SONATA ARCTICA – Unia

Sonata Arctica is not an unknown name in the music world these days. The Finnish Power Metalers have just released a completely new record called Unia, and this is actually a very strong release. The band has not taken a step far from their previous records, but you can hear where they have improved themselves since the beginning of the band in 1996.

Opening track, “In Black And White,” is quite outstanding. The first thing that really hits you is vocalist Tony’s energetic way to sing at times. It must be said that the vocals lift this song to the highest peak! This song features awesome guitar/ keyboard solos as well and some steady, intense work from the rhythm section. This is definitely the best song on this record and is a worthy opening indeed.

“Paid In Full” is a very melodic song, typical Sonata Arctica, but not bad at all. A very nice keyboard solo appears midway in the tune. Again, the vocals sound very good, quite delightful actually, because the vocals in Sonata Arctica have been a little irritating on their previous albums. The song ends with a very mysterious piano/keyboard… thing.

“The Sake Of Revenge” is again a quite typical Sonata Arctica song, maybe due to standard chord progressions, but the song is a little catchy and after all, just because it’s simple doesn’t mean that it sucks. It also features a church organ, which spices up the sound. All in all, a very fine song.

“It Won’t Fade” has a beautiful orchestra intro, and when the band comes in it becomes even better. The vocals are once again chimerical. Anyway, Tony’s English accent is very bad, but also a bit charming… maybe one of the trademarks of Sonata Arctica. The guitar solo opens up with a lot of weird sounds and stays like that for the rest of the song. The intense vocals fade into the intro, which ends the song beautifully.

Next song is “Under Your Tree.” This one is an awesome ballad, featuring a choir and an oboe in the intro. Acoustic guitars and a very laid back, soft sound appears from the rhythm section. The intro is actually the most beautiful part in the entire song and it comes around many times during the song. Maybe this will be the bands new sing-along song? There’s no doubt in that this tune definitely is a hit!

“Caleb,” opens up with a woman talking, followed up by an interesting keyboard lick. This is a very standard Power Metal song, or maybe more standard when it comes to the sound of Sonata Arctica. The guitar solo is very nice, letting the guitarists show of their eminent abilities on the strings.

“The Vice” starts out with a little Progressive drumming/bass playing beneath some cool guitar riffs. This one is quite interesting and is so far the most original and exciting song on the record. Some very interesting vocal/choir parts take the song to a different level.

“My Dream’s But A Drop Of Fuel For A Nightmare” follows up. Not quite outstanding at first, but then it takes some nice directions, featuring some Orchestral riffs that sound a little Baroque-inspired. Halfway through the song is indeed very exciting. The song depends on the orchestra, actually, and ends that way too.

“The Harvest” is a fast song, again very dominated by chimerical, intense vocal parts. It sounds awesome. The guitar solo is really heavy and the following keyboard solo is nothing less than totally mind-blowing. This band features a whole lot of star musicians! “The Worlds Forgotten, The Words Forbidden” is a very mysterious song and also a very nice ballad. Not that special, but very beautiful.

“Fly With The Black Swan” is an outstanding song, featuring slide guitars in the intro, something fans have never heard from Sonata Arctica. The vocal arrangements on this one are also quite interesting. Every song on this album has very nice vocal arrangements, actually, which makes the music a little more exciting as well.

Unia ends with a beautiful ballad called “Good Enough Is Good Enough.” It takes it all down after the very climax with only the piano and orchestra. What really drags it all down is the very ending of the song, featuring some totally misplaced voices. Really a shame to end such a delightful song and album that way!

All in all, Unia is a very nice record. It becomes a little boring halfway through the record, but manages to maintain the energy all the way through. Sonata Arctica has made one of their strongest releases so far, not much unlike their earlier releases, but something quite special anyway. It must be said Unia is one of the greatest Power Metal releases so far this year and should really be recommended to every Metal heart out there!

Lineup

• Tony – Vocals, Keyboards
• Jani – Guitars
• Tommy – Drums
• Marco – Bass
• Henrik – Keyboards
• Elias – Guitars