Written by Judas on 08.02.2007 at 07:17

Just listened to 'Ecliptica' for the first time in a while. Man, 'Fullmoon' is one amazing song!

*goes to learn piano part*

Yeah, the song is really great, id probably say the best of them, but i like replica and my land more

I hope Liimatainen gets to lay down awesome solos on the new record. I've seen recordings of him playing solos at gigs and they're far superior than the ones in Sonata songs.

Great band! ...one of my favourites. I have all their CD:s, th DVD, and many (almost all) singles and Ep:s (including the japanese release Takatalvi) ...i have seen the band live 4 times. ...and also i have talked with the band members many times (YES, i live in finlans. )

...and i don't think that SA is overrated, but there is many power metal bands that are... :S

I really hope they do away with those fuckin annoying church-organ sounding keyboard bullshit....thats the thing that put me off most about "Reckoning Night", it completely changed their sound for the worst. Keyboards have always been a big part of their sound and when they got it wrong like last time it totally ruined the album for me.

They've made one of my favorite albums, Ecliptica. My Land and Blank File are really great songs.

I was disapointed by their live show though

SA is my favourite band and has been like that for years.

I personally think Ecliptica is their weakest album, even though it's awesome too. It's more Stratovarius-like than the others and I've never really liked Strato except for few songs. Silence, Winterheart's Guild and Reckoning Night are to me equally their best releases. Reckoning Night is way better than what most make it seem like.

To tell you the truth I have no idea what to expect with this album.....I dont know what their approach will be it seems like such a long time since Reckoning Night. At least we can all agree that it will be cheesy as fuck hhaha

Oh yeah of course it will be cheesy...but that's what we love about power metal. I haven't got any expectations about the new album besides the fact that it's going to be great, or at least I hope it will be.

DAMN! Jani will be unable to play on Sonata Arctica's gigs this Spring. Luckily Sonata will have a replacing guitarist, so they won't have to cancel the gigs. I hope the replacement is good, as I've already paid for the ticket to Tavastia... I guess he has to go to the army or something like that. I just hope it doesn't mean cutting his hair too...

Along with the sound, it looks like they will be changing their style a bit.

Track lists and covers of the incoming album and single (kansikuva = cover); http://www.imperiumi.net/news_2.php?id=4337

@Woodsy: I have to buy it too.I always have atleast two versions of one album if not more. I do not agree on The Rest Of The Sun Belongs To Me. It is a great song and the solos are one of the best ones from Sonata Arctica, but I agree for it to be a bonus track because I do not think that it fits in very well with the rest of the album.

@Ernotar: He might be ven better than Liimatainen. I have seen him on stage. Do not expect the same way of playing though.
I am just dissapointed because my mother wanted to come and see the show in Tavastia. Now she will not get the "true" Sonata Arctica -lineup.

@ Lioncourt I checked the replacement's (don't remember the name anymore Elias... ) website and seems he's a good choice. Of course I'll miss Jani, but I'm sure the band will do everything they can to play a great gig. And after all, they'll probably play new songs, so I can't know how Jani would've played them... My friends will see Sonata live for the first time, so they won't see the "true"-lineup either, but I suppose they don't care.

@Woodsy: Well you are right on the lyrics, but Sonata Arctica has always good lyrics :p

EDIT: News taken from Kulta's site:

"Japanese version of Sonata Arctica's new album "UNIA" detail information have announced @ Avalon/Marquee site.
It will precede the release on 23 May in Japan.

"UNIA" (MICP-10658)
1. digipack (first edition)
2. enclosed special privilege (contents has not decided yet) (first edition)
3. bonus tracks

* 13. The follow
* 14. Out in the fields
* 15. My dream's but a drop of fuel for a nightmare (instrumental version)
*=bonus tracks"

sonata one of the best fucking bands in the world

I am really anticipating this album! This band kicks so much ass!

Oh dear. That's certainly not what I wanted to hear :S

The weird half-pop/half-power metal approach of Reckoning Night has killed my interest in new SA material. From all reports, it sounds like they've more or less continued with this sound, so I'll probably give 'Unia' a miss.

Kinda interesting how the goofier, less power metal new logo relfects the music's departure from the old sound.

Sonata is the first band I learned to love. However, I've already slept on the couch for some time. I hope this album will wake up the passion again. After few listens, it doesn't seem that bad. 'Hilipatihippan'-style on the earlier albums hasn't really done it for me in ages so I'm maybe glad of the change. Bands have to evolve in a way or another.

Still - I miss the awesome solos.

I've already started liking the new album - but still miss the great solos . It takes time to grow on you.

Still, I'm sure the fans of plain power metal (who might not want to take the time to really get into the music) will be disappointed.


EDIT: I don't know if it's just the freshness of the album or my recent love for progressive metal, but this is steadily becoming my favourite SA album.

I've always bashed this band for no good reason. Lately I've been listening a lot to Silence and I must say that I'm so sorry! How could I even say something negative about this wonderful band? Silence is soothing, it makes you happy and feel good. It sure is a fantastic album with a lot of great songs.

Sonata are pretty immense, but I prefer their older stuff, partially because the guitar seems more complicated, but on the newer stuff of theirs that I have, the keyboard seems to overpower the other instruments a bit

The new album is awesome. I didn't like it the first time through, but it really gets better with every listen. Just because they have started a new direction doesn't mean they are going "pop" or anything like that. This album is far from rushed, there are such amazing qualities to the album. I don't think their guitar sound has ever been this clear, Jani definetly put a lot of work to get his sound. Jani has been saying for a while that he loves playing what he plays, but solos can get boring after a while, he wanted this album to have less solos, but it isn't completely void of beautiful Jani solos, there are 4 of them on the album. The keyboard parts are so much better this time around, too. It isn't used how it had been in past albums, it makes the mood a lot darker. They keyboard parts have always been boring until solo time, now they have stronger and more intricate parts. The bass has even gotten better, he doesn't just follow the guitar parts anymore, he goes in his own direction in many parts on the album. The vocals are more diverse than on any other of their albums. Throwing in occasional screams, or his gritty fast singing to his beautiful melodic singing.

@James Woods: You obviously don't know much about the creation of Sonata's albums. Winterheart's Guild was their most rushed work, writing it all in a month and a half. This latest album was being written for over 6 months and Toni put more time and work into this album than any of the others. I will agree, however, this album sounds nothing like Sonata's first 3 albums, but what is everybodys fear of change? Anytime a band changes their sound because they don't want to become stale, everybody hates it, and they just say they are selling out.

I say the new album is worthy to be a Sonata album.

Written by Richard Numbah on 09.04.2007 at 19:44

The new album is awesome. I didn't like it the first time through, but it really gets better with every listen. Just because they have started a new direction doesn't mean they are going "pop" or anything like that. This album is far from rushed, there are such amazing qualities to the album. I don't think their guitar sound has ever been this clear, Jani definetly put a lot of work to get his sound. Jani has been saying for a while that he loves playing what he plays, but solos can get boring after a while, he wanted this album to have less solos, but it isn't completely void of beautiful Jani solos, there are 4 of them on the album. The keyboard parts are so much better this time around, too. It isn't used how it had been in past albums, it makes the mood a lot darker. They keyboard parts have always been boring until solo time, now they have stronger and more intricate parts. The bass has even gotten better, he doesn't just follow the guitar parts anymore, he goes in his own direction in many parts on the album. The vocals are more diverse than on any other of their albums. Throwing in occasional screams, or his gritty fast singing to his beautiful melodic singing.

I say the new album is worthy to be a Sonata album.

Sounds like one hell of an album and one not to be missed. Hope I can find it in stores

Have you heard Unia?? It's getting so better this band!! I really adorated Reckoning Night!! It was the best album made ever by them... but Unia... I think it'll became the best of them!

That's a good point... when bands became worse in their CDs it's a problem xP

Yay! Sonata Arctica will perform in Ankkarock-festival this year. I just hope they won't play only new songs in their gigs this summer. I won't judge the new album without hearing the songs first though...

Written by [user id=3160] on 07.04.2007 at 15:49

@Hyvaarin - Unia is even worse than Reckoning Night, they have seriously sold themselves so short with this new album even after listening to it more I just can't get anything out of it. It's a pointless album and they are gonna suffer badly because of this when it is released, it's just trying ot be heavy for the sake of it but all it does is ruin the songs and take away what made them beautiful.

Hmm... having given the album a decent enough listen, I've gotta say it's not doing anything for me. "Pointless" is a good word for it - it's not *bad*, but nothing really stands out/is memorable. It definitely feels like they've lost the fire.

If what you said about their touring Australia in October is true... I'm there. They'd better play Brisbane, though.

I have to say that the initial reactions do disappoint me somewhat... I hope I will like it though. I wouldn't really mind a more proggier sound for this band.

Written by Ernotar on 10.04.2007 at 13:31

Yay! Sonata Arctica will perform in Ankkarock-festival this year. I just hope they won't play only new songs in their gigs this summer. I won't judge the new album without hearing the songs first though...

That's true, you have to listen first. I didn't listen to the new album yet... But I have a feeling that's telling me that there's no another "Letter to Dana"...

Sonata Arctica were great live last night! Luckily they mostly played the older songs. Only three new songs and the sounded good to me. Henkka was pretty drunk (like always).

@Ernotar: Care to post a review/setlist?