Sonata Arctica thread

[sonatafanica]

I noticed we didn't have one of these, so let's start off with the brand new announcement of their 6th studio album due for release in september!

Here's the announcement:

SONATA ARCTICA have unveiled the new artwork, track listing as well as the album title of their forthcoming album.

"THE DAYS OF GRAYS" will see a worldwide release (excluding Asia) through Nuclear Blast Records on September 18th, 2009 (September 16th in Finland and September 22nd in the USA).

Formats / track listing:

Ltd. 2CD-Digipak:

01. Everything Fades To Gray (Instrumental)
02. Deathaura
03. The Last Amazing Grays
04. Flag In The Ground
05. Breathing
06. Zeroes
07. The Dead Skin
08. Juliet
09. No Dream Can Heal A Broken Heart
10. As If The World Wasn't Ending
11. The Truth Is Out There
12. Everything Fades To Gray (full version)

Bonus Track:

13. In The Dark

Bonus CD: track listing TBA.

CD Jewelcase:

01. Everything Fades To Gray (Instrumental)
02. Deathaura
03. The Last Amazing Grays
04. Flag In The Ground
05. Breathing
06. Zeroes
07. The Dead Skin
08. Juliet
09. No Dream Can Heal A Broken Heart
10. As If The World Wasn't Ending
11. The Truth Is Out There
12. Everything Fades To Gray (full version)

So far this looks fantastic. The track titles are very interesting, as they don't sound like typical, or even Unia Sonata names.


And for those of you who disliked Unia, there's hope! Kakko said in a few interviews that they are not going so much in the Unia direction, but more towards their traditional sound, but in a different way. Mostly combining the prog-esque tendencies of Unia with probably more of a Reckoning Night sound.

So I'm thinking it may sound like.....power metal Mastodon-ish? I'm cool with that!


And for those of you who have never listened to Sonata Arctica before, here's a quick rundown.

 They are a Finnish metal band (and the source of my username) whose debut album was very traditional Power Metal. What set them aside from the others was that they didn't write songs that dealt with swords and dragons, which is typical of the genre. Instead, real issues and emotions are dealt with, backed by powerful music, or the band's special way of setting the 'metal' instruments aside for some very soft and touching songs. Through their next 2 albums (Silence and Winterheart's Guild (WG featured Jens Johansson on keyboards, who before had auditioned for DT)) they stuck to the same sort of formula, but the style changed in a way that only they could change it, making each album distinguishable and memorable. Their 4th studio album came out with a much more 'metal' oriented sound, with a bit less power metal vibe.

Their most recent release (Unia, 2007) shocked the fanbase, as it was something completely new. They had dropped everything from the sound they were known for and went with a majority of mid-tempo but crushing metal tracks laced with progressive influences here and there. "unia" is Finnish for "dreams", which is appropriate because of the strange subject matters and sounds on the album. The album also has a bit of a turnaround, the first track being the heaviest, and the last composed of the vocalist playing piano and singing, accompanied by a small string section. Hated by some, but I personally find it to be interesting.

tl;dr

Tasteful, melodic, metal band that is sometimes soft and heartwarming, and lyrically deals with real situations and emotions.


Discuss!

[Zydar]

Cool! I didn't know anything about a new album release. Although I don't really like the last one, Unia. I prefer their earlier sound, pure Finnish power metal.

Favourite songs:

- 8th commandment
- Blank file
- My land
- Full moon
- Victoria's secret
- Broken
- Ain't your fairytale
- Don't say a word

[sonatafanica]

Good picks. My favorites are something like,

Shy
Mary Lou
Don't Say A Word
Black Sheep
The End of This Chapter
Caleb

and the instrumental version of My Dream's But a Drop of Fuel for a Nightmare

[TheVoxyn]

Nice, I really like them. Looking forward to a new album. Awesome live band, and a couple of nice albums. I especially like Silence.

[sonatafanica]

Someone on the Sonata forums was looking around and found something interesting on the label's website.

Apparently the second disc of the limited edition is orchestral versions of

Deathaura
The Last Amazing Grays
Flag In The Ground
Juliet
As If The World Wasnt Ending
The Truth Is Out There
In The Dark

But it's not confirmed yet...so I won't say anything for sure.

[Volk9]

Only album I have from them is Unia, which I like (I guess since it was their first album that I've bought/listened too) I tried one of their earlier albums (I dont remember which one atm), but it didnt stand out too much to me. Maybe I'll try again later.

But yeah, I'll add this upcoming album to my "buy" list

[Fuzzboy]

I was looking for some news on the new album last night and didn't find anythingl, so I guess this info was released today. Thanks for posting it here! 

This is really gonna be a great year for music.

[sonatafanica]

I was looking for some news on the new album last night and didn't find anythingl, so I guess this info was released today. Thanks for posting it here! 

This is really gonna be a great year for music.

My pleasure, buddy! 


Yeah, I have ReminderFox open, and about 5 album releases are marked for September alone!



EDIT: Also, a single will be released on August 26th.

[emindead]

I hope it beats Unia as that album didn't have anything memorable.

Favourite songs?
-Replica
-Kingdom For a Heart
-Full Moon
-Letter To Dana
(Great series of songs!!!! WOW)
-The End of This Chapter
-Black Sheep
-The Last Drops Fall
-San Sebastian
-Tallulah
-Shy
-(Their cover of) I Want Out
-The Misery
-Broken

[PlaysLikeMyung]

I like them. I'm not hard into them though... I should probably listen a bit more

[Perpetual Change]

Great news! Hope it's a strong as the first half of Unia, but all the way through, and I'll be happy.

[TheVoxyn]

I really like Sonata, but man - those guys gave me some hearing problems. The sound at their concert was so loud, my ears hurt for days. God is an Astronaut was even louder, but I was prepared then .

They were pretty awesome though. Tony is amazing, and funny.

[sonatafanica]

Glad we have some fans here!


Now it's time to discuss the new cover art.



Awesome.

[MetalMike06]

Thanks for the news; I have nearly forgotten about SA lately. I heard they were going to work on an album but I didn't know it was coming this quickly.

I know they are coming to my city on September 28, just a few days after the release! I've never seen them live before, so I hope they still play lots of older songs. I used to be waaay into them.

And they better play San Sebastian.

[sonatafanica]

Thanks for the news; I have nearly forgotten about SA lately. I heard they were going to work on an album but I didn't know it was coming this quickly.

I know they are coming to my city on September 28, just a few days after the release! I've never seen them live before, so I hope they still play lots of older songs. I used to be waaay into them.

And they better play San Sebastian.

I wouldn't worry about it, they only have five albums, and they play San Sebastian all the time! When I saw them, the only played one RN song and three Unia songs, the rest were older songs.

[Fuzzboy]

Thanks for the news; I have nearly forgotten about SA lately. I heard they were going to work on an album but I didn't know it was coming this quickly.

I know they are coming to my city on September 28, just a few days after the release! I've never seen them live before, so I hope they still play lots of older songs. I used to be waaay into them.

And they better play San Sebastian.

I wouldn't worry about it, they only have five albums, and they play San Sebastian all the time! When I saw them, the only played one RN song and three Unia songs, the rest were older songs.

That was the show at the Culture Room, right? Dat shit wuz fuckin tite.

You remember this part?:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoUfy6V41FI

I just found that guy's videos a few days ago. Shit quality, but better than nothing. There's also a couple more from that show, but from different users.

[sonatafanica]

Thanks for the news; I have nearly forgotten about SA lately. I heard they were going to work on an album but I didn't know it was coming this quickly.

I know they are coming to my city on September 28, just a few days after the release! I've never seen them live before, so I hope they still play lots of older songs. I used to be waaay into them.

And they better play San Sebastian.

I wouldn't worry about it, they only have five albums, and they play San Sebastian all the time! When I saw them, the only played one RN song and three Unia songs, the rest were older songs.

That was the show at the Culture Room, right? Dat shit wuz fuckin tite.

You remember this part?:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoUfy6V41FI

I just found that guy's videos a few days ago. Shit quality, but better than nothing. There's also a couple more from that show, but from different users.

Yeah, that's the one! I loved that part of the show! Hopefully he'll come up with something similar for this coming tour. (No FL dates yet )

Awesome setlist as well. Did you meet the band at the end of the show?

[Fuzzboy]

Thanks for the news; I have nearly forgotten about SA lately. I heard they were going to work on an album but I didn't know it was coming this quickly.

I know they are coming to my city on September 28, just a few days after the release! I've never seen them live before, so I hope they still play lots of older songs. I used to be waaay into them.

And they better play San Sebastian.

I wouldn't worry about it, they only have five albums, and they play San Sebastian all the time! When I saw them, the only played one RN song and three Unia songs, the rest were older songs.

That was the show at the Culture Room, right? Dat shit wuz fuckin tite.

You remember this part?:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoUfy6V41FI

I just found that guy's videos a few days ago. Shit quality, but better than nothing. There's also a couple more from that show, but from different users.

Yeah, that's the one! I loved that part of the show! Hopefully he'll come up with something similar for this coming tour. (No FL dates yet )

Awesome setlist as well. Did you meet the band at the end of the show?

No, I didn't. To this day, I kick myself in the face (metaphor) for not waiting around after the show.

[sonatafanica]

Ah, no worries. There will be other chances. And if they come back down here, we can meet up and awkwardly shake hands, and I'll say, "You don't have a mustache." and you'll say, "And You're not a wolf."

[Fuzzboy]

Ah, no worries. There will be other chances. And if they come back down here, we can meet up and awkwardly shake hands, and I'll say, "You don't have a mustache." and you'll say, "And You're not a wolf."

I look forward to that. 

[sonatafanica]

In other news, "They Follow" is a great song.

It's a bonus track on certain editions of Unia, and it's a shame because it is waaay better than a lot of tracks on the standard album.

[Fuzzboy]

That's an amazing song. In fact, I think that if it would have been included on the standard edition of Unia, it'd be the best song on the album (IMO of course).

[Sigz]

I know absolutely no Sonata Arctica songs. Recommend me an album. NAO. 

[sonatafanica]

I know absolutely no Sonata Arctica songs. Recommend me an album. NAO.  

I THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME


Start with Silence. Mainly the tracks Black Sheep, The End of This Chapter (which is actually the beginning of a song story series, sort of like the 12 step suite), Wolf and Raven, Sing in Silence, and The Power of One.

Remember, their sound changes over their albums in a pretty noticeable way.

[Neccy60]

Quick

Reckoning Night > Silence > Unia > Ecliptica > Winterheart's Guild

Their best songs are Wolf & Raven, FullMoon, Misplaced, My Selene, and Tallulah.

They're good live. D:

[MetalMike06]

I know absolutely no Sonata Arctica songs. Recommend me an album. NAO.  

I THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME


Start with Silence. Mainly the tracks Black Sheep, The End of This Chapter (which is actually the beginning of a song story series, sort of like the 12 step suite), Wolf and Raven, Sing in Silence, and The Power of One.

Remember, their sound changes over their albums in a pretty noticeable way.

I second that...Silence is my favorite probably. I also really love Ecliptica (their debut), but just FYI it's very traditional-power-metal sounding...Very reminiscent of classic Stratovarius...But still awesome nonetheless.

[Zydar]

My favourite is their first, Ecliptica. So many great songs on that one, especially on the first half.

I have the live DVD they released a few years ago, For The Sake Of Revenge. I should watch that again some time. It's great.

[ariich]

Cool news, and the album art looks like a return to their old style.

I personally liked Unia, because I'm not obsessed with bands having to be in a particular style. I didn't care that there were no super fast songs; the songs were well written and there were some great melodies.

[sonatafanica]

Yeah, that's how I saw it too.

And as fans, we should have seen Unia coming after the change in style between Winterheart's Guild and Reckoning Night.

[Valdor]

Finally some info!
Well, the cover certainly looks great! And I'm looking forward to hearing their new sound as well.

I personally liked Unia, because I'm not obsessed with bands having to be in a particular style. I didn't care that there were no super fast songs; the songs were well written and there were some great melodies.

Same for me, I enjoy all Sonata albums equally. They all are great in their own way, and always have their respective highs and lows.

I really like Sonata, but man - those guys gave me some hearing problems. The sound at their concert was so loud, my ears hurt for days. God is an Astronaut was even louder, but I was prepared then .

Tell me about it! I saw them on the Unia tour in Helsinki and forgot to take my earplugs with me. I had tome improvise some from paper, and they weren't exactly comfortable. 

[InstrumentalFiasco]

Been a big fan for awhile now...I cannot wait for TDOG...Unia was my favorite so far. Nice and proggy

[sonatafanica]

This may be premature information, but it appears the single will be "The Last Amazing Grays"


Which leads me to think that the whole "Grays" thing is a play on "Grace." Pretty cool.

[Sigz]

Wolf and Raven is fucking amazing. I had to start learning it on guitar right after my first listen. 

[sonatafanica]

Wolf and Raven is fucking amazing. I had to start learning it on guitar right after my first listen. 

The intro is INSANE.

Jani Liimatainen was a huge Dream Theater fan. (He left the band in '07, just months before i saw them live  )


Also, I think there will be a box set edition.

[Storm Rider]

I rediscovered SA in 2007 because of Unia. And now they are going back to their traditional sound again. What a disappointment...