Written by:	Baz Anderson
Published:	January 02, 2010

With these "Getting Into" articles I will present a fair, full description of a band's discography of studio albums with a clear rating out of five, as a way of aiding people that want to get into such bands but do not know where to start. Usually reviews have different authors and are written at different points in time - so this is a clear guide of how to get into the band in question.

Sonata Arctica
Power Metal
Finland

Sonata Arctica are perhaps one of the archetypal so-called "flower metal" bands, but here we are going to look beyond tags and to where you should and should not be looking if you are new to the band. These guys are massive in their home country of Finland and have found commercial success there in recent years. They can still be considered a power metal band, but although they are not as heavy as the German power metal bands they have a neo-classical influence and make heavy use of the keyboards. The band's main man Tony Kakko writes most of the music and the lyrics for the band, which gravitate most of the time towards love and the trials of relationships. The band have evolved over the years and this article will describe each step of the path the band has taken thus far.

Ecliptica (1999) Ecliptica is where it all started. Wild, fast power metal with a ton of double bass drumming and wild, wailing vocals. The main key to this album is the fantastic songwriting employed to create such memorable songs as "Replica" and "Fullmoon" that are still atop the fan's favourites to this day. The band didn't sound as good here as they have done since, Tony's vocals although still great, didn't have the experience he has gained since behind them, and the music as a whole is much more straight-forward than more recent offerings. This may still be the best Sonata Arctica album, it might not, but for the purposes of introducing yourself to this band then Ecliptica is the best place to start.

Silence (2001) With such a debut album the band had a tough job to follow it, but did so successfully two years later with Silence. Here the band moved forward in sound but not so much in any other department. The production on the album is slightly thicker and sounds much better than the first album. Tony and the band sing and play their instruments better than the first album too, but where Silence falls down is the lack of any songs as special as those found on the first album. That doesn't mean to say "Weballergy" and "Wolf & Raven" aren't amazing, furious power metal hits, or that "The End Of This Chapter" isn't the darkest the band has ever been, because it is. The problem with Silence is consistency.

Winterheart's Guild (2003) Again, the band had given themselves a hard challenge following the previous album. Winterheart's Guild is where the critics finally started to make themselves heard, and the momentum of the band somewhat slowed down. Musically the band hadn't slowed down at all and we can once again enjoy Sonata Arctica doing what they do best. This album might not have been as appreciated as it should have been, because with this one the band somewhat seemed to relax and the keyboards especially make the songs flow as if gliding leisurely through the air on some magical journey. "The Cage" and "Victoria's Secret" are the highlights with their awe-inspiring choruses, and the slow, last song "Draw Me" is also worth an honourable mention. Again, maybe the band's best album, maybe not, but for the purposes of introducing yourself to the band, maybe not as good as some others.

Reckoning Night (2004) This is where things started to change a bit. The production on this album will be the first thing to stick out because it is much thicker and heavier than before. The band still stick to the good old, tried and tested power metal style however, but with this album they introduce a whole new level of depth in the music. Lyrics are deeper, and the music is slightly more original. This is where Sonata Arctica started to get a little bit quirky, but on the whole Reckoning Night is another solid power metal album with yet more classics such as "Ain't Your Fairytale" and the eight minute epic "White Pearl, Black Oceans" to hook themselves firmly into your head. Heavier, deeper, more complex. This one might not be the easiest to initially get into, but it is well worth it once you are there.

Unia (2007) By far the most controversial album, among metal fans, the band has released. This is also the most commercially successful the band has been. The band have moved almost completely away from typical power metal with this release. Unia is a very melodic heavy metal album that showcases the band's quirky side they started to hint towards on the last album much more. The album probably threw a lot of people off due to how different it was. The original backlash against the album, although not entirely unfounded, was also perhaps not so deserved. The album is not bad for what it is, but what it is isn't what people thought Sonata Arctica were. There are some good songs such as "In Black And White" and "The Harvest", but this is not the best place to start with the band.

The Days Of Grays (2009) Most recent the band have released perhaps the most mature album of all. The Days Of Grays is an album of two halves. The first half is bombastic and especially with "Flag In The Ground" almost a glorious return to the up-tempo power metal past. The second half is again not so much power metal, but melodic heavy metal. It would be premature to call this a return to the past, but this album is the product of a band that has done the power metal thing and done the commercial thing, and now have just written a solid album of melodic metal. The main problem with the album is that the second half dies down and needs the kick of just one or two more up-tempo numbers, but away from this we can once again enjoy Sonata Arctica in fine form. This wouldn't be a bad album to introduce yourself to the band with, but you would have to keep in mind that it is different to what most people know the band for.

---

Overview

We can see that the band has changed over the years and they are no longer the wild power metal force they once were, but they have however moved slightly towards the progressive and regardless of music tags are still releasing good quality material. It is fair to say that if traditional, fast power metal is your thing then the earlier albums are the ones to go for. If you like darker, more modestly paced melodic material then maybe the later material would please you more. Away from studio albums the band released a number of EPs, but songs you should hear from these such as "San Sebastian" tend to find themselves on albums anyway. The band's last live album "For The Sake Of Revenge" is not necessary considering the setlist wasn't the best they could have chosen and provides nothing new for the listener, although if you can't get enough of the band then it is there for you. The recent negativity towards the band is based entirely on the change of style. You know what you like, make up your own mind.

Written by Barry Anderson