Sonata Arctica - Stones Grow Her Name - review
Sonata Arctica - Stones Grow Her Name - review
Tracklist
01. Only The Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful)02. Shitload Of Money
03. Losing My Insanity
04. Somewhere Close To You
05. I Have A Right
06. Alone In Heaven
07. The Day
08. Cinderblox
09. Don't Be Mean
10. Wildfire, Part: II - One With The Mountain
11. Wildfire, Part: III - Wildfire Town, Population: 0
12. Tonight I Dance Alone [digipak bonus]
13. One-Two-Free-Fall [Japanese bonus]
A review by
Baz Anderson May 17, 2012
Five years ago when Unia was released, it was like Sonata Arctica lost their true identity. There are certainly great moments on both that album and ...Grays, but the band seemed somewhat directionless and overcompensated with quirkiness. It was as if the band were going through a mid-life crisis without original guitarist Jani.
Stones Grow Her Name follows this trend, but is much more of a concise album than the erratic Unia and album of two halves ...Grays. There are no majestic, soaring power metal classics found here, the album actually feels at a relatively slower pace than any of their other albums, but that doesn't mean we should write the album off straight away.
In this more solid sound the band have put together some very nice melodies. There might not be any up-tempo "Flag In The Ground"-types with wonderful anthemic choruses, but the vital core and spirit of the band can still be found and does shine brightly through songs like "Losing My Insanity" and "Alone In Heaven". The bizarre "Shitload O' Money" does hark back to a very Unia feel, while "Somewhere Close To You" is perhaps the heaviest the band have sounded. Album highlight "Cinderblox" is a much needed injection of fun into the album, and "Wildfire Part III" does go some way to satisfying any primal power metal urges too.
Stones Grow Her Name then, is certainly not an instant hit, but given some time and dedication can be enjoyed. Sonata Arctica are a different band now, the guys are more than a decade older than when they put their first hyper-charged albums together, and this is reflected in the direction of this album more so than ever before.
Not a classic album by any means and not particularly memorable either, but good enough is good enough for the surviving fans of this great Finnish band, who will be able to pick out and cherish the golden moments found here to fuel the years of wait for the next album. A little underwhelming but satisfactory nevertheless.
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Heavy metal
Finland
Length: 53:14
Nuclear Blast
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 7 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written on 17.05.2012 by
Written on 17.05.2012 by
Member of Staff since 2006 Comments
Comments:
27
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Posts: 9577
I haven't listened to any Powermetal since... I don't even know when, maybe Rob Rock?  Maybe I will actually listen to this. Just for shits and giggles.
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| YureiYumi
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| Cal Wolvington
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I loved The Days of Grays and Unia actually grew on me. So I have to check out this album. Although I'll probably miss the up-tempo songs.
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Will really miss the old SA style but I think I will like this album after all. Can't wait till the CD arrives next week.
---- The Land Is Silent... Before The Storm!
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Posts: 179
Sonata Arctica's albums have been interesting to say the least in the last few years, but haven't warranted the replay factor for me like they did in the first few. The odd timing signatures make it difficult for me to follow their melodies through and through IMHO. That said, I do have to give them props though for venturing out of the power metal box formula.
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I've only heard "I Have a Right" and I swear I could feel my estrogen levels sky-rocket. :/
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Posts: 179 Written by Slayer666 on 17.05.2012 at 21:13 +1
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Posts: 278 Written by Slayer666 on 17.05.2012 at 21:13 +2, so I'm more than a little hesitant about checking this one out, in truth. Still haven't checked Dragonforce's newest lol, just been lying around since I got it. Maybe I'll be feeling a bit masochistic one day and listen to both for the first time 
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Posts: 48 Written by Druss on 18.05.2012 at 13:35 that's what i did when Imaginarium Nightwish was out. i waited until Epica newest came out, so i could listen to too of my favorite bands together
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Posts: 2751 Written by Abel on 18.05.2012 at 15:52 You are not the only one.
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Posts: 1122 Written by Abel on 18.05.2012 at 15:58 It was originally a Sonata Arctica leftover that Tony Kakko gave to Ari Koivunen to release on his solo album. Eventually SA decided to release their own version of the song. Not really a cover, is it?
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Jani only composed "My Selene", the rest is made entirely by Tony Kakko. So stating the band seems directionless without Jani seems a bit invalid. Also Tony wanted to keep things simple this time. Unia and The Days of Grays were more complex and experimental, whilst Stones Grow Her Name contains elements of everything Tony has written before and is more straightforward.
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Well so i decided to download the album, before the original arrives at my house. I´ve heard it a couple of times by now and what can i say? I mean you´ll get neither the old or the most recent Sonata Arctica. You´ll get instead a more matured, experienced and in your face Sonata Arctica, picking up some pieces of the past, but transforming them in a really unique Sonata Arctica way! Simple, hard-rockish, raw at some parts, melodic, and definitely more mature. This is definitely a new step by a band that is everything but consentual in the eyes of the fans. Im curious to read all the opinions of the fans of the band. 
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Mediocre, and the worst they have ever released. But ok nonetheless...
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I've listened to this Album twice so far and I'm really enjoying it! To say I think it's a drastic improvement over the last two albums is a major understatement. It has the same level of diversity, if not more so, but this time the quality of the songs is simply better. 'Shitload of Money' is such a catchy and enjoyable song it's unreal.
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Posts: 335 Written by Druss on 18.05.2012 at 13:35 In regards Dragonforce's latest album, you could be pleasantly surprised. Shorter songs, more variety, brilliant new Vocalist and the excessive Guitar Wankery has been cut down on significantly.
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Posts: 173
This is just a bad album once again... They kept release crappy albums after Reckoning Night.... The new Wildfire parts are a disgrace to the first part. Too bad, they used to be good 
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Posts: 78
A review is always an opinion so I don't understand why people bother to fight it. Just read it and move on. I agree with this one tho. The album is worth a couple listenings but it doesn't have the value for more than a rate 7.
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