Reviewed By: Nicholas R. Andreas
Artist: Sonata Arctica
Album: The Days of Grays
Genre: Power-Metal
Year of Release: 2009
On Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Days-Grays-Sonata-Arctica/dp/B002F1JMIS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1255038627&sr=8-1 One of the interesting things about Sonata Arctica’s newest album is the light it shines on their previous work, Unia. The record will show I was no fan of that album, and so naturally I was a little reserved with my expectations for this album. But now I can look back on Unia in a similar to fashion to that of Rush’s Caress of Steel. The album would prove to be a turning point in the bands career, a mix between what Rush had been and what they would become, and most fans agree that something just wasn’t there on that album. However, unlike Caress of Steel, I now view Unia as a full jump into what Sonata Arctica would become, just very poorly executed. The Days of Grays is a new Sonata Arctica, well done. One of the most interesting things about it, and what has sparked a good part of my interest in the album, and my renewed interest in the band is how the band progressed on the album. It was not a foray into the progressive-metal realm of bands like Vanden Plas or Threshold, that one might expect a power metal band would attempt, but instead is perhaps an odd marriage of progressive rock’s art-rock sub-genre with power metal.
After the soothing instrumental version of “Everything Fades to Gray”, the album rips open with “Deathaura”. When I first heard the very beginning of this song I immediately thought, “Oh no, here we go, it’s Unia all over again.” The intro to the song is one of several parts on the album that have awkwardness to them. And that awkwardness is remains my only major complaint with the album. However a lot of those parts grew on my with a few listens, something I cannot say about Unia. In fact I can say this is one of those albums that get better every time you listen to it! Although not always the case, power metal can often have a way or boring over time and repeated listens, but I think the new sounds and ideas that Tony Kakko brought into this album will allow it to stand the test of time very well.
The third track on the album, which also happens to be the title track, is where the album really starts to take off. The verses really remind me of softer parts of older Sonata songs, while the chorus really does a good job of blending their new sounds into the song. Other standout tracks include “Flag in the Ground”, “Juliet”, and the full version of “Everything Fades to Gray”. The rest of the album ranges from quite good to songs that are slightly lacking in something, or that have some of those awkward moments I mentioned earlier. Perhaps as a whole the one thing the album lacks is any songs that will be remembered as well as classics such as “Full Moon”. While none of the tracks on this album may stick out like that song did, the album is very well done from start to finish and the boys in Sonata deserve a lot of credit for taking the style of Unia and merging it with the quality of the albums that came before it.
Composition: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Musicianship: 7/10
Final Presentation: 9/10
Overall: 8/10 or 80%