managed quite well.

Written by Ernotar on 01.07.2006 at 12:04

I saw Sonata Arctica live yesterday and the were great! I really enjoyed the show, as they played both "My Land" and "The Cage". The songs where they really got the audience with them were "Full Moon" and "8th Commandment". The atmosphere was awesome! Tony had a flu, so his voice wasn´t in the best shape, but he managed quite well.

You're so fortunate! ahh... I'd die to see a Sonata concert, I just imagine my land, the cage, or full moon live...
And where was the concert? Helsinki?

@ The Alchemist The concert was in Helsinki, at the Tuska festival. I´ll see them another time this summer, when they play in Ankkarock, in the beginning of August. I hope they play Shamandalie then, as they didn´t play it yesterday. And yes, I´m lucky, but my chances to see Sonata Arctica live aren´t always better than your´s, as they tour around the world most of the year or then they play in some clubs, where I can´t get in, as I´m not 18 yet. But this year I´m lucky. Let´s hope they´ll come to Colombia some day...

Written by Ernotar on 01.07.2006 at 21:08

@ The Alchemist The concert was in Helsinki, at the Tuska festival. I´ll see them another time this summer, when they play in Ankkarock, in the beginning of August. I hope they play Shamandalie then, as they didn´t play it yesterday. And yes, I´m lucky, but my chances to see Sonata Arctica live aren´t always better than your´s, as they tour around the world most of the year or then they play in some clubs, where I can´t get in, as I´m not 18 yet. But this year I´m lucky. Let´s hope they´ll come to Colombia some day...

They never seem to hit the UK. I think they did a few festivals but not near where I live. And you should try and get into one of those 18+ clubs! I always go to underage gigs haha.

@ Daru Jericho Are you kidding me! Have you seen my pics? There´s no chance I could get in those clubs, as I look like twelve year old... But the good side is that I can still travel with children´s ticket in train and bus, although I´ve been 17 for almost a year now.