Written by:	Baz Anderson
Published:	April 23, 2013
Event:	Sonata Arctica: UK Tour (Website)
Location:	Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Galleries:	Sonata Arctica - Nottingham, England, 14th April 2013 by Baz Anderson (16)

A strangely warm Sunday evening, and the Nottingham venue had a very laid back feel about it. Spring may have finally arrived, along with the first date of Sonata Arctica's mini UK tour.




Before the main event however, the lively supporting bands were on a mission. London-based Neonfly have been working hard for the last few years, and their growth was evident. Energetic and full of life, the band thoroughly entertained the audience with some great songs, such as the epic "Ship With No Sails". These guys just keep getting better! Pythia also made an impression with their captivating Mediæval Bæbe frontwoman and up-tempo symphonic power metal. Emily's vocals are some of the best of her gender you could wish to hear, if not the best! Certainly both bands to watch out for!



The main room was starting to get a little snug for the main event. Kicking off their short UK tour, the band seemed very fresh and sounded great. The band favoured the new material heavily in the setlist, but refreshingly and perhaps a little surprisingly, these new songs from the Stones Grow Her Name album really came to life live. "The Day"; a song about the Japanese tsunami had new power, and the bouncy "Cinderblox" towards the end of the set sounded simply awesome with so much more energy and life than on CD.



So the new songs were a total hit live, but as always we got to visit some of the old favourites. The audience sang along with the trio of "Tallulah", "FullMoon" and "Replica" and the band, barring the bass player, all seemed to be having a great time too. Sonata Arctica have moved away from traditional power metal on both their albums and in their live setlist selection, but that doesn't mean their live shows aren't still highly enjoyable and well worth the experience.



Sonata Arctica have brought the sun back to Europe with them from their adventures in South America. This evening was enjoyed by both band and audience, and a fantastic wake up out of hibernation for the Spring and year to come!



An interview with Tony Kakko from before the show can also be seen by following this link.

Setlist: Only The Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful) / Black Sheep / Alone In Heaven / Shitload Of Money / The Gun / The Day / I Have A Right / The Last Amazing Grays / Broken / Paid In Full / Losing My Insanity / Tallulah / FullMoon / Replica / Cinderblox / Don't Say A Word