Sonata Arctica Appreciation Thread

[perverse]

I've known of this band for quite a long time... and had heard and enjoyed their cover of Fade to Black on the four horsemen tribute CD, but honestly have just ignored them for the past, oh, 5 or 6 years at least. what a grave mistake that has been, these guys are simply incredible. if you like power and/or progressive metal you owe it to yourself to listen to these guys if you haven't already.

so yeah, just a shout out to see if anyone else digs these guys as much as i am at the moment. i honestly haven't listened to anything else for the past month or 2.

my favourite tracks thus far have to be:

White Pearl, Black Oceans...
this is a progressive/power track concerning a lighthouse watchman that involuntarily neglects his post one night due to a one night stand gone wrong and causes the White Pearl to wreck. incredible musically and lyrically.

Fullmoon
power metal track from their first album. simply stunning. something about a werewolf that kills his lover. was saying "run away run away run away!" in my head all day the first time i heard this song. infectious.

The Cage
these guys love their wolves... this one is about a wolf that gets captured and is dreaming of freedom. power metal track. absolutely sublime.

Mary-Lou
Another power metal track from their first album... and what a first album it is. this one concerns a girl that leaves her home, family and friends for a guy that knocks her up and ditches her. love the use of bells in this song.

that's enough to start with... i'm still getting through their catalogue. enjoy!

 

[zombie jesus]

Not bad at all, add it to the list of bands I need to check out more.

 

[Firey_Dragon]

You missed two of their best songs....
The end of this chapter and My land

They're an incredibly talented band, I actually managed to see them in Vancouver around April last year...

If you're into Power Metal check out some of this bands, they might interest you...
Iced Earth
Blind Guardian
Persuader (seriously underrated band)
Savage Circus
Symphorce
Helloween
Edguy
Gamma Ray
Demons & Wizards
Shaman
They're all pretty good bands in the genre. There is also probably my favorite Evergrey but they probably fall into the category of Progressive moreso than Power Metal

I'm the same as you though Perverse, I got into Sonata Arctica probably 10 years ago when I was in University, rarely listened to them in the last few years, probably because I'm not such a music fanatic as I once was so I probably prefer less technical music a bit more now. When I saw them live I got back into it though. Power metal is a great genre if you can get past some of the ridiculous lyrics.

Some other quality bands that I can't be bothered grabbing vids for are Stratovarius, Iron Saviour, Black Majesty, Savatage and Symphony X

 

[Liam]

No love for Wolf and Raven?

 

[perverse]

i like My Land and The End of This Chapter - the latter moreso, it's excellent and right up my alley. My Land was good, but i found so much of that album better that it sort of cheapened My Lands impact. i listen to a bit of Iced Earth and Blind Guardian - Holy Matyr from Iced Earth was a favourite of mine for a long time. im also partial to some Edguy and Stratovarius from time to time. Symphony X does quite a bit of almost progressive power metal too, for sure. really love their stuff. i'll check out the others, Firey, they are amongst good company on your list.

i quite enjoy power metal lyrics, to be honest. it's a nice change to the regular depressing sentiments that generally plague most genres of metal. most power metal bands at least get a bit creative. some are ordinary, though... i'll agree with that. really digging Sonatas lyrics in general.

Wolf and Raven is a good track, Liam, i can't deny it that. i'm not necessarily just about the speed, though. i enjoy some of their faster tracks... i dunno, Wolf and Raven doesn't really have the most creative arrangements and range of what i would class as their better work, i guess. i'm more about the progressive than the power, as much as i enjoy the power side too. i think Sonata really shine when they are riding the line between the two, and i would consider Wolf and Raven to be far more power than anything - although it does have a cool bridge in it. it's good, but my favourite bands are all progressive metal/rock, so i appreciate perhaps a slightly lesser tempo with a bit more finesse about it moreso. i'm really trying to struggle with a reason why it's not amongst my favourites... just yeah, all of the above i guess. lol.

 

[perverse]

half a week later and The End of This Chapter has rocketed right up to the top 3 for me. well played, Firey. awesome sh*t. apparently Caleb, from the album Unia is a sequel (more of a prequel, actually) to End of This Chapter... and is also a really good track.

how was seeing these guys live, Firey? i've watched a few live tracks, and they look really f**king super tight. they are certainly a band that can pull it off live from what i can see. technically almost perfect.

 

[Non Terminator]

Add Angra and Galneryus to that list FD. Two of my personal loves. Need to import some of their albums...

 

[adamkungl]

+1 for Iced Earth. Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of my favourite albums

Need to check out Sonata Arctica

 

[Firey_Dragon]

half a week later and The End of This Chapter has rocketed right up to the top 3 for me. well played, Firey. awesome sh*t. apparently Caleb, from the album Unia is a sequel (more of a prequel, actually) to End of This Chapter... and is also a really good track.

how was seeing these guys live, Firey? i've watched a few live tracks, and they look really f**king super tight. they are certainly a band that can pull it off live from what i can see. technically almost perfect.

They played pretty much flawless, they play a really tight set. They're typical onstage technicians though, they don't put on much of a performance, it's all about the music. Which there is nothing wrong with but I would say they're similar to Dream Theater in terms of their onstage presence.