Sonata Arctica thread

[twosuitsluke]

Huh. I'll spin it today then.

It's not ground breaking or anything, but for me, in 2024, this is about as much as I could hope for in a new Sonata Arctica album.

[Zydar]

I started listening to them in the mid 2000s but was disappointed with the change of style starting with the Unia album, and haven't bothered since. I'll check this one out then if it's more like the first albums.

[twosuitsluke]

I started listening to them in the mid 2000s but was disappointed with the change of style starting with the Unia album, and haven't bothered since. I'll check this one out then if it's more like the first albums.

Yea, my journey was basically the same dude. I was never really interested in anything after the first four albums, but I'd usually check out each new album, just on the off chance. I was always disappointed

[Evermind]

I love the first four records, but nowadays I think Unia and The Days of Grays are the creative peak of Sonata Arctica.

[MirrorMask]

Unia is actually my personal favorite. I love how crazy, creative, wacky and all over the place is.

[wolfking]

Unia is actually my personal favorite. I love how crazy, creative, wacky and all over the place is.

Agreed.  Unia is a special, unique album. 

[Evermind]

Huh. I'll spin it today then.

It's not ground breaking or anything, but for me, in 2024, this is about as much as I could hope for in a new Sonata Arctica album.

Had a listen to this, it did sound solid (some songs had WHG atmosphere for sure) but I guess this kind of sound doesn't do much for me anymore. Dark Empath was interesting and I enjoyed bits of A Monster Only You Can't See. If this makes a second coming for this band I'm glad for them, but I probably won't be revisiting this.

[MoraWintersoul]

Unia/TDoG fans got some crumbs here, so even though it's marketed as power metal and has a shit-ton of fast songs, I really can't complain This will sound like effusive praise, so keep in mind I would rank it about sixth or seventh out of eleven albums overall even though I enjoy it, that discography in order of greatness is just pretty hard to interrupt for me Out of the now last four albums after they'd exited their experimental "every album is a whole different genre" era, The Ninth Hour is still my favorite "new" Sonata album for the higher highs, but it's more tiresome to listen to due to the mix, and it does have a couple of swings and misses, so there are areas where CCB rivals it, and wins.

Singles were ambitious in their structure and length, and they didn't overstay their welcome by the time the album came out, which also basically never happens - the only times I ever even liked the first single since I became a fan were Paid In Full and Closer To An Animal and a lot of the second and third singles were misses for me too Other than the first three singles, my faves were Angel Defiled (the Iron Maiden of it all!) and Teardrops. I would probably put in Shah Mat or Cure For Everything in place of California as the last single. That closer really needed to go somewhere, but at least it has A Vibe.

That song order is absolute ass, it must be said. I might make an alternate album order Spotify playlist to satisfy the Jim Matheos in me.

I also heard Tony's as-of-yet minimally promoted project Himmelkraft recently through a friend who managed to trick one of those Japanese digital music retailers into thinking he's located in Japan* There's a lot of 90's industrial and similar noisy elements to distinguish it from Sonata, and the 70's spacey guitar style is unlike anything heard so far on SA albums, but when you look at the songs themselves, a lot of material on it is slightly less out there than Unia and could have been modified minimally into an SA song. The mid-tempo/ballad action is in full force there, the concept seems interesting (and very Sonata ), the melodies are pretty cool. I'm glad we finally got a full album of this kind of material again after The Days Of Grays and not just 2-3 weirder songs on a regular SA album.

*putting an angel emoji here when I was in the middle of doing that myself, but unsuccessfully, when he sent me the link to the album

[ariich]

New album sounds good from the first couple of listens. Definitely my favourite since Pariah's Child.

I never had a problem with their experimentation of deviation from traditional power metal in itself, and indeed Stones Grow and Pariah's Child are two of my top three (along with Silence), for me the biggest thing is the sound, the energy and the melodic hooks and those are where the last two albums fell down for me. But this seems a big step in the right direction. I don't even think it sounds much like the early albums, it's more quirky and varied and reminds me more of those mid-era albums.

[Dittomist]

I also agree that Unia and The Days of Grays are when Sonata Arctica peaked, but I've found many things to appreciate about each album that followed.

I'm on my third listen of Clear Cold Beyond and while I don't know yet where it'll ultimately land on my album ranking, I'm enjoying it quite a bit. As much as I love dark and depressing Sonata, this uplifting and energetic return to power metal is really hitting the spot.

Dark Empath is probably the album's highlight for me, but if any song is going to dethrone it, it's Angel Defiled, and so I hope you guys are enjoying that one as much as I am!

My only criticism is how the album kinda ends on a whimper with the last two tracks. The Best Things is lame and the title track has some interesting moments but also a really boring ending.